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

• Foundation
• Concealer
• Cheeks
• Powder

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.

1. What concealer is — and what it isn't (3 min)
2. The two-shade rule: blemish vs under-eye (4 min)
3. Under-eye concealer — the technique (4 min)
4. Blemish concealer — before and after foundation (4 min)
5. 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