We’ve all been there: you wake up feeling great, you look in the mirror, and are horrified to see that the tiny dot from last night has grown into a full blown pimple. After suppressing your urge to pop it prematurely, you tackle the hardest task of all: covering it up enough to get you through the day. While I do have the odd little break out every now and then, my main enemy is the monthly cystic pimple that I have been getting for years. They hurt, they last far too long and they are a bitch to hide. I thought I would make a post all about how I manage to keep my bad break outs concealed during the work day, let’s get started!
Step 1: The Perfect Primer
I used to think that I could just throw concealer at a pimple and leave it at that, only to be disappointed when that concealer was gone an hour later. As soon as I started applying a nice, tacky primer I noticed the longevity of my face make up greatly increased. When I have a bad pimple, I like to use either a very sticky primer like the J.One Jelly Pack to really grab onto the concealer, or a pore smoothing one like the No Poreblem Primer from Touch in Sol to give me a smoother base to work with. I have oily skin so these primers work for me, but if you have dry skin you may want to add a touch of moisturizer to your spot to quell any flakiness that concealer may grab onto.
Make Up For Ever Step 1 Skin Equalizer Smoothing Primer $37.00
Touch in Sol No Poreblem Primer $18.00
E.L.F Prep & Blur Face Primer Stick $8.00
Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser $6.99
Laura Gellar Spackle Mattifying Under Make Up Primer $32.00
Step 2: The Heavy Duty Concealer
Obviously the most important part: the concealer itself. I used to use whatever concealer I was applying under my eyes to cover up my blemishes, and it just wasn’t working for it. If a concealer is smooth and creamy enough to sit nicely under my eyes, chances are it won’t last on a pimple. Now I like to stick to a much waxier, heavy duty formula for my spot concealing. My all time favorite is the NARS pot concealer, but I can really use any thick concealer. I add just a dot to my blemish, I really don’t need much product at all. Another thing I’ve found is that whatever concealer I use under my eyes is usually a few shades lighter than my skin tone, but when I spot conceal I really want the concealer to match my skin perfectly. Why would I want to highlight my pimple??
Laura Mercier Secret Concealer $27.00
Catrice Camouflage Cream $5.99
Benefit Boi-ing Industrial Strength Concealer $22.00
M.A.C Studio Finish SPF 35 Concealer $22.00
NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer $30.00
Milani Conceal + Perfect All-In-One Concealer Kit $6.99
Step 3: The Right Brush
You won’t find anyone that loves their Beauty Blender as much as me, but when it comes to covering a big pimple, you need to drop the sponge and pick up a small, dense buffing brush. I use the Sephora Collection brush to lightly buff out the concealer, it keeps all the product on my face while still blending it out into a more natural look. Sponges tend to pick up a lot of product and they cover more space, and I always have difficulty getting the full coverage I want on a pimple when I use one. I add a touch of product directly to the pimple, then I use my dense brush in light, downward strokes until I get the desired level of concealment.
Sephora Collection PRO Airbrush Detail Brush #57 $24.00
Morphe M173 Mini Buffer Brush $5.00
Real Techniques Expert Concealer Brush $6.99
Kat Von D Lock-It Edge Concealer Brush $24.00
Urban Decay The Finger Brush $26.00
NYX Professional Makeup Pro Precision Buffing Brush $12.99
Step 4: The Matte Setting Powder
And last but not least, the matte setting powder! I have oily skin, so powder is my best friend. I usually powder my entire face with a big fluffy brush once I am done applying all my foundation and concealer, but I was noticing that my concealer was still slipping off throughout the day. Once I started taking a very small brush and packing some matte loose powder directly onto my break outs, I found my concealer was lasting much longer. You can do this with both loose and pressed powder, but I prefer how natural the loose powder looks on top of a heavy duty concealer.
Milk Makeup Blur + Set Matte Loose Setting Powder $29.00
Huda Beauty Easy Bake Loose Baking & Setting Powder $34.00
NYX Mineral Set It Don’t Fret It Matte Finishing Powder $9.99
Flower Beauty Miracle Matte Translucent Finishing Powder $10.99
Cover FX Matte Setting Powder $35.00
Let me know your tips and tricks for covering up a bad break out!
Glowingly yours,
Jess
