I don’t know what it is, every time I go foundation and concealer shopping, I somehow turn colour-blind. I mean no offence to those of you who may be colour blind, but it’s like I completely forget the colour of my face. As you can imagine, I’ve ended up making a great investment into my collection of too-white concealers over the years. Here’s how I put them to good use.
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Use it as a matte cream highlighter.
No doubt a trend made famous by the likes of Tarte’s Shape Tape and various others that jumped on the contour concealer bandwagon. It works great if you tend to shy away from shimmery highlighters and if you have dry skin – shimmer is a bit hit-and-miss with my greasy face – it gives a subtle brightening effect where the light would naturally hit, without looking like you’re wearing highlighter. Just remember to use a primer or moisturiser beforehand to avoid flakes and cracking later in the day.
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Mix it in with darker foundations.
Learned this one from experience. Make use of that foundation that’s slightly too dark by mixing it with your too-light concealer. Logic, right? Also works a treat if your foundation is on the warm side but your concealer is on the cool side, or vice versa. Just remember to mix it BEFORE putting it on your face – mixing it on your face by swirling your brush round and round tends to make life a little more difficult.
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Use it WITH your highlighter.
A great way to give your powder highlight some extra lasting power and colour intensity. Works great for both shimmer and matte highlights. Mix it in with another liquid highlighter if you like the colour but just want to tone it down a little.
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Prime your lids or lips with it.
I find that this works particularly well if you’re working with lighter eyeshadow colours and if you have blemishes around your eye area. The same goes for bright or light lip colours. Just make sure to pat it in and blend well before applying your eyeshadow or lipstick. If your concealer tends to cake, I would avoid this one.
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Use it as an under-eye concealer.
The trick to avoiding that greyish hue all over your dark circles is to use it with a colour corrector. Use a yellow, peach or pink colour corrector before applying your concealer and it’ll work just fine. Personally, this is my go-to for all the too-white concealers lounging around on my dresser.
What about you? Do you have the same colour-blindness problem that I do when you go concealer/foundation shopping? (This also means that when I find my shade, I stick to it like a drowning person to a life ring.) I’d love to hear from you if you’ve found any other wacky uses for a concealer that was the wrong colour, or if you’ve tried any of the above and what you thought! You go girl.
– J
I always end up with concealers that are way too dark! The struggle of being the same shade as pure snow, haha x
Haha I hear The Ordinary does some great stuff for pale skin tones! x
Oh really? I’ll have to check them out then x
Ah I know what you mean, finding the perfect concealer shade is like finding a unicorn! I always use it for highlight or contouring
Oh I’m so glad, I thought i was the only one! You’d think I’d know the colour of my face by now after looking at it every day for more than 2 decades… x
I have a different struggle of all concealers being too dark for my skin!
Haha let’s swap for a day!
This is such a good idea! I have long since figured out there is no shame in asking for help. I normally get one of the ladies in the shop to help me out! Failing that I use this website: https://findation.com. Its helped me out on so many occasions 🙂 xx
Yesss I’ve asked them for help and they’ve been so lovely, and I felt so good walking home with the right shade! And thanks for the recommendation xx
Oh there is no better feeling!! I’ve recently been experimenting with darker lippys!! Walking out with a bag full of tricks ALWAYS makes my day better 🙂 xx
Oooh yes I’ve jumped on the dark lipstick bandwagon too! I love darker browns and reds, have had to restrain myself big time when I walk into Superdrug and Boots xx
Superdrug is my weakness… Those guys may be the reason I don’t have a mortgage 🙂
Im loving purples right now….. Not sure Im the right skin tone at all but In my head i’m clearly smashing it hahahaha xxx
Hahaha you rock that purple! Lots of lovely plummy shades out there, just in time for autumn too xxx
You’re so passionate and that’s why you’re so good. You’re engaging!
Awh thank you Mel!
You’re like a wonderful bouquet of copious and useful information!
Are you getting paid for this? If you’re not, you totally should!
Damn it! You’re a good writer! I’d read anything of yours. Adverts, you’d be so good.
Loved this. I could feel your friendly smile guiding us along.
😉
Haha sadly not getting paid! Maybe one day 😉 (the dream eh?) But thank you! Always such kind words from you xxx
I feel like such a loser! I totally can’t contribute to the concealer issue. I’m always in the raw. One of these days… one of these days.
Haha that most likely means you don’t need it at all! Show that skin off girl.
Last one and I’ll stop stalking you.
“Personally, this is my go-to for all the too-white concealers lounging around on my dresser.”
This makes me think of Beauty and the Beast. I imagine Belle at the castle with all of her enchanted makeup walking around making her over but the concealers … they’re being a couple of lazy asses!
😉
Haha I love Beauty and the Beast. I wish my makeup would dance around the room and do my makeup by themselves. And I can be the lazy ass! 😀
Too funny! 🙂
I find it so hard to choose the right shade of concealer I think the lighting in makeup stores is often quite different to natural daylight! This is a really helpful post, great ideas!
Yess the lighting doesn’t help at all! I think makeup stores just need to have massive windows right by the makeup counters haha. Glad you enjoyed it xx
This issue just happened to me! I bought a foundation and concealer that were both too dark. So i went back and got the lighter shades and they were too light! So I have been mixing them together. The concealer is still too light. 🙁 Thanks for the tips!
Haha oh noo! Hope you’re getting the perfect shade with your new arsenal of concealers and foundations 😛 Top notch customisation xx
Very helpful tips. I think that having concealer palette is really useful because you can mix different shades to get the perfect one. xx
Yup definitely! xx
I tend to get my concealer wrong, especially if there is too much colour choice! Maybelline do a fair, medium, dark with there concealer, and the fair is perfect for me so I tend to play safe and go with that one. I think using a too white one as a base on the eyes is a fab idea!
I love this idea – it’s so annoying when you buy something and then can’t use it! I hate wasting products. If I really don’t like it, or there’s something wrong with it, I won’t struggle on until it’s gone, but I prefer finding novel ways to get things used up! I’ll be interested to see what else you come up with!
I just don’t like wastage, and you’re absolutely right on finding novel ways to use things. Thanks for the comment Kirsty! xx
Great tips, thank you!
No worries! x