Masters of Disguise

March 19, 2016

Masters of Disguise

From dark circles to breakouts different skin imperfections demand different concealers. To find your perfect cover up you need to become an expert at hide and seek.

Not all concealers are the same. Just ask anyone who has ever, wrongly as it turns out, used a YSL Touche Éclat highlighter and under eye brightener to try and cover a spot. In fact, there are three distinct categories: light-reflecting, under eye concealers; opaque redness and pigment concealers and matt spot cover-ups. Of course, in an emergency you can get away with using a skin hybrid of the three, but to fake flawless skin effectively you need to choose your concealer with care. If you think about how different an under-eye dark shadow is to a raised spot or a patch of pigmentation, then it makes sense that you need a different colour and texture of concealer to get rid of each one. For the delicate under-eye area you want a liquid, hydrating, brightening texture and finish while on a spot you need a stay-in-place, thicker product that offers matte coverage. Large areas of redness or pigmentation require a colour correcting formula as the best products will also come in a range of shades for every skin tone. So, here we have the guide for the best concealers to make sure you've got it covered...

Shadow Busters:

These are a blend of under-eye brighteners and highlighters as they brighten up dark circles and they actually work anywhere on the face to draw light to it. So apply them in a double C around each eye, from the top of the brow bone, around the outside of the eye and down onto the tops of the cheekbones.

1. Bobbi Brown Tinted Eye Brightener in Porcelain Peach - £21 With 10 Shades to suit every skin tone.

2. Maybelline Instant Anti-Age The Eraser Eye Perfect & Cover Concealer - £7.99 In 2 Shades

3. YSL Touche Éclat in Luminous Radiance - £25 Comes in 8 Shades.

4. Charlotte Tilbury Mini Miracle Eye Wand in 1 - £29 Choose from 5 Shades.

5. Garnier BB Cream Eye Roll-On in Medium £9.99 A Combination eye serum and concealer.

6. Clarins Instant Concealer in 02 - £22 In 4 Shades

Spot Solutions

The spot secret of Matin Maulawizada, the make-up artist on the speed dials of many A-Listers is a yellow based concealer, applied with a fine tipped brush and then dabbed into the skin and onto the blemish then finish with a touch of translucent powder to set.

1. Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-In Place High Cover Concealer SPF 35 in Light - £22 Available in 11 Shades.

2. Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC3 -£26.50 From Space NK, with a choice of 8 2-Shade Palettes.

3. BECCA Ultimate Coverage Concealing Crème - £24 Choose from 12 Shades

4. Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit - £25 In 13 Shades

5. NYX Full Coverage Concealer Jar in Light Pale - £5.50 The 11 Shades include colour-correcting anti-redness and sallow options.

6. Benefit Boi-ing Concealer - £17.50 In 5 Shades

Pigment Perfectors:

Larger areas need a more liquid concealer that will not cake into the skin. The best should disguise redness and pigmentation, yet blend into the skin seamlessly. They are a bit like ultra-high coverage foundations, so think of them as concealer multi-taskers at a pinch and with the right brush, you can also use them to cover dark circles and spots.

1. Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer Light Golden - £19.50