By face product · Sub-chapter 02
Targeted use only — under-eye, blemish, redness. The two-shade rule, the setting question, and when to stop.
142 how-to's · Updated 29 April 2026 · Avg. 4 min per piece · Edited by Nelly · Beauty & Style Director
Editor's note
Concealer is a targeted tool. If you're using it edge-to-edge, you wanted foundation. The job of concealer is correction in a specific place: under the eye, over a blemish, across a red patch. Use it well and it disappears. Use it poorly and it announces itself. Below is everything we've published: the shade logic, the two-use question, how to set it without creasing, and what not to do.
Other face products
What concealer is actually for
Concealer is a corrector — a higher-pigment, more concentrated formula than foundation, meant to neutralise or cover a specific area. It is not a foundation alternative. Used in the right spot, at the right amount, it does work that foundation can't.
Myth, meet fact
- Myth: Concealer should be lighter than your foundation. Fact: For under the eye, one shade lighter can brighten. For blemishes and redness, match your foundation exactly — lighter concealer highlights texture.
- Myth: You set concealer the same way you set foundation. Fact: Under-eye concealer needs a very light hand with powder — or none. The skin there is thin and dry. Too much setting powder exaggerates lines.
- Myth: More concealer covers more. Fact: Past a thin, even layer, concealer sits on top rather than blending in. A second thin layer works better than a thick first one.
The beginner's path
Five pieces, in order. Around eighteen minutes. Enough to sort your shade and your technique.
- What concealer is — and what it isn't (3 min)
- The two-shade rule: blemish vs under-eye (4 min)
- Under-eye concealer — the technique (4 min)
- Blemish concealer — before and after foundation (4 min)
- Setting concealer — or not (3 min)
Everything we've published on concealer
- Under-eye concealer — the triangle method
- The two-shade rule
- Concealer that doesn't crease — the setting approach
- Colour correction before concealer — when to bother
- Blemish concealing without highlighting the texture
- Concealer shade: the jaw-match rule
- The tap technique — why pressing beats blending
- Concealer sequence: before or after foundation?
- When concealer is doing foundation's job
- Liquid vs cream concealer — the difference in use