With the weather being nothing less than sweaty in New York City, the thought of wearing a full face of makeup gives me heebie-jeebies. When I do decide to adorn my face with color and pizazz lately, I’ve been relying on a special concealer application tip, courtesy of one of my favorite makeup artists, Isamaya Ffrench, for barely-there base makeup.
In a recent video on her new YouTube channel, Ffrench shared a quick tip for concealing blemishes and discoloration in a more natural way than blending out large swatches of pigment. In the past, that’s what I’ve typically done. I paint on huge triangles under my eyes and chunky lines over my breakouts. By the time I blend out my concealer, my skin hardly looks like my own anymore, no matter what formula I use.
Frrench prefers to take a dense, flat brush, like a lip, brow, or even liner brush, to create a series of crosshatches of cream concealer over dark spots to “allow a hint of the natural skin to come through but also help to hide any kind of discoloration,” she explains in the video. Amazed by this unexpected technique, I gave it a try.
First, I collected my tools. Ffrench reached for the classic Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer, so I followed suit with the brand’s updated option: the Secret Camouflage Concealer Duo. The Monika Blunder Beauty Blunder Cover and Trinny London Just a Touch Concealer are also excellent picks. Honestly, I also tried this trick with a liquid concealer but found it spread out too much. A more viscous cream tends to lock into the exact spot you want it to.
My brush choice, on the other hand, was the Tarte Etch & Sketch Double-Ended Bamboo Liner Brush. However, you could also experiment with the Zara Beauty Lip Brush or E.L.F. Flat Eyeliner Brush.
From there, I coated the brush in concealer before drawing tiny lines across each blemish like a little quilt of pigment. Then, I patted each in with a clean fingertip. Simple enough, right? The process takes just as much time as my former concealer application routine, but Frrench’s adaptation of it has a completely different effect.
Miraculously, my skin appeared evenly toned while looking like my own. My complexion maintained its natural radiance and rosiness — just free of post-inflammation hyperpigmentation from my last hormonal breakout. Ffrench’s tip quite literally crossed out my blemishes.
Satisfied with the results, I skipped foundation and continued onto my eye makeup. Now, the thought of doing my makeup this summer is more bearable and less cringe-inducing — just in time for recreating my favorite looks from the new Gossip Girl reboot.
You can watch Ffrench’s crosshatching concealer application tutorial in action, below.
Read more about concealer tips:
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