Starting Off: Concealer

I hoped you all enjoyed my first installment of #theSOproject last week on Skincare, I'm now bringing you the latest part of the project which is all about concealers! As teenagers we've all had to endure breakouts and waking up to huge, angry, embarrassing spots that we'd wish would disappear before we headed off to school or college. Even now, we still strive to have blemish free skin and to cover up any imperfections that may appear due to stress, being run down or a sleepless night. For both teenagers and adults, concealers can be our best friends as a quick fix to perfect our skin, a little bit of concealer in the right places can be a great confidence booster, especially for young teenagers experiencing spots for the first time. My concealer collection at the minute is shockingly bad due to a clear out to get rid of old products, so at the minute I only have one, and it's a pretty basic concealer at that! So I am going to share with you concealers I have used over the past few years and the best way to use them for different skin blemishes and imperfections.

To cover small blemishes

Rimmel Hide The Blemish Concealer £3.99

Sometimes we have small blemishes on our skin such as small or healing spots and uneven skin tone, nothing drastic but these can be easily taken care of with a concealer stick such as this Hide The Blemish Concealer by Rimmel. I have often used this as it is very affordable and has a good coverage, it easily camouflages small imperfections and blends with your skin tone. This product works exactly like a lipstick, you simply twist the bottom and apply the concealer to the problem areas, then using a concealer brush or clean fingers, simply blend the concealer on top of and around the blemish so you are not left with obvious bold circles - this would probably draw more attention to your blemishes than not covering it up at all! The polka dot trend is better on your clothes than on your face. I wouldn't recommend using a concealer stick around your eyes as the product is quite thick and will drag around the delicate eye area and pull the skin.

To neutralise angry spots and rosy skin

Natural Collection Corrector Stick £1.99

Some skin blemishes are a bit harder to hide completely, especially angry spots and areas of unwanted rosy skin. My skin definitely has pink undertones and the skin on my chin and cheeks is definitely a lot pinker than I would like it to be! It may sound strange but the best remedy is to use green make-up! I know it may seem strange but it really does work. When green concealer such as this Natural Collection Corrector Stick is applied to rosy skin and spots, the green neutralises and corrects the red to a more neutral colour, instantly reducing the prominence of spots and flushed skin and making them less noticeable. Simply apply the same way as normal concealer and when applied under foundation you will never know you were wearing green make up!

I must stress that you shouldn't use these green concealer sticks on the whole of your face as they will only neutralise the red areas - when applied to other areas it will unnecessarily drain the rest of your face of colour and make you look a bit ill! But it is perfectly fine to use on spots and small areas of red skin but don't feel the need to over do it and apply it to areas of your face that don't need correcting. If you would like to know products that you can use on the whole of your face to reduce redness without the problem of draining colour, then stay tuned for next week's Foundation installment which will include these CC Creams!

To illuminate and hide dark circles/fine lines

L'Oreal Paris True Match Touche Magique Concealer £8.19

We've all been there when we are cramming for exams until the small hours of the morning, we've had a late night out or simply we have just had a restless nights sleep. Any of these events can easily show on our face the next morning, leaving us looking tired and worn out. This L'Oreal Touche Magique Concealer Pen not only hides blemishes and dark circles under your eyes but can also illuminate your skin giving you a healthy radiant glow. You can also apply this under your eyebrows and along your cheekbones to achieve a more contoured and dimensional look. Liquid Concealer pens like this are better to use around your eyes rather than sold sticks as they are easier to apply and create less stress on the sensitive eye area. At £8.19 this is a cheaper alternative to YSL Touche Eclat and is ideal to try before investing in premium products.

I have also found that this product is ideal for covering fine lines and scars - I have a scar down my chin and this product seems to really reflect the light and makes my scar less noticeable, which is always a plus! As my scar is on my face it does make me quite self conscious, even though people say they wouldn't even notice unless I pointed it out - Though I like using this product for that extra sense of security so that I can forget it is even there! To use, simply twist the end until the liquid concealer appears on the end of the brush and apply to your skin and blend. Make sure that you wash the brush quite frequently otherwise it will dry up, clog and will be less effective at achieving a smooth blended finish. I've had to throw one of these away before because I didn't wash it enough, yes it can be a bit of a faff, but it will prevent you from having to bin it and wasting your money.

I hope you found my concealer post helpful and showed you that there are different concealers for different blemishes! If you are part of #theSOproject then please leave your links so I can see what Concealers you recommend!

Amie xx