An even and healthy skin tone is the decoration of any woman and an ideal foundation for evening or daytime makeup. And usually the biggest problem in creating a tone is the area under the eyes. Stress, poor ecology, lack of sleep lead to bruising under the eyes. To mask them so that the face does not look like a mask, a correctly selected concealer will help.
What is concealer
This is a type of tonal remedy for the point correction of skin imperfections, mainly used for the area under the eyes. The concealer gives a fairly dense opaque coating that adjusts to the tone of the face.
Often, the concealer contains caring components - they moisturize the skin, give it elasticity, fight wrinkles or age spots. Such products occupy a niche between decorative and care cosmetics.
Also a feature of concealers is their light and delicate texture. Usually it is liquid or creamy, in spite of a higher density than the foundation, this agent lays softer. This is necessary for easier distribution on thin skin under the eyes and less stretching during shading of the product.
How to pick up
To choose the best concealer, pay attention to your skin type, its problems and, last but not least, its tone. It is believed that the concealer should be one or two tones lighter than the skin and the main tonal means, but in practice this can sometimes lead to excessive highlighting of the area under the eyes. Take the product just half a ton lighter - this will be enough to accurately brighten the eye area. You should also always do swatch (test smears of the product) before application. But it’s a mistake to try concealer on the wrist. The skin on this part of the hand, although light, but differs in tone from the skin of the face. As makeup artists say, the ideal color of the concealer should be exactly the same as that of the skin in the area of the subcutaneous arch.
It is also believed that the concealer should have a yellowish tone in order to effectively mask bruises. However, an excessive amount of yellow pigment can have the opposite effect, making the skin under the eyes greenish. Therefore, the best bruising concealer will have more pink and peach pigments, but always cold shades. If you just want to highlight your eyes, giving them a shine, choose sand and beige shades, possibly golden, especially if your skin is thin with a pinkish tint.
As already noted, not only skin tone is important, but also its type. Based on this, choose a concealer. Which is better for sensitive skin? Hypoallergenic. And for dry, it is better to choose a creamy with moisturizing characteristics. Oily skin may not allow the concealer to lie evenly, so always use the base under makeup.
If you have wrinkles, then choose a special concealer for aging skin. It is denser and fills wrinkles, making the area under the eyes more even. Lighter concealers can clog into the folds of the skin and highlight its imperfections more. Also for aging skin, the best concealer is with a highlighter, that is, with reflective particles. But here it is important not to overdo it and add only a delicate radiance to the face.
How to use
In order for the concealer to lie down evenly, not to wrinkle and wrinkle by the middle of the day, it is important to apply it correctly.
You can apply the product with either a special brush or simply with your fingers, the main thing is not to smear the product and not rub it into the skin, but to shade it with patting movements under the lower eyelid.
But first, prepare the skin - apply face cream and for the area around the eyes, and after it is absorbed, apply the base under makeup. Then apply the main tone on the face and only after that proceed to the concealer.
An outdated technique recommends applying the product pointwise, however, this can lead to the effect of a panda on the contrary - the area under the eyes will be contrast light. It is best to apply the concealer with wide strokes of the triangle from the lower eyelid to the cheek. Blend the strokes with the ring finger or a special brush. Especially carefully work out the inner corner of the eye - here the blue is most concentrated and gives out fatigue. But on the outside it is better not to apply the product at all - there is the greatest concentration of wrinkles in which the product may slip inaccurately.
From above, be sure to powder the face and the area of application of the concealer, so all products will be fixed and will not run away even in hot weather.
Types of Concealers
They, in addition to color and caring properties, are divided by shape. The following concealer options are available:
- Liquid - most suitable for the correction of the area under the eyes, as it is easy to apply and shade. There are tubes, tubes with a brush or applicator or with a roller.
- Solid - these are concealers with a denser texture, available in the form of a pencil or stick. More suitable for the correction of age spots or blackheads, but also the bruises under the eyes will mask, however, they require some skill and skill.
- Creamy - a cross between a liquid and a solid form. Usually produced in jars or pallets, applied with a special brush.
- Powdery - these are mainly representatives of mineral cosmetics. Apply with a special brush in a thin but dense layer.
Among all these types there are special products, we will try to find the best concealer in our segment.
Liquid concealers
Such products are literally in every cosmetic brand from very inexpensive (Avon, MAYBELLINE, Vivienne Sabo) to luxury (Yves Saint Laurent, Bobby Brown, Giorgio Armani).
