The most exciting part of my makeup routine is highlighting my less noticeable features with concealer—my infraorbital figure (under-eye area), philtrum (above my lip), chin boss (middle of my chin), bridge of my nose, and brow bone. As a girl, I’d sit in the powder room and watch my mother apply her makeup. That’s where I learned to love it. But, she didn’t use concealer. Though, over time, makeup formulas evolved and education about how to properly shape your face became more readily available. After years of trying techniques, I found my niche with concealer—highlighting without contouring, to be specific.
Concealer can be used to cover blemishes and discoloration, or applied to highlight. For the latter, the shade should be a shade or two lighter than your actual complexion. The best way to do this? Understand your undertone. I am a black woman of African American descent with luscious caramel skin. Which means every shade of brown won’t work, the same way it wouldn’t with lighter skin tones. Each complexion is unique. See, undertones are separated into cool, warm, and neutral categories with blue, red, and pink, falling under the cool realm, and yellow, gold, and peach in the warm. Neutral undertones are a mix of both.
Personally, I have caramel skin with super yellow undertones—so warm, yellow-tone concealers work best. But, I didn’t always know that. It wasn’t until Cle de Peau’s cult-favorite formula (in the shade Honey), landed on my desk years ago that I began to understand how much undertones come into play when finding the perfect formula. And, it was only then that I began to look like as much like myself with makeup on as did bare-faced. Adding a little yellow here, a dab of chestnut there, and some bronze along the sides is the formula that works best for me. Below, find concealers to best match my skin tone.
FYI: Meet "micro-concealing"—a makeup trick that keeps your skin looking like skin.
Source: Byrdie – Hallie Gould