Here at MDC, we believe the best makeup enhances, not masks, your natural beauty. That being said, sometimes enhancement starts with a little coverage…to help us learn how to cover anything—from blemishes, to dark circles to tattoos—we enlisted the expertise of Diane Koury, National Training Director, Dermablend Professional.

Prep and Prime

Before covering anything, prep work is key. Koury advises that you “always begin with properly cleansed, exfoliated/toned & hydrated skin, then use a makeup primer immediately before coverage to ensure a flawless application.”

Banish Blemishes

When searching for the right product to conceal blemishes, Koury recommends you “match the color to the skin tone of the face (versus the shade used for under-eye dark circles, which is normally lighter or brighter than facial skin tone). For spot coverage only, gently dab concealer directly over the blemish and set with setting powder. If you’re using an all-over foundation, apply that first and then follow with concealer.”

“For all-over blemishes, use a high pigment foundation, like Dermablend Cover Crème Foundation, and finish with a setting powder,” Koury suggests.

Ditch Dark Circles

As mentioned above, when covering dark circles, Koury suggests you opt for a concealer that’s slightly brighter than your facial skin tone but be careful not to go too bright, as “too light of a color will make the under-eye area appear ashen.” After applying concealer, “use a highlighting illuminator product to brighten the area,” she advises.

Hide Tattoos

If you need to conceal some ink, “color match directly next to the tattoo not on the tattoo to select correct shade,” Koury Says. To begin, “apply a tattoo primer (like Dermablend Leg and Body Tattoo Primer) beforehand if the ink is intensely hued or there is an extreme contrast between the tattoo and the shade of body skin (i.e. black tattoo on ivory skin).” Next, use a foundation brush to “feather concealer into surrounding skin between layers to avoid obvious demarcation lines,” Koury says. To give your coverage longevity, “lightly powder between layers of concealer, and finish with a generous amount of setting powder, allowing it to set for 2 minutes, then brushing off the excess.”

Have any other concealer questions for our MDC experts? Leave them below in the comments!

Photo: Thinkstock