5 concealer hacks from Glow Up’s Dominic Skinner
The Fashion Week and M.A.C make-up artist reveals his top hacks for perfecting your face base.
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No matter how weird or wonderful your eye look may be: perfecting your base is essential for making any look work, according to M.A.C global make-up artist and judge on BBC Three’s Glow Up, Dominic Skinner.
“It doesn’t matter what you do as long as the complexion is spot on,” says Skinner, but it’s important to be as precise as possible when it comes to your concealer, as he notes, “Your skin changes from season to season and with age – not just in texture but in tone and shade – because of environmental impact.
“You wouldn’t wear a bikini in winter. Just like a winter and summer wardrobe – you need a winter concealer and a summer concealer. Then in the cross-over seasons like spring and autumn, you can slowly start adding your winter colour into your summer and vice versa to seamlessly transition through the seasons.”
The intricacies of getting your concealer perfect can seem like a minefield. So, we’ve collated leading make-up artists who reveal the five concealer hacks you need for a flawless base.
1. How to apply it
Whether you use a sponge, brush or your fingers, how you apply your concealer makes a bigger difference to its finish than you’d think.
“When applying concealer on myself, I decant the product onto the back of my hand, then I apply the product from here onto the face with a small, fluffy brush,” says P. Louise’s founder and CEO, Paige Williams.
“Using a brush to apply concealer makes it easier to build up, I always start off with a small amount and build this up if needed. It also makes it easier to ensure the product reaches any fine lines.”
Sponges work differently to brushes in that they push the product more into the skin creating more of a layer than working the product into the face. This technique is better if you want a fuller coverage, but it can tend to look less natural. Similarly, your fingers can be as effective as a sponge, but Williams warns, “if you’re using your fingertips, do this by tapping the product, not rubbing.”
Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge, £4.49 (was £6.99), Look Fantastic
elf Precise Blending Brush, £4
2. Where to apply it
It seems obvious – under your eyes and on any blemishes – but there’s more to concealer application than that.
A trick Skinner uses on models is to apply the product inside the nostril. “People often have a lot of redness around their nose and from their nostrils,” says Skinner, “So adding a little bit under here makes a massive difference.”
It’s a spot that people can’t quite put their finger on, but applying your concealer here lifts your face and makes you look less scruffy.
Alongside placement, “the key to applying concealer is precision and blending,” says editor and beauty expert, Katie Walker.
“Only apply small dots of concealer to the areas that require coverage. This could be under the eyes, around the nose and on any blemishes or discolouration.” Being overzealous with concealer can lead to cakey-ness and the rest of your base not sitting correctly. The less, the better.
3. How to set it
To prevent creasing and slippage, setting your your concealer is crucial. When we think of ‘setting’, our minds jump to powder – but this doesn’t always have to be the case.
Skinner notes that some setting sprays can be just as effective, whilst some concealers such as M.A.C’s Studio Radiance 24hr Luminous Lift Concealer has a formula that doesn’t require any setting products at all.
If you do have a more oily complexion, loose powders can work well, “Use a finely milled, translucent setting powder and apply it lightly with a damp sponge,” says Walker. “For under the eyes, press the powder gently into the skin rather than dusting it to help lock in the concealer without adding bulk.
“If you have dry skin, be cautious with the amount of powder to avoid accentuating texture.”
MAC Studio Radiance 24hr Luminous Lift Concealer, £26
M.A.C FIX+ Original Setting Spray, £29
Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder Travel Size, £17.20, Look Fantastic
4. Finding the right shade
We often want to brighten our under eyes, which means the default action is to choose a shade lighter than the one we use on our face. However, this trap can often accentuate dark under eyes.
“If you’ve got a dark under eye, the worst thing you can do is go for a light concealer which is lighter than your foundation. This is because the darkness of your under eye is darker than your skin tone,” says Skinner.
“Using a light concealer that’s lighter than your skin tone is like putting white chalk on a piece of black paper. It’s not really going to conceal and cancel out the pigment – it will just go grey.”
“It’s more about getting the warmth, and sometimes that even means going one shade darker than your skin tone,” suggests Skinner, “By going one shade darker, it helps reduce the darkness because it has a rich warm orangey undertone that neutralises the blue of the under eye just enough to bring the darkness up to meet the foundation.”
Once you neutralise your dark under eye with a warmer-toned concealer, then you can apply a lighter powder to brighten your under eye, if that’s the effect you desire. An important thing to remember is what area of the skin you’re working on, “the concealer that you would use to remove a blemish on your cheek is not the same colour that you would use for under the eyes – the blemish on your cheek is red, but under your eye is blue,” says Skinner.
“It’s about changing the mindset about having one product that does everything. Sometimes you need multiple of one product.”
Beauty Pie Superluminous Under-eye Genius (Light/ Medium), £12 (was £20)
Charlotte Tilbury Magic Vanish Colour Corrector, £27, Space NK
5. Diffusing texture
Skinner says, “I have very oily skin and the M.A.C concealer still glides onto the skin, you’d expect it to slip and slide about but it really doesn’t.”
We’re told to steer clear from products that say ‘luminous’ when we have oily skin – but that doesn’t necessarily want we want a matte finish. “When you have oily skin, your pores and texture show up more because they illuminate the shadows,” says Skinner, “So using a classically ‘luminous’ concealer can make your skin look wet and highlight imperfections.”
However, some luminous concealers actually diffuse that radiance, making them suitable for oily skin too. Looking for products that have spherical pigments in them such as Beauty Pie’s Hyaluronic Blur means when the light hits the skin it bounces the light in different directions. “This fills fine lines and pores and any texture on your skin with light, then diminishes the appearance of pores and fine lines,” says Skinner.
“If you have dry skin, looking for concealers that contain hyaluronic acid and niacinamide to hydrate the skin, like the M.A.C Studio Radiance 24hr Luminous Lift, really works.”
Beauty Pie Everyday Great Skin Hyaluronic Blur Concealer, £12.50 (was £21)