Cam•ou•flage (kam-uh-flahzh) verb Concealment by means of disguise designed to deceive or hide. 🕵️♀️
Foundation, concealer, neutralizer, corrector, camouflage makeup – what’s the difference? 🤷♀️ Concealing and camouflaging is the thing, but!
→ What are concealers actually for?
→ When should I use one?
→ What about those funny colored green, pink, and lilac makeup creams?
→ How can I use concealer on under-eye circles without looking like a raccoon – or worse than when I started?
→ Will concealer cover a scar or a skin condition?
Essentially, you need to know: ⬇
• Each kind of makeup including foundation, concealer, neutralizer/corrector, and camouflage has a distinct texture, covering ability and purpose.
• All of them conceal to a degree depending on what you want to hide or cover. Selecting the right concealer type and shade for your particular “challenge” and learning how to apply correctly really isn’t tricky once you know a little about each of them.
Terms of Concealment 👩🏻💼 (Let’s talk concealing and camouflaging)
FOUNDATION is the most basic makeup, and by nature generally lighter in consistency and coverage than dedicated concealers. Foundation is available in jars, tubes and compacts. A skin matched foundation may be all you need to even out your skin tone, conceal minor discolorations, or cover up a simple flaw
or blemish. Choose a foundation formulated for your skin type; moisturizing for dry and non-oily for everyone else.
CONCEALER makeup is thicker in consistency, more opaque than foundation and better for actually concealing. It comes in a wide range of skin shades and can be found in tubes, compacts, roll- up sticks and pencils. Concealer should smooth on easily and not be too thick, dry, cakey or goopy.
COLOR NEUTRALIZER also called corrector, not a natural skin shade but rather a pale color – like peach, rose, green yellow and lavender. It’s meant to be used under or mixed with foundation or moisturizer. Neutralizers act as a kind of “insurance policy”
to block out unwanted discoloration that might show through makeup during the day. A neutralizer is an excellent base for covering extremely dark circles, bruising and for blocking redness.
TRUE CAMOUFLAGE MAKEUP is different – it’s more opaque, by using more pigment, and much heavier in consistency than a foundation or concealer. It also comes in a range of skin-tone shades. Because of its thicker consistency, camouflage makeup is not normally suitable for the eye area. Use only where it’s needed. It’s serious coverage.
TINTED MOISTURIZERS are perfect for those who need just a little neutralizing or simply want a veil of color without makeup.
LIGHT-REFLECTIVE FORMULAS Today, the newest concealers boasts light-reflecting ingredients. These products rely less on heavy pigments and more on micronized mica quartz, pearl and titanium dioxide which all have light reflecting qualities. They’re also thinner in consistency than traditional concealer formulas. In the opinion of many makeup artists this kind of concealer is good for minor problems, but tends to be less effective for very dark or discolored areas.
MINERAL MAKEUP A story of its own. It all started in the 70s; I had the privilege of being involved with the first Mineral Makeup; a cosmetic called “Indian Earth” where I was the training director for people demonstrating the product. They learned from me, and in turn taught the public, “The Art of Mineral Makeup”. This type of product was never seen before and became a huge success.
Fast forward 30 years and minerals are mainstream, highly marketed and categorized as “makeup that is good for your skin”. True “Mineral Makeup” is a natural resource from the earth, finely ground without chemicals, dyes and preservatives. It contains titanium dioxide, and zinc oxide, which provide “natural sun blocks, plus mica which gives shine.
“Today, you want to be aware that many products are fortified with other ingredients which are not true minerals,” says the creator, Diane Ranger. “Make sure to look at the ingredients and choose carefully. While some love this type of makeup, others note that it dries out the skin and accentuates wrinkles. Try it and see if it works for you.”