How to Use Color Correcting on Your Skin

No one wakes up and looks likes Beyonce does.  It is all about the skincare, makeup and color correcting.  Color correcting concealers are designed to hide skin imperfections like redness, dullness and discoloration.  Many people with just slight skin discoloration issues can be managed by your foundation and concealer, but if you're looking for that perfect airbrushed skin, using a color correcting concealer will be the magician that you need.

Identify the Problem Areas

First identify where you need correcting. Look at yourself in the mirror in natural lighting. Look at your under-eye area, around your nose and eyes.  Do you have dark shadows, yellow tones and redness.  Below will give you the complete detail on what colors are right for you and what consistency of concealer is good based on your skin. Just like with all makeup and skincare products, sometimes it is trial and error until you find the right product for your skin.

Consistency Of Product

Choosing the right color correcting concealer for you comes down to two things: color and consistency. Make sure you are getting the right consistency and hue for what you are looking to conceal. If you have an extreme case of discoloration, you'll need a heavier product with a more intense hue. To even out mild to moderate discoloration you'll want a sheerer formula in a softer hue.  Complementary colors, or opposites on the color wheel, cancel each other out.  See the color wheel, if you suffer from dark/blueish under your eyes go straight across the wheel and it shows that orange that is the color you should be using to cancel out your darkness.

Do you Suffer From That Fatigue Look?

Pinks work wonders for brightening up dull skin, most eye primers have a brightening effect for tired skin use the pink tones. Other pink color-correcting primers not only give a glow to tired skin, but also work to actually improve skin's tone and texture. Try applying a pink shade to your brow bones and inner corners of your eyes for an instant pick-me-up.

Do you Have Hyperpigmentation and Mild Redness?

Yellow hues are your go-tos for canceling out hyperpigmentation, purple tones and all-over mild redness in your skin. To neutralize a spotty complexion, look for a multi-functioning palette that features a yellow cream to neutralize and cancel out dark spots and a yellow powder to set any corrections made and even out skin tone. I will provide some options below for palettes.  When using a color-correcting palette, it's best to use color-coded sponges like the mini beauty blenders, which are made for smaller areas where we commonly color correct like the under-eyes and sides of the nose, to keep colors from blending together and hindering their performance.

Do you Have Dark Circles Under Your Eyes?

Use peach shades since these hues counteract the grey-blue tones in dark under-eye circles. The deeper the skin tone, the darker the peach should be.  Darker skin tones work best with orange shades.  Some of the options out there have features that have light-reflecting pearls to blur the look of imperfections and hide any circles, spots or scars

Do you Have Dull Skin Appearance?

Purple tones are best for giving a fresh, illuminated glow to dull looking skin. Use shades of lilac and pink to combat any dullness, eliminating the appearance of any unsightly pores or blemishes before you even reach for your foundation. For a more targeted approach to dull spots, some face primers have caffeine and alone as their main ingredients that work overtime to soothe discoloration and protect the skin.  Apply lavender shades to the center of your forehead, on your chin and all the way down your nose to brighten sallowness.

Do you Have Redness?

Green color correctors are the best ones to cancel out redness on the skin. To even out large areas of redness and rosacea, adding a few drops of a liquid color corrector into your moisturizer so it evenly spreads all over is a nice option. To treat concentrated areas of redness, like around the nose and lips, or in between eyebrows, use a color corrector that allows a precise application and easy blending.

To Summarize:

Yellow: Corrects mild redness on all skin types. Also cancels blue or purple tones (from bruises or broken capillaries)
Green: Neutralizes intense redness on all skin types. Perfect for covering rosacea, mild sunburn, acne, dermatitis, birthmarks, ruddy skin and rashes
Purple/Lavender: Cancels dark under-eye circles and brightens dullness (by neutralizing unwanted dull yellow undertones) on light to tan/olive medium skin.
Pink/Salmon: Covers dark under-eye circles and brightens dullness on pale, fair to light skin.
Peach/Apricot: Cancels dark under-eye circles and covers hyperpigmentation, dark spots, acne scars or bruises on light to medium skin.
Orange: Cancels dark under-eye circles and covers brown spots, acne scars or (blue) bruises on medium tan to deep skin.
Red: Cancels dark under-eye circles and dark spots on very deep skin.
Blue: Brightens sallowness and hyperpigmentation on fair to light skin. Also cancels out any orange discoloration (like overly orange self-tanner stains)

Color Correcting Palettes:

Make Up For Ever $40

NYX $12

Stila $45

Tarte $45

Other options not in palette form:



L'Oreal Magic BB Cream - comes in a variety of colors $10.99

Maybelline Cover Stick comes in a variety of colors $5.99

Becca Jars $30

Urban Decay Naked Fluid $28.00

Lancôme Miracle CC Cushion - $39.50

Make Up For Ever Primer $37

Smashbox Foundation Primer $39

NYX Concealer in a Jar - in a variety of colors $4.99

I hope that this information has been helpful for you to get the perfect skin that you want.  There are so many other brands out there so try away to see what would be best for you!  Happy Concealing!