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.
Under-eye concealers are typically recommended to be lighter than your natural skin tone. The lighter shade helps to brighten the under-eye area, counteracting dark circles and giving a more awake appearance.
To hide imperfections and blemishes, concealer should match your skin tone and undertone, seamlessly blending into the skin. To reduce the appearance of dark circles, though, apply a concealer that is 1 shade lighter than your skin tone.
Generally speaking, it's best to find a true match if you're after an undetectable finish. Conversely, you may want to go one shade lighter if you're looking for a brightening concealer or a concealer for under-eye circles.
Shade: Opt for a concealer that is one or two shades lighter than your skin tone. For very dark circles, a peach or orange-toned corrector can neutralize the blue or purple tones before applying concealer. Moisturize: Use an eye cream or moisturizer to hydrate the under-eye area.
Dark circles tend to have a bluish undertone, so shades of peach and orange are ideal for canceling them out. Those with lighter skin tones should reach for a peach color corrector.
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.
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.
Begin Swatching on Your Lower Cheek
Through systematic elimination, you'll pinpoint the concealer shade that seamlessly compliments your complexion. If you're looking for the perfect brightening shade, simply go one or two shades lighter than your perfect match within the same undertone family.
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.
For redness: Neutralize red and pink tones with a green color corrector. For dark circles and dark spots: Use a peach color corrector if you have fair skin, or a deeper orange shade if you have medium to dark skin. For sallowness: Balance out unwanted warmth with a lavender color corrector.
The best way to correctly match your foundation colour is to test on bare skin. This is going to give you the most accurate foundation shade match and help you narrow down your selection without the interference of other products.
The general rule of thumb is that you should always opt for a shade lighter than foundation when choosing your concealer colour. Doing so helps to mask darker discolouration, but be careful not to over-correct! Knowing how to pick the right concealer is essential to ensuring that your look does not appear ghostly.
“For lighter skin tones, a warm peach will cancel out the blueish purple in under-eye darkness, and a true orange/red will work best for darker complexions,” says celebrity makeup artist Nick Lennon who counts Charli XCX as a client.
Laser therapy or chemical peels can be helpful to some people. Injectable fillers can smooth the hollows that cause shadows. Other options are platelet-rich plasma injections and surgery to reduce puffy lids.
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.
✅ 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.
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.