I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of information about color correcting concealers. They can completely change the tone and brightness of your skin and I love using them for that benefit. But it’s also understandable if you’re intimidated by bright shades of purple, green and yellow and don’t necessarily want to smear them on your face.

So I’m breaking down the basics of color correction (side note: when I say correction, I don’t mean there’s anything at all wrong with your face that you need to “correct!” What I mean is, there might be a certain aspect of your face you’d prefer to minimize).

First things first is understanding the color wheel.

Color correcting is essentially using the color wheel to determine complementary colors. In art, complementary colors side-to-side make each other “pop.” But in makeup, layering one color on top of the other cancels it out.

The colors most often found in skin are red, yellow, purple, and blue tones.

Green Corrector
Since green is opposite red on the color wheel, it will cancel red out. Green is great for covering redness from blemishes or hiding any ruddiness or natural flush (unless you want that to shine through, because a natural flush is beautiful, too!).

Yellow Corrector
Yellow corrector will cancel out purple undertones. This is perfect for brightening up the eye area and anywhere else you have purple-y veins coming through.

Purple Correcter
This one does the exact opposite of yellow corrector. This is great if you have sallow or yellow undertones that you want to minimize. It can also help brighten areas you want to pop more under foundation (I use it above my brows and on my cheekbones!).

Peach Corrector
Peach or orange correctors are used to minimize blueness. If your under eye circles tend more towards the blue side, grab one of these to brighten the area.

Application Tips
Like I said, not wanting to coat your face in bright colors is understandable. So I listed out my tips on applying color correctors to ease your mind.

• Apply sparingly! Many color correctors (even when they come out of the tube looking pastel) are fairly pigmented.
• Mix with a primer if you want more sheer coverage. If you don’t want to do a full face of makeup, try mixing a small amount of the color with a clear primer.
• Blend, blend, blend! I prefer to apply my color corrector either straight from the tube or with a brush, then blend it out with my fingers and a damp makeup sponge.
• Don’t worry if your eyes looks yellow or your chin looks green when you first blend it out. Color correctors are meant to be worn under foundation/concealer.

My Routine

1. Determine what you want to correct. I tend to have purple under and around my eyes and redness on my nose, cheeks and chin. I also will add lavender to brighten up my cheekbones and above my brows.

2. Apply correctors.

3. Blend! I use a damp beautyblender sponge to blend my correctors. I know it looks crazy here but the next step will pull it all together.

4. Apply regular concealer and foundation.