A blemish arises when skin becomes inflamed. The inflammation is a normal body response to foreign materials that clog up pores, to infections, and to other sources of irritation.
Unfortunately, this normal body function can be unsightly and embarrassing. Hopefully, the ten tips below will help you minimize and conceal blemishes.
1. Reduce Inflammation
Everyone can get pimples that can cause irritation and redness. The redness of a zit is an inflammatory response. In addition, the inflammation is characterized by swelling and pain.
If inflammation is the cause of blemishes, then it stands to reason that reducing inflammation will help to reduce the size and color of a blemish, thus making what remains easier to conceal.
For a long-term treatment, sulfur-based creams are a great solution for cutting inflammation. For a quicker fix, mix a light moisturizer with foundation and then apply makeup over top of that. This will conceal the blemish and reduce inflammation at the same time.
You can also use ice cube, soaked tea bags, or lemon juice to hide the redness until your skin heals. However, if you want to have a healthy skin, you should always stay hydrated. I drink 8 glasses of water each day to give my skin that plump, healthy feel and look. I also like to add some fruits and veggies to my water to make it more delicious. If you drink enough water each day, it will help your skin to return to its naturally clear and calm condition.
2. Layer Your Makeup
Skin-correcting makeup is available in a variety of textures and colors meant to cover up all types of blemishes. Sometimes you will need to use several different types of makeup and tools for hiding your blemishes. Some of them can require multiple layers of foundation, concealers and powder, depending on the severity.
Layering is a great way to conceal a blemish because it adds depth to makeup, which not only reduces color differences, but also reduces shadows due to surface irregularities.
Start by spreading a foundation that matches your normal skin tone over your entire face. Put a concealer on top of that, but only on areas that are obviously a different shade. The concealer should be two shades lighter than your skin tone so that it can mask the affected area without looking too dark. Finally, finish up with powder to keep everything in place.
If you use the make up when you have some blemishes, you will feel more confident about your appearance. Just be careful, because if you use too much makeup, while you are having acne breakouts, you could end up with a caked-up face. Maybe you are tired of hearing that but a little makeup goes a long way.
3. Highlight
If you highlight your face you make your skin glow, but make sure the color of the product that you use to highlight your face with is the same color of your skin tone, and be sure to avoid using a darker tone. You’d better choose your concealer really carefully.
With the help of highlighter and contour, you can accentuate some features of your face. You can make a nose look narrower or bring out your cheekbones, if you have an accent on this parts of your face, no one will notice your blemishes. Use a highlighting pencil or highlighting cream to color the blemish in and make it lighter.
Go over that with a thick concealer about one half of an inch from the center of the blemish and blend the highlighter and concealer together to create a smooth, even tone. This will lessen the color difference between the blemish and the surrounding skin. Apply a little bit of a translucent powder to your blemish, but don’t overdo it. The powder will blend into your skin tone and create a more natural look. Stay relaxed and no one will know that you have some skin problems until you tell them.
4. Shift Focus
Sometimes drawing an onlooker’s eye away from the blemish is easier than covering the problem. If a blemish is on your forehead, go for an exciting lipstick. If the blemish is on your chin, emphasize your eyes and play down your lips. Use this in combination with concealing techniques to get the best effect. If you have a great lip make up you will look bright and incredible. Everyone will pay attention to your lips.
More: 10 Makeup Tips for Different Complexions
My favorite way to shift focus is to use a good lipstick. I think woman’s lips are the most attractive part of her face, and no one will deny this fact. Try to pay more attention to your lips and use a high quality lipstick so that everyone’s attention will go to your beautiful lips, not to your blemish. Every woman has different lip shape and there are some rules of putting on the lipstick, especially if you want to wear a red lipstick.
You need some practice to learn how to apply it correctly. If your lips are dry, consider applying a little bit of lip balm before applying the lipstick. If needed, try to conceal the lines around your mouse with some foundation or concealer first.
5. Visine
I know it is unexpected to see the medicine for eyes in the list of the ways to hide the blemishes. Visine is for your eyes, right? Well, Visine is designed to constrict blood vessels in your eyes, which reduces redness and even helps to reducing itching. As it turns out, Visine affects blood vessels anywhere in the body in the same way it does those in the eyes.
Soak a cotton ball in Visine and then hold it to a blemish for five minutes. This will cause the surrounding blood vessels to constrict, which will reduce redness and inflammation. If you don’t have Visine, you can use any other red-eye formula eye drops.
I don’t recommend you to use Visine on a zit right before you try to hide it with makeup. The thing is, Visine could temporarily reduce the redness of a zit, and the redness will come back when the eye drops wear off. If you are not going to apply any makeup, then you can use red-eye formula eye drops. Just carry it with you so that you can hide your blemish anytime and anywhere without using makeup. This tip is ideal for women who enjoy going makeup free.
