Concealers! Are They Necessary?

  Every make up show I've watched, has the artist use concealer as part of the routine.  I've never really used it because I never knew what it was for.  To quote something out of Sound Of Music - "Start at the very beginning."

Concealers or color correction helps hide dark circles under the eyes, age spots, pores, and other. blemishes.  Concealers make your skin look better.  Furthermore, concealers are a bit thicker than foundation so they hide the imperfection better.

Concealers first appeared back in 1928 when Lydia O'Leary created a foundation to cover the port wine stain on her face.  It is said, she developed this new cosmetic because she could not get a job as a sales assistant when she moved to New York City due to the port wine stain on her face. She named it Covermark. Since the formula was easy to copy, she applied for a patent on it but was turned down, so she appealed.  Apparently during the appeal case, she removed the Covermark from her face so the judge could see her port wine stain and he granted the patent.  The other thing about Covermark is that it had to be purchased from a sales person so they could personalize the shades to make it more natural appearing.

Then in 1942, Helena Rubinstein created her own concealer with new shades designed to cover burns.  The early concealers were often pasty and looked a bit like a thin mask but over time, they became more natural. In 1952 this changed, when Harriet Hubbard Ayer released her product "Ayer Magic", a light cream based concealer.  This product was designed to be used to contour the face so shadows and hallows of the face disappeared.


In 1954, Max Factor created the first commercially available concealer called Erace which became quite popular through the 1950's and 60's. Erace came in five different colors Fair, Medium, Deep Natural, Tan, and Deep Tan.  Although it is said to be the first concealer in stick form, it was not because Covermark released their concealer in stick form back in 1938.  The big difference between Max Factor's Erace and the previous products was television.  Max Factor advertised his product on television, letting everyone know his concealer would turn a weary woman with dark circles, into a woman looking years younger.

Unfortunately, concealers only came in a few shades in the 1950's but since they were used with other forms of make up such as foundation and powders, the matches didn't need to be as precise as it had been with Covermark.  By the 1960's, most concealers were either stick, liquid, or cream form.  It was during this time, companies were able to create fine powders and soon women could purchase concealer in powder form.

Which is applied first - concealer or foundation?  The majority of makeup artists recommend you use the concealer after applying the foundation.  The reason for this is because the foundation is designed to even out skin tone while decreasing the appearance of blemishes, discoloration, or redness.  You don't really know how much concealer you will need until after the foundation is on.  Furthermore, if you use concealer first, you might move it off the intended area when smoothing the foundation on.

When using concealer, apply it to your dark under eye area by patting the concealer on all the way from the inner eye to just past the end of the eye and then blending it in with a concealer brush or a Beautyblender.  It is recommended you do not use your fingers to rub it in.  Finish with an oil free powder for all day wear.

On the other hand, for pimples, it is recommended you clean the pimple first with something like hand sanitizer or a blue light device, cover it with primer, then concealer, then foundation, your pimples will not show through.  If you have scars you are trying to cover, the type of concealer you use will be determined by the type of scar.  If you scar is flat, use a thicker matte concealer while a creamy lightweight concealer is recommended by raised scars.

Want to get rid of those dark circles under your eyes?  After you apply your foundation, cover the dark circles with a light weight peach toned concealer.  Once that is blended in, apply your normal concealer so the dark areas are well hidden.  Although fingers are easier, use a brush or Beauty Blender to make the blending more natural and better.

I hope this helps, let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.