Take Cover! Quick-Fix Tips for Concealing Acne, Aging, and More
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No one’s perfect - but with the right products, you can look and feel your best!
Acne and scars
Waking up with a new acne blemish - bleugh! Frustrated, many people reach straight for the concealer when dealing with acne scars or a breakout, but using a primer first will make the next few products you apply even more effective. Too Faced ‘Primed and Poreless' Skin Smoothing Face Primer is a big favorite with makeup artists: it smooths and brightens the skin, filling pits and diminishing pores, and so allowing your foundation to glide on effortlessly. Follow with concealer for maximum coverage (yes, that’s right - apply your foundation before your concealer for the best results!).
Your concealer should actively work to improve your skin while masking your blemishes - for instance, Murad Acne Treatment Concealer is rich in salicylic acid and won’t make your skin dry and flakey while it’s covering and fighting existing spots. It comes in a creamy stick for easy application. We also love Clinique Acne Solutions Clearing Concealer - it contains a green tint to reduce redness and is medicated to “conceal as it heals”. Apply with a tapping, rather than stroking, motion for best results.
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Redness and Dark Spots
Blotchy skin, uneven pigmentation and dark spots can show up through even the most perfectly-applied foundation. Why? Because they need a color-correcting product to bring their appearance in-line with the rest of your skin before your regular makeup goes on! Green and yellow are the go-to’s for helping to neutralise redness, while peachy shades will help to offset darkness. Smashbox’s Photo Finish Color Correcting Foundation Primer will help to get your skin selfie-ready; it suits all skin types and contains a green tint to balance out blotchiness. Simply apply a thin layer to the whole face or just the problematic areas and allow it about 15 seconds to set.
Follow up with a product like Dermablend’s Smooth Indulgence Redness Concealer - its fluid, green-tinted formula blends beautifully to color-correct redness and rosacea. Hyperpigmentation - darker patches and spots - are another beauty bugbear and can be caused by sun damage and hormonal changes: bareMinerals Correcting Concealer SPF20 is brilliant for covering these up, as well as hiding dark under-eye circles. With a creamy consistency that makes it easy to blend, it contains powerful botanicals to diminish the appearance of dark patches over time, plus its SPF content minimises the risk of further sun damage.
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Aging spots and gray eyebrows
As you age, you're probably already touching up your roots and covering your grays on a regular basis, but don’t forget about your eyebrows - simply pulling out the white ones when you come across them will only result in patchy, sorry-looking brows, and in this day of statement brows, that is not the statement that you want to be making! Maintain your brows’ shape and use a product like TouchBack Brow Marker, which will blend your grays away and give your brows a stronger, more defined look.
Age spots - also known as liver spots - are another issue affecting maturing skin, however, like sun damage, these can be neutralized and even, over time, minimized. The Obagi Nu-Derm System contains 4% prescription medication, which is generally considered to be the bee’s knees in age spot reduction but, because of this ingredient, you’ll need a prescription from your physician to buy the product. Real results can be seen within 12 weeks, with age spots diminished and brighter, more radiant skin revealed. While you’re waiting for those visible results, reach for a warming concealer, like Maybelline New York’s Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Spot Concealer. It’s got a big name, a tiny price tag - and it packs one helluva dark-spot-covering punch. With a precision applicator, it’s easy to use, doesn’t cake or settle into fine lines and, because it contains Vitamin C, is one of those fabulously hardworking products which will not only hide the problem right here and now, but also work to alleviate it over time.
Age spots - also known as liver spots - are another issue affecting maturing skin, however, like sun damage, these can be neutralized and even, over time, minimized. The Obagi Nu-Derm System contains 4% prescription medication, which is generally considered to be the bee’s knees in age spot reduction but, because of this ingredient, you’ll need a prescription from your physician to buy the product. Real results can be seen within 12 weeks, with age spots diminished and brighter, more radiant skin revealed. While you’re waiting for those visible results, reach for a warming concealer, like Maybelline New York’s Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Spot Concealer. It’s got a big name, a tiny price tag - and it packs one helluva dark-spot-covering punch. With a precision applicator, it’s easy to use, doesn’t cake or settle into fine lines and, because it contains Vitamin C, is one of those fabulously hardworking products which will not only hide the problem right here and now, but also work to alleviate it over time.
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Stretch marks and cellulite
Weight gain, weight loss, pregnancy, lifestyle choices, genetics - any of these things can contribute to the appearance of stretch marks and cellulite on your body and, while you may spend much of the time covered up in clothing - and therefore able to live in denial! - there are certain times and occasions when your body will be on show, whether at the beach or in a more intimate setting. Most experts agree that once you have cellulite, you’re stuck with it; however, that doesn’t mean that you can’t minimise its appearance by keeping your skin really well hydrated and plumped.
The CrepeErase product range, which includes an Intensive Body Repair Treatment and Ultra Hydrating Lotion, uses powerful botanicals to smooth and firm ageing skin from top to toe. Enhance these improvements by using concealer to reduce the appearance of stretch marks: Dermablend’s Leg and Body Cover provides medium coverage and contains SPF15. Use it with setting powder to keep it in place for up to 16 hours. Headed to the pool? Make sure your body concealer is waterproof - try Make Up Forever’s Full Cover Concealer, opting for a colour two shades lighter than your complexion, or blending a few shades together to create your perfect cover.
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Concealer essentials: Top product-pick for your problem area
Borghese Artista Exact Match Concealer
Blend, blend, blend - we all know that blending your concealer is the secret to seamless coverage, but blending shades will also help you to achieve the colour that’s exactly right for your skin tone. This handy little 3-in-1 pot allows you to mix to create a perfect match to cover your blemishes, as well as being creamy and moisturising, with skin-brightening Vitamin C.
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Emuaid® overnight acne treatment
We’ve all been there - there’s a big party or event this weekend and on Friday morning - eek! - you look in the mirror to discover a brand new pimple. Applying Emuaid® overnight acne treatment significantly reduces the size and redness of the blemish - even cystic acne - overnight, thanks to its hardworking combination of salicylic acid and organic sulfur) With your breakout more manageable, you can apply primer, foundation and concealer as normal - and head out to enjoy yourself without feeling self-conscious.
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IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores
Concealer works even harder to mask your imperfections when you give it a helping hand with a good primer. Bye Bye Pores is non-clogging and oil-free (after all, you don’t want to create MORE skin problems while trying to cover up the existing ones!) and has a smooth velvety texture that makes it ease effortlessly on to your skin. The result? Skin that’s more evenly textured for flawless foundation and concealer application.
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