Concealer 101 and my concealer collection

When I first started using makeup, I was totally flabbergasted by concealer. Foundation I understood, but what was this concealer all about? Wasn't foundation enough? Which concealer shades were best for my skin? Which concealers were best for which area of the face? It was only recently that I started investing in concealers and using them, because the whole concealer concept was just lost on me. I thought, since I always had such trouble knowing and understanding the art of concealing, some of you might also be confused. So I thought a quick explanation on concealers would be helpful. While I am at it, I will share with you my little collection on concealers as well as how I use them!

Foundation is used to even out your skin tone. I hear people all the time say that they need a full coverage foundation. No, you don't! You should not be expecting your foundation to cover blemishes and scars and dark circles! That's what concealer is for. There are a few different types of concealers, and each one is designed to do something different. Though you can use concealer in whatever fashion you see fit, here are a couple of tips.

Solid concealers- Stick concealers generally come in stick form. They tend to come in a tube like a lipstick, or else a pencil form. These are generally used to cover blemishes and scars, but are not usually great for around the eyes because they are generally not easily blended and can appear cakey when placed around the eye area.

Liquid concealers- these are generally in a squeeze tube, or in a tube with a doe foot applicator. Liquid concealer is often used to cover larger areas, such as under eye circles, or freckles. Liquid concealers tend to be good for dry skin.

Creamy Concealers- these are the most user friendly in my opinion. They tend to come in a tub type packaging or palette form. They are very creamy and easy to blend. These concealers tend to be good to under eye circles as well as blemishes, though if they are too creamy, they may settle into fine lines around the eye, so I suggest using some sort of face primer first!

Note, this is just how I use concealers. You may find that different concealers are good for different things. not all concealers are created equal. These are just some quick rules, but there are always exceptions. Just because a concealer comes in a stick form does not mean you cannot use it under the eyes, simply because I send they tend not to work well there. Use trial and error! Decide what works best for you! There are no hard and fast rules for makeup. Do what works best for you and your routine!

now, I thought I would share with you my concealer collection. I have collected a fair few. Some I use more often than others, but I thought I would share them with you, as well as my preffered way to use them.


1. Elf Flawless Face Beauty book- this little book comes with 4 shimmer creams, 4 shades of concealer, 1 bronzer and 1 blush. The concealers are all various light shades. They are creamy, but not the easiest to blend. I tend to use these on dark spots on my face. Sun spots, or acne scars. The shades of these concealers match my skin fairly well, and have a bit of a yellow tone to them, so they cover the darkness of sun spots and discoloration nicely.

2. Urban Decay 24/7 concealer pencil in CIA. This is a pencil style concealer, but the concealer itself is so easy to blend and so creamy. This might be my favorite concealer. I like to use this concealer on the inner corners of my eyes, as well as for under eye circles. This is a couple of shades lighter than my skin so it brightens up the under eye area beautifully. It can settle into the fine lines around my eyes, but I find when I use it in conjunction with a face/eye primer, it works perfectly.

3 Elf all over color stick in Ivory. This is a nice soft concealer that I like to use to blend over blemishes to cover them up. It's very soft and easily blend-able, and covers spots nicely.

4. Hard Candy glamoflauge heavy duty concealer and pencil- this is the ultimate cover everything concealer. It comes in a liquid form, and is great for covering up spots, scars and blemishes. This concealer also comes with a pencil which is perfect for covering up tattoos and scars. I usually start with the pencil and fill in anything I want to erase, and then go over it with the liquid concealer. It's great for erasing just about anything you want to cover up.

5. NYC cover stick in light- this is the hardest of all of my concealers to blend. It's got a harder consistency. It's good for scarring, and discoloration, but it does take some work to get it to blend into the skin. because of that reason, I don't use this concealer often.

6.NYC liquid concealer in light- this concealer is really liquidy. It's good for covering up large areas. I use this sometimes to cover up my sun spots, and freckles, when I am going for a really full coverage look. It's also good for under the eyes when used with a good primer. It's another concealer that is a bit lighter so it really brightens up that area.

well, that's about all for today. What is your favorite concealer?