One of the popular, albeit not cheap products in this segment is Natural Finish Cream Concealer from the Japanese brand Shiseido. It falls into almost all the ratings of the best products for its excellent hiding power and ability to mask any bruises under the eyes. The downside of it is the high price and the fact that it dries the skin, but this is solved by a moisturizer applied under makeup.
From the mass market, Alliance Perfect by L'OREAL enjoys special love. It adapts to skin tone and does not clog pores due to the lack of oils in the composition.
Another representative of the mass market and the constant favorite of many is the roller corrector “The Secret of Excellence” from Garnier. This cooling roller helps to combat fatigue and aging of the skin and moisturizes and maskes dark circles well. Available in two shades.
The best concealer for eye circles, despite the modest price, Maybelline's SuperStay Better Skin. It hides bruises well, but retains elasticity on the skin, which is important in the presence of wrinkles. A similar effect, but due to the dense texture that fills wrinkles, gives Double Wear BB Glow by Estée Lauder. In addition to age correction, the product lasts phenomenally long, without slipping and without losing the density of the coating.
Solid concealers
The best seller and best concealer among beauty bloggers is Benefit's Fake Up Stick. There are only two shades in the line, and the stick itself combines excellent corrective properties, a caring cream from apple seed extract and hyaluronic acid, as well as the phenomenal ease of application and shading.
The product of the luxury brand Yves Saint Laurent is the Anti-Cernes stick in an elegant gold case. It cares for the skin around the eyes thanks to the extract of chamomile and gingko biloba, shades well and gently even with your fingers, and can also be used to sculpt the face thanks to reflective particles.
Budget brands also did not stand aside from this format, so, in the Essence line there is a Nude stick in three shades. It gives a dense, but easy to shade coating.
Powder products
Quite a rare product, since usually powdery textures are poorly suited for tone correction. However, for mineral makeup, powder products are not uncommon. Concealer from Dream Minerals has a gentle and fine grinding, good hiding power, reflective effect. Also in the powder there is no zinc oxide drying the skin.
The mineral concealer from Everyday Minerals is similar in properties. True, reviews recommend applying it carefully, since on a too dry skin a powdery formula may not behave in the best way and highlight wrinkles.
Creamy formula
Concealers in this form are usually found in miniature jars and they should be applied with a small brush, and the product should be shaded. The American brand Nyx has several such options. For example, masthead and, according to many, the best concealer for the eyes - specially designed to mask bruises Dark Circle Concealer. It lays in a thin layer and perfectly conceals skin imperfections.
An order of magnitude more expensive product is Secret Concealer from Laura Mercier. It has a yellowish tint, but thanks to its soft texture it is applied in a thin layer, it is well-quenched and perfectly moisturizes the skin. In general, it is a very good concealer.
Reviews recommend an interesting product Erase Paste from Benefit. This is really a pasty thick concealer that needs to be applied as neat and thin as possible, but with the right application it can mask even the most serious skin imperfections.
Pallets
This is a special type of creamy concealer, where several different shades are collected in one palette. This product is for more advanced makeup and for those who need a different coating for different occasions.
So, the mini-palette Creamy Concealer from Bobby Brown combines two shades - light and dark. They can be mixed or applied separately, which makes it possible to choose your ideal tone.
A very popular palette of 5 shades from CATRICE. By purchasing this tool, you can get the opportunity to mask not only bruises under the eyes, but also all other skin imperfections. In addition to versatility, the product is also very comfortable to apply. The Essense brand has a similar palette.
And MAC Con Conceal and Correct Palette is a large, almost professional palette of 6 shades of beige - dark and light, with a yellow and pink tint, cold and warm, they are able to mask any trouble.
How to replace
Concealer is, in fact, a masking agent of a slightly different tone and consistency than a regular foundation or corrector. Therefore, if you could not find the best concealer, dark circles under the eyes can be avoided by resorting to foundation with a tone lighter than the face. The effect of masking blue can provide a highlighter. Just choose a satin shine, not shimmer, as the sparkles under the eyes will definitely not decorate you. Mix a little highlighter with a tone and apply under the eyes, and then fasten with powder.
You can also use any corrector designed to mask acne, rosacea or age spots. However, too dense corrector is difficult to shade, so choose lighter creamy textures.
Of course, these tips will not replace the dark circles eye concealer with the best, but with today's abundance of this product on the shelves of cosmetic stores it is difficult to meet a girl who does not have this product in her makeup bag yet.