Corrective Concealers 101
Have you ever seen concealers or makeup primers that are colored orange, purple, or even green? If you've ever thought that these unusually colored items look like they belong in a child's art supply kit and not on your face, then you're not alone. Although corrective concealers can be intimidating they are extremely useful if used correctly!
The purpose of corrective concealers and primers is to neutralize the color of the skin and cancel out any discoloration like redness, dark circles, hyper pigmentation, or tattoos coverings.
If you've ever applied foundation and still have scars or redness that are still visible it's because a corrective concealer is needed.
Applying layers of foundation can create a cakey look. It's best to neutralize the effected area.
Here are the most common color correctors and when to use them:
Orange: Great for neutralizing hyper pigmentation from acne scars or dark circle around the eyes and lips in medium to deep tones
Green: Used to correct redness. Sun burn, red blemishes, rosacea, or broken capillaries
Peach/Salmon: Grey or blue shadows typically seen under the eyes
Purple: Not common, but neutralizes yellow tones in the skin which can be caused by illness or yellow bruising
Blue: Corrects rich deep orange tones like ones from a bad day at the tanning bed. I like to remember by saying "you only go TANNING on a nice sunny BLUE sky day"
Yellow: The safest color to correct with. Great for all skin tones. Neutralizes purplish under eye circles.
How To:
Corrective concealers are most effective when applied under foundations or a skin toned concealer. The goal is to correct discoloration first so that you can begin application with a neutral canvas.
Apply only to the effected areas.
Depending on the size of the area you can use your finger of a makeup sponge.
It's important to adjust your corrective color to the shade of your skin. For example, there are many different shades of orange concealer. Someone with a deeper skin tone should use a deep orange concealer.
Color correcting is not always necessary. Use accordingly when needed.
For a more in depth explanation, I recommend studying color theory which is great for any makeup artist.
Hope this helps!