6. Pit Dark against Light
Use light and shadow to your advantage to make your blemishes less noticeable. After putting on makeup, a blemish may still be visible because it is raised from the surface of your skin. This is where the shadow effect comes in handy. To lessen the appearance of a blemish, apply a lighter concealer underneath the zit, where the shadow usually falls, before putting on your powder.
You should apply the powder right after the concealer and foundation to give the brighter look to the makeup. You need to dip the brush in the powder and pat it removing any excess. Also you can blow on the brush if you wish. Don’t apply powder to the entire face to avoid having a caked-up face, apply it only to your blemish, or press the brush into the skin under the eyes and in a line from your forehead, down the nose to the chin. When you are choosing the powder, you should always be attentive and always check if a powder matches your skin.
The most effective way to do it is to put some powder on your skin; the right shade will quickly disappear into your skin. Don’t opt for lighter or darker shades of powder.
7. Aspirin
Using aspirin against the blemishes is an old but effective trick. It has been passed down from generation to generation. If you are allergic to aspirin or have sensitive skin, this technique is not for you. It is rather simple to make a mixture from the aspirin. Take an uncoated (doesn’t say “enteric” on it) aspirin and crush it up. Mix it with a small amount of water to make a paste and apply it to the blemish. You can leave it for five minutes or for several hours to reduce swelling and redness.
Don’t leave the mixture on the skin for a longer time and don’t sleep with the mixture on your face. A few minutes work wonders for me. Be sure to wash your face properly with warm or cold water, and then moisturize your face. Many creams contain salicylic acid, which is almost identical to the active ingredient in aspirin, so you can use these creams to achieve the same effects as the aspirin paste, if the concentration of salicylic acid is high enough.
Since I’m suffering from adult acne, I also love doing aspirin face mask once a week. To make an aspirin mask, you will need to crush the aspirin into small pieces, add in the fresh lemon juice (approximately 1 tablespoon per 3 aspirin), and let the aspirin dissolve into a paste (it may take a few minutes). If you have dry skin, you can add a tablespoon of warm honey or a little bit of olive or coconut oil. Stir well and apply the mixture to your face. Allow to dry and rinse it off with a warm water.
8. Use a Creamy Foundation
Liquid foundation will not offer the volume you need to cover a blemish, so go for something with more substance. A creamy foundation of medium weight is the best option, though you can use any foundation you have. Apply it to your blemish with a brush to get better control and then pat it with your index finger to blend everything together.
In fact, all the foundations are of different textures and different types and it’s important to choose the right foundation, depending on many things like the occasion, the level of coverage required, or the skin type. If you are a woman with dry skin, you should opt for cream and liquid foundations. It’s recommended to apply the cream foundation with a damp makeup sponge.
Firstly, you need to damp the sponge a little bit and then take the needed amount of foundation on the sponge. If you have a square sponge, you’d better take the foundation on the edge of your sponge. Start from the jaw line area and near the ears. Then follow up with putting on the foreheads, the nose area, the chin and the neck area. You will like the result that you will see.
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9. Dab, Don’t Brush or Rub
There are two reasons why you should always dab your makeup on when dealing with blemishes. The first is that dabbing ensures that underlying layers don’t move around. If you take the time to put lighter concealer on the underside of a blemish, as in step six, then you don’t want to push that concealer around and ruin the effect.
The second reason dabbing is so important is that brushing and rubbing can irritate blemishes and make them more obvious. Dabbing with a brush is always the best option when you can do it. If you can’t do that, then put your makeup with your finger. Whatever you do, do not rub your face. Rubbing the face can do some real damage. It can cause more breakouts and can even cause fine lines and wrinkles.
Remember, the more you rub you skin, the more it will stretch. If you can’t apply your makeup without brushes, make sure your makeup brush is clean. Always clean it right after you apply your makeup. The thing is, makeup brushes get clogged with excess powder and oils from your skin and this can be one of the major reasons why you are breaking out.
10. Use the Blemish
If you have just one blemish, you may be able to use it to your advantage by turning it into a beauty mark. A dark brown eye pencil will usually do the trick. People don’t remember every detail of your face so, if the blemish is not too big, this technique will work well, of course, if you meet new people. Chances are, your family, friends and coworkers will notice that it’s not a beauty mark. Moreover, this trick won’t work if you have a few blemishes. This is where you need to follow the aforementioned tips on how to cover a blemish.
Blemishes can be embarrassing, but careful application of makeup and anti-inflammatory products can go a long way to lessening their appearance. As with any makeup routine, covering a blemish starts with a good foundation. Personally I don’t use any foundation and powder in my everyday makeup routine, BB cream is what I need to make my skin look beautiful.
But I always keep a bottle of high-quality foundation and powder in my makeup bag, in case I will need to cover my blemishes. No matter what your imperfections are, you can look beautiful daily. Just take your time and follow the tips above to get an outstanding result.
