Beauty Basics: Covering Acne

Still battling breakouts? Women of all ages can suffer from acne, and it's a lot easier to cover up than you might think. "You don't have to use a lot of heavy makeup or create a mask-like appearance, to cover blemishes," says Carmindy the makeup artist from TLC's What Not To Wear.

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USE MATTIFYING GEL
The first thing to do is control shine. All you need is a little bit of mattifying gel in the t-zone or areas that tend to get a little oily or broken out. Simply pat it onto shiny areas and to control any oil throughout the day and prep skin for foundation and concealer.

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APPLY FOUNDATION WITH SPONGE
Now smooth on a bit of liquid, oil-free foundation. "This is where most women make a mistake. Sometimes if you're trying to cover something up you think you want to use thick products to mask blemishes, but they may weight down the skin and look heavy, sometimes drawing more attention to the breakout. It's better to start off with a thin veil of foundation as your first coverage step," explains Carmindy.

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APPLY ONLY WHERE NEEDED
Just put one or two small squirts of foundation in your hand, and pick it up with a non-latex sponge, so you're not spreading bacteria around, and lightly apply it on the skin, only where you need it.

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DAB BRUSH INTO CONCEALER
"Choose a fine-tipped, tiny concealer brush. A large brush is going to lay on too much makeup. Choose a creamy concealer that matches your skin tone-if you go too light, you may wind up highlighting the spot, and if you go too dark, you can create even darker looking spots. So pick one that matches your foundation shade and your skin tone, but is a little bit thicker," says Carmindy.

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DAB ONTO BLEMISH
Just dab the fine-tipped brush into the concealer and lightly layer it on the blemish.

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BLEND IN WITH FINGER
Then, what I like to do is use my finger to gently blend it in, which warms the makeup up, so it just melts into the skin, making the spot disappear," says Carmindy.

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APPLY POWDER
Once you've spot concealed the whole face and your skin looks nice and even, you want to make sure that it lasts all day. "Apply a light dusting of yellow-tinted translucent powder to set your makeup and erase shine, so even if you have a breakout that gets a little irritated throughout the day, the yellow-tinted translucent powder will ensure that it doesn't get more red on the skin and blemishes stay covered," says Carmindy.

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FINAL LOOK
So even if you have a few little breakouts, nobody's going to be the wiser with all of these great tips and techniques from makeup maven Carmindy, of TLC's What Not To Wear.

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