Have you ever been confused about the purpose of a concealer and a foundation? Well, worry not because we’re about to give you a detailed concealer vs foundation briefing to make sure you know the differences between the two and their usage.
What Is A Concealer?
Concealer is a highly underrated product. It is a highly powerful or little product. We can’t have a concealer vs foundation discussion without actually explaining what a concealer is.
Concealer can be used to hide spots of dark skin on your face or other area such as arms.
There are many differences between concealer of different brands so be sure you stick to a single one.
The basic purpose of the concealer is to hide unwanted pigmentation, dark circles, smudges, patches, dark spots, age spots, acne scars, uneven skin tone, dark skin, etc., on the face.
Makeup is meant for giving a smooth texture and plain look to your skin. If you apply foundation directly on our skin, then the foundation will become patchy because the base is patchy.
Also, the foundation is not meant for hiding your dark circles or other pigmentations but only giving your skin an intense glow.
You should always apply your concealer on the top of the foundation for having a perfect look. Some people apply it on base, and after hiding patches, the foundation is applied for a final touch.
It is thick in consistency as compared to the foundation because the foundation is only giving you a glowing touch, but concealer is hiding and filing those scars on your face.
So it should be thick enough for filling it. There are several benefits of using a type of concealer on your face. Some of them are given below.
It Covers Blue Fine Lines
Blue fine lines are quite natural and appear more with aging. Your foundation becomes cakey and cut down in between the crease.
For having a solution to this problem, concealer is used. Before foundation, if we apply it, it fills those gaps proving a smooth plain base.
After that foundation is applied on the top, and believe me, it will give a very youthful look.
Used For Contouring
We can’t expect a fair concealer vs foundation without talking about contouring. For having a coveted chiseled effect on your face, all you need is to apply the right shade of concealer.
Just choose a darker shade of the concealer, the one that is a little darker than your natural skin tone, and apply it on your jawline, sides of the nose, and on the prominent cheekbone of your face.
This countering will give a prominent effect to your facial bone, and then it looks smarter far more than the original one. And the plus point is that the same concealer can be used as a contour.
It Covers Your Dark Circles
When you wake up late at night to watch Netflix or study, you are likely to develop a dark circle below your eyes.
It may also appear because of the poor diet, which is not providing you with enough balanced nutrients.
Now you can hide it will concealer. But the choice of the concealer for contouring is quite different from the choice of concealer for your dark circles hiding.
Now your dark circles are already dark, so if you apply a darker tone on dark circles, it will make them visible even more.
For this, suppose you need a concealer that is lighter in tone to give you a radiant look after applying foundation over it.
Just take a shimmery eye shadow and apply it at the inner corner of your eyes. It will present a glow or radiant look.
What Is A Foundation?
The next thing to explain in our concealer vs foundation discussion is the foundation. Foundation is the liquid creamy-textured makeup product that is applied to your skin for making it smooth and even.
Always select the type of foundation that matches your skin tone or the one that comes close to it.
Sometimes it is applied for changing your original skin tone, or sometimes only corrects the original skin tone.
After applying it, you will make a uniform complexion that will cover your flaws. It also acts as a sunscreen, moisturizer, astringent or base layer for a more detailed cosmetic makeup.
If a foundation is applied to your body, such as legs or arms, it is known as body painting.
The color selection of your foundation is very important because if it is not done correctly, then it will give your foundation a cacky appearance.
If the color of your foundation is lighter than your original skin shade, then after applying, it will not blend evenly with your skin. Also, your face will look different from the rest of the skin.
And if it is darker than your skin tone, it will again be unable to give an even look with a patchy appearance.
You simply need to test the several shades on your skin and then decide which is feasible to use. Sometimes you test various samples, but they do not match with your skin tone.
In this case, you can mix various foundations of various colors to get the desired shade at last. Also, make sure that you test samples after applying them to your neck or cheeks.
Mostly, we visit a makeup shop and test the foundation by applying it to our wrists. At that time, the shade matches with the skin of your wrist, but the skin shade of your face is quite different from the wrist.
Now when you apply this same shade on your face, it will be a miss-match to give an uneven look. Every brand offers countless shades, so it is quite easy to get your desired shade in the present time.
