✅ Pick a concealer that is two shades lighter than your skin tone. ✅ Set it with a setting powder that is close to your skin color and not a pink or translucent powder. ✅ when blending out the concealer start removing excess and before you blend the concealer, let it dry for at least 40 seconds.
Concealer should generally be one or two shades lighter than your natural skin tone, especially for areas like under the eyes where you want to brighten and counteract darkness.
When it comes to choosing the best colour of concealer, you should look for one that is “the same shade as your skin tone to cover anything on the face, and then go one or two shades lighter on the under-eye area,” says Urichuk.
A concealer is typically recommended to be one shade lighter than your skin tone for brightening effects, especially under the eyes. However, if you're using it for covering blemishes or imperfections, a concealer that matches your skin tone is ideal.
The Takeaway. While the majority of experts recommend applying a light layer of foundation before concealer, we admit there are instances where you benefit from a concealer first, like: If you're getting photographed. If your concealer shade isn't the same as your foundation.
Our favorite concealer for mature skin is the Armani Luminous Silk Face and Under-Eye Concealer, which has a lightweight feel and glowy finish and is packed with skin-loving ingredients.
Bringing light to areas only draws more attention to that area. Meaning, if you're trying to conceal darkness and go too light with your concealer, it's going to bring more attention to that area. It could also have a graying effect, which is definitely not what we want to cover any sort of darkness or discoloration.
Here is our color corrector guide to help you determine what shade to use: To find your shade, take a look at the discoloration under the eye. If it's bluish-purple, choose a bisque shade. If it's greenish-brown, choose a peach shade. If it's a mix of both, choose the peach bisque shade.
The rule of thumb for picking your concealer shade is based on your foundation shade. Beauty experts advise that everyone should have two shades of concealer in their arsenal, one lighter and one darker since daily sun exposure means your skin tone shifts slightly all the time.
A: Generally, it's not recommended to buy a foundation shade that is either one shade lighter or one shade darker than your natural skin tone.
The trick to using concealer in place of foundation is to follow a less is more mentality. Once you've chosen your preferred concealer formula, apply it with a very targeted application to only the areas that need it.
Tip #16: Use A Lighter Shade Of Concealer To Highlight
In the same way that a darker concealer shade can work as a contour product, a lighter shade can double as a shimmer-free highlighter. Use it on the areas that you want to pop like the tops of the cheekbones and down the center of the nose.
While concealer for the general areas of your face should match your skin tone, under-eye concealer should be one or two shades lighter than your natural coloring. Using a lighter concealer for your eye area helps cover up under-eye circles and creates a brightening effect.
The reason concealer alone cannot address dark circles is that it often creases and makes the issue much worse. Moisturizing and applying color corrector can help minimize the look of dark circles.
Why it's worth it: Nars Soft Matte Concealer, a mattifying cream version of the brand's Radiant Creamy Concealer (a beloved formula that won a 2024 Readers' Choice Award), is a long-standing favorite amongst Allure editors, makeup artists, and beauty influencers.
When applying undereye concealer, skip the brush, applicator and sponge; try using your fingertips instead. The warmth can help the makeup melt into the undereye area, giving you a flawless finish.
Unlike concealers, color correctors don't (and shouldn't) match your skin tone exactly. Instead, color correctors come in various shades that target different skin concerns. “Color correctors use color theory and the color wheel to help even out the look of your skin,” says Thompson.
As a general rule, the best order to apply makeup is: base makeup, face makeup, eye makeup, then lip makeup (with some wiggle room on the latter two).