A word from the makeup artist: concealers/correctors and why they are not in my work case

When and how concealers appeared, what is the difference between concealers and correctors, what is the difference between professional cosmetic products and why a makeup artist does not necessarily have them in his case - our expert Elena Kirichenko tells us in an incredibly interesting way.

Elena Kirichenko , professional makeup artist, experienced teacher

more than 25 years of work, YouTube blogger

The history of concealers

Recently I was surprised to discover that concealer has a long history. In a couple of years we will celebrate our centenary!

In 1928, Lydia O'Leary, an American artist and chemist, needed a concealer to hide a dark spot on her face. To create such a product, she needed three components:

• creamy base without fat;
• high concentration of pigments;
• convenient compact container.

The first point - the base of the cream - had to ensure good durability. The second point is good camouflage properties. And the third - a small jar - made it convenient to remove and apply the composition to the face.

After some time, the idea was picked up by the creators of their own brands - Helena Rubinstein, and then Max Factor. The new product was intended for spot toning/masking of problem areas of the face and body - age spots, bruises, pimples, blood vessels, etc. Hence the name “concealer”, which translated from English conceal means to hide, disguise. The concealer differed from the classic foundation in its compact packaging and neutral composition, as it was supposed to be suitable for all skin types, including the skin around the eyes.

Concealer and corrector: what's the difference?

It is no coincidence that in the title of the article I combined two products - concealer and corrector. I think, more than once, when buying a concealer, you noticed that on the tube, for example, it may say concealer, and on the paper label or on the receipt - corrector. Often the manufacturer himself gives this product the double name concealer/corrector, which is not surprising! After all, these products, so to speak, have family ties. And their goals very often coincide.

But! Naturally, proofreaders have more opportunities! After all, they have a much wider palette. Unlike concealer, which appeared as an everyday product, correctors are products from professional lines. A makeup artist has to work with models and clients of different nationalities and types, whose skin color and type are varied. Therefore, he also needs the most varied shade of foundation and concealer.

For example, a Scandinavian type has ivory skin, while a model with an African appearance has chocolate skin. For such work, the widest palette of tinting products is required. The so-called nude range of correctors - from almost white to brown - provides a professional with the opportunity to make up the face (and skin problems, if any) in the widest color spectrum.

The second, no less important function of nude correctors is the correction of the shape of the face and body. Light shades of beige are used to highlight certain areas, thus providing a more bulging effect in that area. Accordingly, dark beige shades are used in those areas where greater depth is needed. By applying, for example, a shade of corrector that is lighter than the base skin color on the upper part of the cheekbone, the border of the upper lip, and the bridge of the nose, and a darker one under the cheekbones, on the neck and along the contour of the face, the makeup artist achieves greater relief of the appearance, and therefore expressiveness. It is logical that the wider the palette for performing such techniques, the more masterly the master can work.

But the variety of corrector palettes doesn’t end there! There is a whole arsenal of so-called color correctors! White concealer is used as a highlighter or base for a mature face. Green is intended to neutralize redness on the skin. Yellow fights purple bruises under the eyes, and orange fights blue ones (bruises come in different shades!). The violet corrector is applied to yellowish areas of the skin, thus neutralizing them. Pink is used on areas with brown pigmentation. There is even a blue corrector, which, logically, should neutralize the orange color on the skin (to be honest, having such a corrector, I have never used it for its intended purpose!).

What is the difference between professional concealers/correctors?

Now let's get back to our concealers. To say that their color range is limited is an understatement. The widest range of concealers is a maximum of six shades. I heard that there are more, but I have never seen such luxury. Even in the assortment of professional brands, whose palettes are extremely diverse, we find corrector palettes that contain at least 10-12 shades. Moreover, the same brand may have only 2-3 shades of concealers.

I would also like to draw your attention to such an important feature of professional concealers as coverage, i.e. the ability to mask, camouflage, cover the base color of the skin. Professional is the key word here. Because concealers from the mass cosmetics or mastige segment (mass prestigious cosmetics, like YSL, Dior, Givenchy, etc.) may not have this quality at all. Even some cult-favorite concealers disappoint in their ability to cover up blemishes on the face. Such products have undeniable advantages - they are lightweight, not felt on the skin, and adapt to the complexion. But these advantages are also disadvantages, because such concealers practically do not mask problem areas. But the ability to cover up a spot on the skin is the most important function of concealers (remember the story with which I started talking about them?).

This difference between professional concealers and concealers from the mass segment is explained by their different areas of application. A makeup artist uses professional concealers to prepare a model’s face and body, say, for a photo shoot or catwalk show. In both cases, what is important, to use professional slang, is the picture (for photos and videos). And the picture is provided by a well-toned face, which, in turn, is achieved by applying highly pigmented products to the model’s skin.

The average buyer of a cosmetic store has a completely different goal. She uses the purchased concealer (as well as foundation) every day: to work, meeting with friends or going on a promenade. Agree, there is no need to cover your face with a thick layer of makeup in such cases. Therefore, very often foundation and concealer products from mass brands have lightweight textures.

Why are there no concealers and correctors in my case?

Here I come close to the phrase stated in the title - why there is no place for concealers/correctors in my work case. The answer lies on the surface! I'm professional. The areas in which I work are the podium, photo and video shooting, and private practice. It goes without saying that I use highly pigmented textures in my work. Even in cases where I am working not with a model, but with a client, I still need to tone my skin well. After all, the event for which I am preparing her also involves photo and video shooting. This is a feature of our time - to capture all the important events of our lives. At the same time, my client wants to look like a star in the pictures, nothing less!

Therefore, pigments, pigments and more pigments are used! And I extract them from a jar of well-pigmented foundation or... from shadows! Those. Nude correctors are replaced by three foundations - light, medium and dark, and their mixed combinations. If it happens (although this happens extremely rarely!) that my foundation does not cover the red or blue spot, then greenish or orange shadows are used, respectively. Shadows are also pigments!

True, I have a very long-standing complaint against marketers of professional decorative brands: why don’t manufacturers write on jars of foundations and eyeshadow palettes what percentage of pigments they contain? How much easier such a mark would make the work of makeup artists and makeup artists! Imagine this inscription on a foundation: “coverage – 60%” or “coverage – 20%”. And the pro himself chooses which product suits him best. For work, for example, 60 percent cream, and for sales through your online store - both.

So far, on jars we see streamlined phrases like “well masks skin imperfections” or “has a very light consistency.” And sometimes choosing the right concealer, corrector or foundation based on such phrases is very difficult. But that's a completely different story!