Hot or Not Beauty

As you might have noticed from my many ramblings, I am obsessed about concealers and constantly try new ones, ones however perform their functions better than other, specially considering that I have very dark circles.

Having worn glasses for many years and being a contact lens user, I have a few fine lines in my under-eye that are barely visible. However, the wrong type of formula equals disaster and ends up adding 15 more years that I don’t have.

So, although I am constantly trying new things (specially to separate good products from bad that I can later on apply on a customer) because I’m quite the consumer and am never satisfied for long with the same thing. I do have, however, those personal favorites that I always keep in backup and usually the ones that I will go back to, after my affair with a new product.

My favorite concealer is, without a doubt, Dior’s Anticernes Perfecteur: it combines several key factors that I find essential in my day-to-day wear and that make it (so far) my HG concealer of the moment.

Anticernes Perfecteur is a fluid concealer that comes conveniently in tube format and can be applied with your ring finger quite easily while still maintaining control, therefore it is ideal to transport and carry around on vacation, business travels or or for the occasional touch up if the day goes over the normal routine and a dinner pops up unexpectedly.

Also, this formula is highly moisturizing and doesn’t enhance the fine lines in the eye area and also doesn’t migrate and is water resistant. One of the few flaws of this product is that is very limited where color selection is concerned, which is a shame.

Although the price can be a bit disappointing, with this concealer a little goes a long way, so whenever you have the chance and if you have a skin tone in this makeup brand’s range do try it out.

Every now and then I ask my friends on what topic I should dwell here and the absolute majority said “CONCEALER”. So today’s journey will about this product and what we should have in mind when we’re shopping for one.

Personally I don’t like concealers that you apply to all areas of the face, meaning I believe you should have one concealer for your eye area and another for blemishes, face discoloration, veins, etc etc…

First: Consistence! The thicker the concealer his the more it covers with less product, however the more you apply the more artificial it will look and you have to be specially careful so it won’t enhance your fine lines because of too much product has been applied in the area. Yes, it can get rid of the darkness underneath your eyes, but if if creases and enhances your fine lines it will give you at least 10 more years. If you have fine lines under your search for a moisturizing concealer with a lifting effect.

They go from very light and fluid like Yves Saint-Laurent’s Le Touche d’Éclat to MAC’s Studio Stick. Be extra careful with very fluid formulations on under eye circles, the light reflective properties of those concealers and their usual light tints might give your under eye area a grayish or greenish tint. If this happens, you’re using the wrong kind of concealer, it’s probably too light for your skin tone or for the color of your circles.

Also, most articles on concealers advise you to get them in one to two tones lighter than your skin tone. This is correct when you have dark circles, but it’s wrong if you have puffy eyes. Applying a lighter shade of concealer on puffy eyes will attract light to the area and make your eyes look a lot puffier. So, if you have slightly swollen puffy eyes, hunt for a concealer in the exact shade of your skin tone just to even it out.

For very dark circles, instead of layering tons of product maybe you should consider a bit of color correction first. If you have blue circles apply a corrector of a peach tone to neutralize the color, if you have brown circles then a corrector of a yellow tone is in order. Apply the color neutralizer first, pat and blend and then follow with the appropriate concealer or your foundation if the coverage is able to even out the area.

Always prep your eye area with a moisturizing eye-cream so that its delicate skin won’t feed off the emollients in the concealer you are using and damage the skin over the years. After the area is prepped and moisturized apply a very small amount of your concealer with your brush or finger. I personally like using concealer brushes with stick/pot cream concealers, it always me to control the amount of product used and the area that it’s being used on. For more fluid concealers I used the wand/applicator when the product has it or if it’s a tube concealer I apply it with my ring finger.

Last, but not least, do you apply it under or over foundation? If you’re using a color corrector then you should definitely apply it under your foundation, just remember that when you do apply your foundation you shouldn’t “sweep” the area with your fingers, sponge or brush but instead pat your foundation in place so you won’t drag your concealer to other areas.

When it’s stick concealers or pot cream concealers, I usually apply them over foundation to do some last minute correct that the foundation wasn’t able to cover.

Hope this has been useful and I’ll be back to dwell on concealers for other parts of your face.