Colour Correcting 101

Hello my loves,

This post has been promised for a while so I am so sorry I haven't gotten around to getting this up sooner! A lot of you were really interested in the topic when I posted about it a month or two ago so I am here now to bring you what you all wanted! This post is going to be an in depth 101 on the concept of colour correcting that you can refer to whenever you need help colour correcting.

Before we begin we are going to need to go all the way back to school.

To understand colour correcting properly you need to understand the colour wheel which you would be familiar with if you studied art...

Credit: http://blog.canvascorpbrands.com/tattered-tangles-color-me-cards-book-tags/

In Colour wheel theory; complementary colours are colours that lie directly across from each other on the colour wheel e.g. Red & green or Yellow & Purple.

Typically speaking in complementary colour theories, once you combine two complementary colours you will get a grey scale (neutral) colour.

This exactly what you will use colour correcting for.

You want to identify your problem area e.g. redness on your cheeks and pick the shade (in this case it is green) that will neutralize it.

The aim of colour correcting is to give you a neutral base that is even in pigmentation or colour.

So I think I have shoved enough theory down all your throat for one post! I just think that it is good to know the background of what you doing, if you understand something I feel like it is then easier to comprehend and put into practice, especially if you see it from a practical point of view.

Different products are used for colour correcting. There are concealers, primers, powders, cc creams but they all work to correct colour issues. Concealer is the one that is going to give you the best coverage and will allow you to target a few different colour issues through using a few different concealer shades whilst primer or CC creams are good for targeting one widespread colour issue like rosacea.

Next I am going to talk you through what specific concealer colour is best for each issue, please reference the colour wheel above to visually understand and see for yourself what I am talking about if you get confused!

Green

Counteracts/Neutralizes: Redness

Ideal for: Rosacea, scars & blemishes

Green concealer is perfect for covering angry red blemishes or healing spot scars. If Rosacea is your issue I would recommend using a green primer and then applying some green concealer where you notice it is still quite red.

Orange/Peach/Salmon

Counteracts/Neutralizes: Blueness

Ideal for: Dark under eye circles, bruises or veins. Also gives olive skin tones radiance.

Orange concealer is great for hiding under eye darkness and visible veins. As a guide lighter skin tones should use a lighter peach or salmon shade as it will be easier to blend out and medium to dark skin tones require the pigment of a true orange shade to cover their darkness concerns.

Yellow

Counteracts/Neutralizes: Purple

Ideal for: Any area that needs brightness & radiance also can help dark under eye circles.

Yellow is a great all over corrector to give your s.kin some life back into it - that's why it is usually included in highlighting and contouring palettes as your highlighter and brightening shade. Light skin tones will find a yellow can help to reduce and brighten under eye darkness.

Recommended products: Sleek Colour Corrector palette / NYX Colour correcting liquid primer /

Benefit Lemon Aid concealer / NYX Full coverage concealer / NYX HD concealer / L.A. Girl Pro Conceal HD Concealer

Purple

Counteracts/Neutralizes: Yellow

Ideal for: Pasty, dull or sallow complexions

This is a hard one to identify for most people. If you have sallow skin you will notice that even if you are pale skinned you have a yellow under colour shining through. Asian skin tones can have a strong yellow undertone. Purple is also used to add life to your skin also and will counteract any dullness in your skin.

Pink

Counteracts/Neutralizes: Dull skin

Ideal for: Anyone who wants to add radiance and brightness particularly fairer complexions. Covers age & sun spots on fair skin tones.

Pink or rose shades are perfect for adding brightness to fair skin tones especially those who find the yellow is too obvious. They help to counteract dullness around the nose and mouth and to give a brightness back to your skin. Pink can also cover light dark circles under your eyes, but it will not cover as well as a peach or orange concealer.

Blue

Counteracts/Neutralizes: Orange

Ideal for: Covering freckles & hyper-pigmentation

Have you ever done your face fake tan and it looks a little more orange than you anticipated? A blue concealer or primer can tone down that orange. If you have freckles or sun spots that bother you blue concealer will also help cover these.

Recommended products: Sleek Colour corrector palette / NYX Colour correcting liquid primer

Red

Counteracts/Neutralizes: Green

Ideal for: Covering tattoos, fading green bruises & dark under eyes with a strong green tone on medium, dark or deep skin tones.

Red concealer is amazing for covering tattoos as there is a strong green tone going through tattoos, particularly noticeable as they age and fade.

Above in my recommended products in each section I have mentioned the Sleek Colour Corrector a few times - this is because kits are my favourite all round colour correcting products. I like that they give me most of the colours, it's handy to have them all together! I feel everyone should have a colour correcting kit in their makeup bag.

The single products are good if you have a specific issue that needs correction. So in my case I always have a peach tone concealer pot on hand to cover my dark circles!

What step do I incorporate colour correcting concealer?

In terms of colour correcting concealer I always apply them AFTER my primer and BEFORE my foundation.

Once I have lay down the colour correction shades I blend them in lightly with a beauty blender sponge and then apply my foundation over the top. I cover all my usual areas with my normal skin tone concealer then. It sounds like a lot of makeup but if you blend each step out with a beauty blender you DO NOT feel or look like you are wearing a lot of makeup, I promise.

There you have it - that is my concealer 101 lesson!

If I left anything out or you have some unanswered questions, please leave me a comment below and I will of course get back to!

With Love from,

Rebekah x

Monday 8 August 2016

Colour Correcting 101

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