How to Conceal Skin Conditions with Lightweight Concealer
From acne to rosacea, to melasma and eczema, dealing with skin conditions can be tough—and trying to hide them with a lightweight concealer can be even more challenging. Covering up a raised pimple requires different steps than, say, concealing a hint of darkened melasma on your cheeks. Below, Sébastien Tardif, an internationally-acclaimed makeup artist and founder of Veil Cosmetics, breaks down how to conceal various skin conditions with the best-selling Veil Cosmetics Complexion Fix Concealer.
How to conceal blemishes
When it comes to covering up pimples, the last thing you want to do is cover them up with heavy coverage all over your face. “This will only exacerbate or point to the fact that you've got blemished skin, because all you can see is skin covered with makeup,” explains Tardif. Your best bet is to use a lightweight concealer to lightly veil any blemishes on your face.
There are a few different techniques you can use when covering up pimples, but it really depends on which type of pimple you’re currently dealing with. There’s the angry red bump blemish, the blemish that is drying out with dry patches on it, or the occasional soft blemish that can easily be veiled with spot concealing.
Before covering up a pimple with a good lightweight concealer, you’ll need to cleanse your skin and lightly hydrate your face. “Any excess oil lurking on the surface and any dry patches should be avoided, as they only lead to makeup meltdowns or cakey coverage and makeup separation,” says Tardif.
Once your skin is clean and hydrated, it’s time to apply a lightweight concealer. When covering a blemish that is fresh and new, Tardif suggests using more of a touch and pat approach with concealing, letting it dry in between layers (you can use a flat brush, your clean finger, or a dense fluffy brush, like the Veil Cosmetics Dual Ended Concealer and Foundation Brush). “That way you can truly get the maximum coverage with minimum product—I never use a powder on top of any blemish coverage because it only exacerbates the dryness and the dry patches from a healing blemish and looks like you've got cakey and crunchy skin,” says Tardif.
For a blemish that’s in the process of healing, meaning there’s a dry patch of skin on top, it’s important to hydrate and moisturize before applying a good lightweight concealer. Tardif loves to use a hydrating mask on top of a blemish prior to concealing. First, let the mask seep into the skin, and then gently remove it with a makeup wipe for an “on the spot" soft surface exfoliation that gets the skin ready for a lightweight concealer on top.
When choosing a good lightweight concealer, it’s really important to find a concealer that perfectly matches your skin tone, according to Tardif. You don’t want a highlighter, which is brighter than your skin, nor do you want a corrector, which is usually darker than your natural skin tone. “That way, you are able to spot correct the blemishes and leave good skin untouched,” suggests Tardif. “If you have too many blemishes, I recommend using a lightweight concealer and mixing it with a lightweight moisturizer that's oil-free or an oil-free mixing base.” This will allow you to create a tinted moisturizer-like formula that will soften the appearance of blemishes.
Then, you can blur the appearance of the skin and the pores by using a mattifying balm, not a powder, which will only get the dryness to come to the surface. The Veil Cosmetics Automatte Mattifying Balm will smooth out and soften the surface of the skin, taking away any sort of reflection that will make your skin look like it has blemishes and texture. You want to take the texture away by smoothing out the skin surface.
How to conceal rosacea
If you struggle with rosacea, fear not—it’s actually one of the easiest skin conditions to cover up. “When applying lightweight concealer to rosacea, just make sure that your skin is freshly exfoliated, feels nice and smooth, and is well hydrated,” explains Tardif. “That way, you can build more or less coverage with the concealer, depending on the amount of rosacea that needs to be veiled.”
How to conceal eczema
Covering up eczema can be a bit tricky because, as soon as you apply weightless makeup, it looks like it’s about to dry off and creates little crusts and dry pieces of skin. “Speaking from experience, I have been a long-time sufferer of eczema, so the best way to veil eczema is to again do a gentle soft exfoliation, then layering a very mild type of hydration,” suggests Tardif. “I always recommend a light, oil-free essence first to render any following lotion more effective and deeply hydrating, as opposed to just surface hydration.”
According to Tardif, you really don’t need to use a heavy cream, which is the common mistake of those suffering from eczema; heavy oils, balms, and wax-based creams will only create more texture on the skin, and it's very hard to keep a lightweight concealer on the skin when it will either melt off or move around due to a heavy moisturizer. “It's very important to use a liquid concealer, nothing heavy in terms of coverage, because it will only peel off as the day goes by and bring more attention to the area that has eczema,” explains Tardif. “A liquid, water-based concealer is the trick that I always use to get eczema to blend and disappear.”
The benefit of using a lightweight, water-based concealer is that it’s as if it melts within the skin—almost like the eczema is not capable of recognizing that it's been covered. Therefore, it's not overworking by creating another layer of skin underneath and trying to get that layer to peel off. “You definitely want to avoid using a setting powder (opt for a self-set, lightweight liquid concealer), as a powder will exacerbate dry patches of eczema,” says Tardif.
How to conceal melasma
Unlike acne, rosacea, and eczema, which usually appear red on the skin, melasma can appear brown or a generally darker color than your skin tone. When covering up melasma with a good lightweight concealer, you first want to use a correcting concealer that has more of a peachy pink tone, depending on your skin’s undertone. “Start the process by applying a sheer layer of the corrector, then go back on top (using a stippling motion to avoid removing the coverage) with more of a highlighting shade that will make it blend with your actual skin tone,” explains Tardif. “You can also try using a lightweight foundation—a common mistake when using a corrector is to use concealer or foundation color on top to blend it, and as it warms up together, the corrector seeps through and creates a darker patch of makeup. What you want to happen is that the corrector will neutralize the dark, deep melasma tone, and then the highlighter or foundation, which should be lighter than your actual skin tone, which would make it blend back with the rest of your skin.”