It’s “New Year, New Me” time, and for me, that comes with a really important question: What can I do for myself this year that will reflect some self-love? I don’t usually frame a resolution as a habit I want to form or ditch. As a mom, I give a lot of love to many people. However, in the last couple of years, I have tried to make myself a recipient of that love, even if it is just a small gesture.
This year, I have a new opportunity to show myself some kindness. I have developed adult acne rosacea. While interventions have helped, it certainly isn’t gone. I have resigned myself to accepting this new complexion as it is. Everything has a sunny side. Thanks to the bumps, bartenders think I am a teenager, and I have to produce my ID again, which feels nostalgic.
Enter makeup! Makeup can cover almost anything, including scars and tattoos. I have always loved it as a ritual, a creative expression, and now, at my age, a necessity to feel my best.
As we age, the less product we use on our skin, the more youthful we appear, and color-corrector concealers and primers allow you to achieve the “barely there” look by solving certain problems before you add the foundation. I have long used an orange/red corrector for my dark circles and now use a green corrector for my redness.
The amount of concealer and foundation you need on top of these color correctors is so minimal that it decreases the product you use overall. There is another important advantage. The “problems” don’t show up in photographs. This is high on my priority list since I work in the jewelry industry. In this era of major social media, who doesn’t want to look their best in photos, regardless of where they are shared?
Remember, skin tones matter! Color correctors differ depending on your skin tone, so keep that in mind when choosing your colors.
Dark Circles
This is Mommy Enemy Numero Uno. Orange/peach color corrector applied before your undereye concealer will neutralize your dark circle and create a color match to your cheeks below it. Apply it as if it were concealer; tap it in with your fingertips, and after about one minute, apply your concealer in the same way: dab it on, tap it in.
- Olive/dark tones: orange/red color corrector
- Light skin tones: peach color corrector
Bonus Tip: Once you’ve finished your concealer and foundation, add a yellow “brightener” to the under-eye area. On the days you have extra dark circles, this last step goes the extra mile by tapping some product on the undereye and tapping it in with your fingertips.
Redness
Redness can affect us in many ways. Either you have acne, rosacea, or, in my case, both. Add in sunburns, allergies, inflammation, and the list goes on. Our skin veers to pink and red with so many issues. Green primer and green color corrector should be in our makeup drawer year-round.
Primer with color correction built-in is the perfect way to resolve full-scale issues quickly. I use green primer and then spot-treat the bumps with the corrector concealer. Then, I wait a minute and apply the foundation all over with a makeup sponge. I use one pump of foundation, and my whole face is uniform in color. It allows my foundation to stay thinly applied and natural-looking. Green color corrector works for all skin tones equally, which makes it easy to shop for.
Skintone Changes
Sometimes, our skin can change in tone due to various factors. Illness can make us appear yellow or gray. Aging can also create gray tones in the skin and simply too many sleepless nights because of sick kids or infant sleep regressions. Primer with a corrector built into it will neutralize these issues before you add your foundation, allowing a more natural match to your foundation to occur. Using less of the foundation will enable you to retain a more natural appearance.
- Olive/dark tones: Purple or orange correcting primer
- Light skin tones: Pink correcting primer
Bonus Tip: Blurring powders lightly applied with a large brush all over help give your skin an extra smooth appearance on camera and in person. These compacts or powders are marketed as finishing powders, blurring powders, or photo-finish powders. I like the compacts over the loose powders because they allow more control of the amount of product on the brush. The key here is using very little of it because otherwise, it can create the appearance that you’ve dusted your face with white powder.
We love our families, and we love ourselves. I firmly believe that we should all love what we see in the mirror. Sure, some of that is internal work, but some of it is external, too. Thank you, color correction, for being the IRL version of a filter!
