Seal up your look with the right concealer

DUBAI:

Concealers can be intimidating if you don’t know much about them or are new to the world of make-up. From fearing that you’ll look too pale or cakey, you may find yourself sinking in the mire of questions related to picking the right product. Should you opt for a cream- or liquid-based concealer? What shade should you buy? Do you apply it over or under foundation? Should you apply with fingers or a brush? How is concealer different from a corrector? You need not worry as the following four factors have our seal of approval when it comes to picking the right concealer.

Your skin type

If you have oily skin or large pores, you should avoid creamy textures as they tend to make the skin look shinier and could clog pores. You may want to use something that tends to set as matte, such as the Mac Select Cover Up or Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer. For dry skin, choose the opposite —  something more liquid- and cream-based, such as Clarins Instant Concealer. As for normal/combination skin, Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer is a good choice. The texture is light but it gives sufficient coverage with a bit of glow.

Your skin concern

Believe it or not, but you may not even need a concealer. Your foundation or BB cream could be enough for covering blemishes. But if you’re looking to cover spots and pimples, you would want to pick a heavy coverage concealer. Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer does a great job for this. Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage is also a cult favourite. But these concealers are quite thick too heavy for the under-eye area, and they could crease and make your lines look more visible.



To cover dark circles and brighten the under-eye area, use a corrector, such as Bobbi Brown cream or liquid or Tarte Coloured Clay first. Over this, apply a brightening liquid concealer such as the Charlotte Tilbury Retoucher. Also, don’t go too close to the eyes otherwise they will end up looking puffy.

Your choice of foundation

Let’s keep this simple. If you’re wearing powder foundation, apply your creamy concealer before foundation to avoid streaky lines. If you’re wearing liquid/cream/gel foundation, you can apply the concealer under or over foundation. Just a piece of friendly advice —  less is more with concealer as it is with many other things in life.  Apply it to specific areas and avoid applying it too heavily on the same areas that have foundation underneath because this will add texture to the skin and make it look made-up.

Your budget

Depending on how much you want to splurge and what value you place on a concealer, you could pick great products from Chanel, Dior and Cle de Peau. But there are many great budget options available as well, and some that lie in between the two. From the drugstore, Maybelline, Bourjois,  L’Oréal and Collection have a great range. They’re not as long-lasting as the high-end ones, of course, but still serve the purpose. Concealers that are good all-rounders include the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer. The Dior Star concealer is great choice as well. You can blend concealer with your fingers or do it with a brush.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2015.

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