Beauty 101: Concealer

Here is your lesson for the day: Concealer!

I don't know about you guys, but I used to get so confused about concealer, what it does, how you apply it, the different colors, etc. Well I am here to solve your concealer problems!

What is it? 

Concealer is used to cover up any skin imperfections, such as scars, blemishes, redness, discoloration, etc. It comes in many forms, such as powder, liquid, stick, cream, and pencil.

How do I apply?

Concealer can be applied either before or after foundation. For the delicate under eye area, using your ring finger to pat and roll the concealer on works best. A small flat concealer brush works best for other problem areas, just dab on a few dots and blend. Set with powder to enhance its staying power. Those with good skin can generally get away with just spot concealing and powder and skip foundation altogether.

What are the different types and what kind of coverage do they offer?

Powder

Powders offer the sheerest coverage. Be careful not to overapply, as the powder can start to cake and look unnatural

Pencil

Pencils can offer medium coverage and are best for spot concealing blemishes and scars

Liquid

Liquid concealers offer anywhere from sheer to full coverage. These tend to look the most natural because of their creamy consistencies and ability to blend in easily

Stick

Sticks offer medium to full coverage and are easy to throw in your purse for touch ups on the go

Cream

Creams can provide full coverage and are thicker in consistency than the rest

How do I choose the right shade?

For those of you who just need a little bit of extra coverage, choose a skin colored concealer, no more than two shades lighter than your skintone.

For other problem areas, choose a colored concealer to counteract discoloration, redness, undereye circles, etc. See below for coordinating shades and their uses

This is a color wheel. Use it to find a coordinating shade for your problem area. For example, if you have redness in your skin, look at the opposite side of the wheel and you will see green, which cancels out the red.

Different colors of concealers and correctors

Green

As I said above, use green to counteract redness from blotchy skin and blemishes

Lavender

Lavender brightens up sallow yellow complexions

Salmon (Also called Peach or Apricot)

This color is used to cover up dark blue undereye circles

Yellow

Yellow conceals purple undereye circles, some redness, and bluish veins

Pink

Since most people tend to have some pink in their skintones, pink concealer is generally avoided. However, if used as a base with another concealer, such as yellow, it can give a more natural look.

A few concealer tips to remember....

When applying undereye concealer, don't choose one that is too light because it can leave you with a whitish mask around your eyes. Instead choose one that matches your skintone or use a colored one

When using a colored concealer, some can tend to leave you with a white or gray cast, so try using it as a base and then apply a light layer of your regular concealer on top

Try using a highlighting concealer around your inner eye area and your browbones to give your eyes a brightening effect

Blend gently when applying concealer under the  eye area, and choose a formula that will not settle into the fine lines and look cakey.

That wraps up today's lesson, hope you learned a thing or two!

Beauty 101: Face Brushes (pic heavy)

This is another addition to my blog that I have been wanting to do for awhile now. I have quite a few followers that are not as knowledgeable about makeup and tools and such, so I decided that I would do some posts about the different types of tools, makeup, etc, just to help them out. So for those of you who already know a lot about this stuff, these posts probably will bore you, but hopefully for some you can learn a thing or two :)

Oh, and one more thing: I am not a professional nor am I claiming to be, everything that I write about is from my own personal experiences and from many years of learning from others. Please do not take any of what I say as the ways you "have" to do things, these are just tips to help those people out who are in need of some clarification. Thanks!

Now onto the first lesson: Face Brushes

There are a million different brushes and a million different brands to choose from. I don't necessarily agree that you have to buy only expensive brands because I only have drugstore brands and they work fine for me. I don't have the money to buy high end brushes, and even if I did, I probably wouldn't, just because I don't feel the need to. But the choice is up to you, if you feel like they would be better quality for you, then by all means, go for it! Use whatever you will be comfortable with, it's your face after all. Sonia Kashuk has really great brushes, to me they are just as high end as department store brands but without the price tag. Target and Wal Mart have both been coming out with some really good brushes too.

Here is a breakdown of the more common face brushes that are used for everyday, you don't necessarily need all of them, especially if you are a beginner to makeup, but this will help explain what they are each used for.

(These are my own brushes, sorry they are so dirty, they are due for another washing!)

 1.) Large Powder Brush

The large powder brush is generally used to sweep loose powder over your foundation to set your makeup. Certain powder brushes can be used to buff in mineral makeup, but these tend to be denser and have smaller bristles. Look for a powder brush that has medium density and long fluffy bristles.

2.) Foundation Brush

Foundation brushes are usually used with cream or liquid foundations. These brushes usually have long tapered bristles that are longer and rounded towards the middle and lay flat. They are densely packed and are used to pick up the foundation and spread it across the face in sweeping motions. To avoid streaking, try crisscrossing your strokes while you're blending.
 3.) Concealer Brush

Concealer brushes are used for, what else, applying concealer to your under eyes, around your nose, mouth, and anywhere else you need concealer. They have short tapererd bristles and are also densely packed. They are actually very similar to foundation brushes, just a lot smaller.
 4.) Stippling brush

 This brush can be used for a variety of tasks. You can use it to stipple on foundation for an airbrushed look, apply a light wash of blush to the apples of your cheeks, or buff in your loose powder. I personally use it for my foundation and blush applications. Stippling brushes (also called duo fiber brushes) have two sets of bristles, one longer than the other,  which allow you to pick up two layers of product and disperse as sheer or heavy coverage as you desire.
 5.) Airbrush foundation brush

There are several types of different airbrushes, all designed to give your face a smooth finish. This is the one I have. It has short bristles and is very dense. I use it to buff in my liquid foundation. Although it does take a bit more work to use, the results are a very smooth and flawless face. The other airbrushes I have seen look very similar to powder brushes and have rounded fluffy heads.

6.) Angled Blush Brush

Use this to apply blush or bronzer into the hollows of your cheek for a more defined look. The brushes have tapered bristles that are longer on one end, which allows for better contouring.
 7.) Blush Brush

This is used to apply blush directly to the apples of your cheeks. They usually have smaller rounded heads with medium density. Since they are usually pretty small, they can be used to highlight as well.
 8.) Flat Top Blush Brush

These are used to buff blush directly onto the apples of your cheeks. They have very densely packed bristles that are the same length across. You have to be careful with these because since they are so dense, they disperse a lot of product in one spot, so be prepared to blend a lot when using one. For me, the head on this brush is a little too small for my taste, I prefer ones that are a bit wider and fluffier for my blush.
9.) Kabuki Brush

Kabuki brushes are short and fat :) They are very dense with medium length rounded bristles and almost no handle which gives you full control of it. Some range from very tiny with shorter bristles, to medium size with longer fluffier heads. They are generally used for buffing in powder products, such as mineral foundation, loose powders, or bronzer.
 10.) Fan Brush

These are called fan brushes for obvious reasons. :P You can use them to wipe away any eyeshadow fallout or to highlight your cheekbones. They can also be used to gently sweep a light layer of color onto your cheeks.

And there you have it, your first lesson is over! Obviously there are many other brushes, but these are ones that I feel are the most commonly used in everyday routines. As I said, you don't have to use all of them, I think the most useful ones to have are the powder, blush, stippling, and kabuki brushes, since you can pretty much multitask with any of them.

Well I really hope you enjoyed this post, learned something new, and look forward to your next lesson!

Until then,