Faster Better Makeup 2 : Concealer and Eyeliner

April 3, 2010

Blend nothing. It tugs the skin. A price will be paid for that.

Plus, it takes time I don’t want to spend on makeup.

Concealer is painted on with an angled eyeshadow brush, a narrow lipstick brush, or any brush that lets you be exact. That’s because the line where the shadow is and isn’t is very defined. If you get the concealer on the lighter skin as well as the shadowed skin, as you would with fingertips, the whole effect is dulled, if not reversed.

I use Clinique All About Eyes Light Neutral.

I give it a few minutes to set.

The ongoing debate about which goes on first, the concealer or the foundation?

I say concealer, because

once they set, the good ones stay in place quite well
they merge better with foundation to become a blended shade if the foundation goes on after
I use as little as I can in the places I apply it, and would still apply it to the same places if I were to use it after foundation
it’s just what I like but the other way works too

I apply foundation with a brush. (see Why You Need A Foudation Brush to learn why I find it so much better than any other method.)

Work around the concealer first.

If you have areas with large pores (chin, sides of nose, forehead between brows, wherever), drive the foundation brush into them end on about 5 times (I use a conical shaped brush for this, the Teint Precision brush from Lise Watier that you can see in 3 Great Makeup Brushes From Lise Watier).Finish with a light upwards slick to blend.

Finally, move quickly with 3-4 airbrushes over the concealer, trying hard to keep it where it is, and blending in the direction of the dark areas, not out onto the lighter skin or you defeat the purpose.

Use your fingertip to gently blend the concealer one last time, with a floating swipe, keeping it on the darker skin.

Let the layer coming next serve to blend the one before. It also keeps the hands off the face, a habit that I find messy and germy.

Eyeliner is done the same way.

apply the eyeliner all around where there are eyelashes
then apply the light eyeshadow over the whole lid
then the medium colour wherever you put it, AND as a layer-line over the bottom eyeliner using a small, flat-ended brush
then the darker colour, FIRST as a soft layer-line over the top eyeliner till the edges are all blurred, and then however you use it to contour

Posted by Christine Scaman | Filed Under Makeup

Comments

One Response to “Faster Better Makeup 2 : Concealer and Eyeliner”

Taji on April 5th, 2010 1:40 pm

Yes—the foundation brush—i am now a covert—it works great. But can we find an inexpensive brush holder—a folded one for when you have to take the brushes somewhere—maybe even just the other bathroom.