Also, foundations come in various forms, such as it may be a liquid, powdered, stick, or spray form.
The liquid foundation is applied directly, but powder form has to be mixed up with the liquid first and then applied on your face to cover minor blemishes or warm undertones.
Makeup artists use different foundations for Dry skin or oily skin in a makeup routine.
Difference Between Concealer And Foundation
Now we are getting to the real talk when it comes to concealer vs foundation.
The difference between concealer and foundation is that different types of concealers are used to conceal patches, dark eye circles, excess redness, or undertone areas on your skin for having a uniform skin tone.
Still, the foundation is meant for a glowy look. It does not cover your undertone area, and if applied without foundation, it will not blend with your skin.
Concealers can be used for another purpose, such as contouring, but the foundation can be used alternatively.
Also, concealer is thick in consistency compared to the foundation, which will fill scars on your face.
Sometimes it is applied on the top of the foundation or sometimes prior to it, depending upon your desired results.
Can Concealer And Foundation Be Used Interchangeably?
Yes, concealer foundation can be used interchangeably with the concealer type, but concealer can’t be used interchangeably.
If your liquid form foundation is lighter in tone as compared to the natural skin color, then it can be used interchangeably.
But concealer can’t be used at this place even if it matches with your skin tone because concealer is thick in consistency and unable to blend evenly. As far as the discussion regarding concealer vs foundation goes, note that both can be used interchangeably and it mostly depends on you.
Steps To Apply A Concealer
Makeup lovers can follow the following steps,
- Moisturize your skin well.
- If your skin is highly pigmented and patchy, then apply color-correcting concealer first because alone concealer will remain unable to hide them.
- You can apply eye concealers with a makeup brush, or one of the best ways is to use your finger.
- Apply high-coverage concealer or liquid concealers on the undertone areas of your face.
- Blend it well with the help of a blender or brush that can be used for this purpose.
- Blending is well when you apply it with a blender rather than a brush
- Make sure to blend it evenly because if not done properly, it will make your foundation powdery.
- Apply foundation over it well and blend with the help of a blender.
- Concealer can also be applied on the top of the foundation depending upon the skin type of the user.
Steps To Apply A Foundation
Let’s discuss the steps to apply a foundation in our discussion regarding concealer vs foundation.
The following steps are used for applying the various types of foundations or foundations of choice on your skin.
- Moisturize your skin well. For this purpose, you can use any of the moisturizers but preferably primer because it will cover your open pores also.
- Apply color corrector or concealer, and then blend it well.
- On the top, we have to apply foundation.
- Take some of the liquid foundations on your hand and apply roughly on your skin.
- You can directly use the foundation jar on your face to put the product on your skin for making a layer of foundation.
- If it is in powder foundations, then mix it with water, make a paste and with the help of a makeup brush, apply evenly on your skin for making shades lighter.
- Now blend it well with the help of a blender to make the shade lighter.
- Always make sure that blending is very important for having a flawless result. If your foundation is not blended well, it can crack at several places to make it uneven.
- Apply blush, compact, or translucent powder over foundation for giving it a final touch.
Can You Use Makeup Without Concealer Or Foundation?
Yes, of course, you can use makeup without using foundation if you want to have a lighter look. We are only talking about concealer vs foundation but we don’t say that one is better than the other.
The use of foundation or concealer will ultimately make you look heavier. In summers especially, when you apply foundation, it melts because of the extreme sweating, and your face looks weird after that.
So for these circumstances, it is recommended that you should not go with concealer or foundation. Rather than that, just apply eye liner, mascara, lip balm to make your facial features more prominent.
Conclusion Of Concealer Vs Foundation
We had a detailed discussion on concealer vs foundation. We understood the main difference between them and how you should use which of the two depending on your needs.
Both of these are meant for making your skin brighter and glowy so make sure that you use them properly.
Also, these products can be used interchangeably if the tone matches your skin tone. However, it is not compulsory to use foundation or concealer in makeup unless you want a heavier look.
We hope you enjoyed this article. You can read more articles such as “What does it mean when you see a shooting star“, “Are praying mantis endangered?“, and “Are eggs considered meat?“