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beauty lessons:
Everything you wanted to know about the brilliant beauty essential.
Written by PRIYA RAO
Liquid
Cream
Delicate
Combination
For skin that is equally sensitive, normal, and tense, or some amalgamation of the three, Storey suggests Laura Mercier’s Secret Camouflage, an iconic concealer, which creates a natural base layer for foundation and powder. “You can paint it nicely into the skin like a watercolor, and it gently sinks in,” she says. “Just make sure you’ve moisturized all over before.”
Dry
Pale
Fairer skin is usually associated with cool undertones, like pink, red or blue. “You can see veins under this type of skin more easily,” says Sheriff. To get rid of the grey coloration, she suggests using Urban Decay Naked Skin, NARS Radiant Creamy concealer, or Dior Diorskin Nude concealer.
Warmer skin tends to have golden yellow or green undertones. Storey adores the Tom Ford Traceless Foundation Sticks used as concealers, as well as Laura Mercier’s Secret Camouflage. “Both Tom Ford and Laura Mercier have a range of colors for all skin shades that blend beautifully,” she says. For her part, Sheriff suggests Urban Decay Naked Skin concealer, which she uses on Henson and herself, and Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer.
Dark
Darker complexions have deeper undertones, like in the purple family. “Think of women with skin like Lupita Nyong’o or Tika Sumpter,” says Sheriff. “If you’re in that range, I would choose products that are more generated towards African Americans specifically,” she says. “I love Black Opal.
APPLICATION
A heavy-handed approach is ill advised in employing concealer—less, in this case, is actually more. Storey suggests using it just in the dark area of the eye, especially the corner, and around the nose and chin if there is redness. Rather than swiping the concealer into the skin, she presses it upward with a firm, flatter concealer brush, like the Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage brush or the Chanel Pinceau Correcteur Concealer brush.
After a long day, you may get the impulse to re-apply concealer before you head to your evening festivities (cocktails, anyone?), but Sheriff says to proceed with caution. “Concealer is so thick and flaky naturally, if you reapply at night it will look too cakey,” she says. Instead, use a cleansing cloth to wipe the area and start over like it is bright and early in the morning.
SEASONALITY