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The expanse of the face holds many questions: How best to prep your skin? What goes where and in what order? Concealer or foundation? How do you enhance and conceal without looking like a layer cake or an old makeup sponge? Why is my concealer creasing?
Katie Jane Hughes has the plug to fill the gaps, or rather, the techniques to yield a more flawless, creaseless complexion. Hughes, the British makeup artist and brand founder who is a favorite of Dua Lipa, and who has painted the faces of everyone from Hailey Bieber to Ashley Graham, Kylie Jenner, and Hailee Steinfeld, posted a video to Instagram breaking down the details of perfect concealer application every time.
As Hughes deftly puts it: If you’re constantly feeling frustrated by your concealer creasing—whether that’s under your eyes, in your nasolabial folds, or any fine lines on your face—it’s probably because you’re using too much product.
To first address her eyes, she brandishes a small, flat brush. You can use a ‘concealer brush,’ but you could also use a any small and pointed brush. “Brushes should not have names because they are not for single use,” Hughes explains astutely. (There’s no names on Hughes’ own brand of brushes). “I like you to use the brush for what you want to use it for, and take education from other creatives or friends.” What makes a good concealer brush also makes a good lip, cream eyeshadow, and even an eyeliner brush. That little pointed end gives you the control of application and pressure that’s necessary for spot concealing. (A technique also loved by Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber’s MUA Mary Phillips).
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Next, Hughes advises applying some concealer on the back of your hand, picking up a small (and she means small) amount with the brush, and going in. She takes the concealer on the brush and sweeps it up against her eyelid, avoiding the middle part of the eyelid where the skin would naturally crease. There, she presses a small amount of concealer in with her fingertip instead. “If I went straight in there with the bulk of product that’s on my brush, I’m going to get creasing—just the same as if I have nasolabial folds and put concealer right there,” she says. So, you want to avoid loading product onto your area of concern. Hughes demonstrates this more delicate and sparing technique with a gentle tapping motion on and underneath her eyes, as well as on blemishes—immediately you see purple veins and reddish marks evening out. “You can see there’s not much on the brush, but it is transferring.” Need to color in a bit more? Pick up a little bit more concealer from the back of your hand and build it up—tap, tap, tap lightly again.
Lessons learned? Use a small brush for precision, the appropriate amount of pressure, and technique. Don’t apply concealer directly to the area you want to cover, and build up product softly. “If you’re an over-user [on your] complexion…challenge yourself,” Hughes says, “to use brushes like this. It will teach you a heck of a lot about application, product, and pressure. You will learn how much you really need.”
Put even more simply? “Consider yourself a painter,” says Hughes. Hughes likens your face and concealer product to a blank wall and paint—you wouldn’t slap the paint directly on your wall, would you? Nope—you use a tray, you get your product going, you have the right tools. Now go forth, the Bob Ross of flawless faces.
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