We have all had bad skin days, where we have had dark under eye circles, spots or redness, and it always seems to happen on the one day that we would like to look our best.  

The more that we stress about it, the worse our skin seems to get. 

Often unsightly thread veins on our cheeks seem to pop up overnight, or a great big spot on your forehead or nose can leave you feeling self-conscious. 

As we may be looking at springtime fashion and fresh make-up looks, I thought it would be a good time to look at how to create a flawless looking skin, with the little help of my make-up must have, the trusty concealer. 

Flawless looking skin can make you look younger and fresher and often requires less make-up in general. 

For people with problematic skin a little more product and skill may be required, but luckily for us there is a multitude of great products to help and lots of easily accessible advice online.  

Start with the basics
Although I am talking about problems with our skin that we may want to hide, I have to point out that I nearly always believe in the theory that prevention is better than cure. Look after your skin well in the first place to reduce future problems. 

  • A basic skincare routine and a good sunscreen can really help, make sure that they are the correct products for your skin type.  
  • If your skin is dehydrated, there may be visible dehydration lines, which can be difficult to cover up and your make-up will never look as good as it would if your skin was nice and hydrated.
  • If you suffer from inflamed acne, eczema or any problematic skin condition, don’t just leave it, get professional help from your GP or a skin specialist.  Thread veins and birthmarks can now be treated with a variety of laser treatments, so if it concerns you do get advice.

Problems to hide
First of all, skincare and make-up is not a one size fits all. 

  • There can be a variety of skin problems that can seem to block the pathway to a flawless looking skin, for this reason it is important that you know your skin type and condition in order to make a start, then when you have had a good look in the mirror, look at the areas that you would like to highlight and the areas you would like to conceal. 
  • Look out for dark circles, pimples, thread veins, birth marks, sunspots that you may want to hide. 
  • Some of these problems can be corrected permanently, but while we are on lockdown we can use some clever make-up tricks to conceal them and create an even and flawless looking skin.
  • It is imperative if you want a natural and even skin that you choose the correct concealer and foundation. You need to choose a shade to match your skin tone and colour and also the correct texture to suit the area of the skin that you are concealing.

Time to conceal
The thing to avoid is choosing a concealer that looks dry and cakey, a buildable concealer should cover most things and gives the option of heavier coverage where you need it. 

It should be easy to blend and feel comfortable on the skin, while hiding the pesky problems rather than highlighting them. 

Once you have chosen the right concealer for you, it is important to know how to apply it.

Step1:  Prepare your skin by cleansing and toning the skin thoroughly, make sure that the night before you have exfoliated to create a smooth canvass. 
Make sure you apply your regular moisturiser and if it is a daytime make-up apply your sunscreen.  
For extra good results you could use a primer after this stage.

Step2:  Use your regular foundation or tinted moisturizer.  If there is a tough problem to conceal, sometimes I apply concealer to the area, then application of foundation followed by concealer.  I certainly do this if using a green concealer to counteract redness or very high color or thread veins on the cheeks. 

Step3:  Using either your ring fingers or a concealer brush, conceal from corners of the under eyes and outwards, go right up to the lash line, I suffer with terrible dark circles so I will often include my eyelids too. I tend to stipple with my ring finger, but it really is personal choice.

Step 4:  Conceal any blemishes, thread veins or dark spots, just stipple over or blend with your brush. You need good lighting and sometimes a magnifying mirror helps.  At this point you can then contour or apply blusher and highlighter

Step 5:  When you are happy with the look, set with face powder.  

Problem solvers

If you have thread veins on the leg, birth marks or even tattoos and want to conceal them there are some great heavy-duty products on the market such as Keromask and Airbrush Legs, just research to find the best shade and product for you.

There are also some great creams and products that help to reduce redness, particularly if you suffer from high colour.  I must say though if your high colour is due to acne rosacea or thread veins than it is worth having them treated professionally.  I have seen great results on reducing or getting rid of thread veins.

Invest in more than one concealer if you have different areas to conceal, for instance a lighter one for general as you can highlight with this too and then a heavier one for blemishes, you may also need a green one to neutralise redness.

My top concealers

  •  IT Cosmetics 
  • Laura Mercier
  • Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat 
  • Artdeco, They also do a camoflauge range which is great.
  • Clinique 

All of the companies do a variety of textures and colors.  
I have fallen in love with IT Cosmetics, the concealer provides fantastic coverage, without creasing and lasts well too. It has products to suit mature skin or a young teenage skin,  and their BYE BYE under eye is a fantastic full coverage, anti-ageing and waterproof concealer. Great value for money too.