If I had a dollar for every person who used concealer like foundation, or tried to make foundation do the job of concealer, I could probably retire somewhere with a very nice pool.
I get why people mix them up. I worked at Sephora early in my makeup career, and this was one of those questions that came up constantly. Both products match your skin. Both give you coverage. Half the time they even come in bottles that look almost the same.
But they have two different jobs.
Foundation evens. Concealer corrects.
That’s really the whole thing. Once you understand that, doing your base gets so much easier. And usually, you end up wearing less makeup too.
What Does Foundation Actually Do?
Foundation is your base. Its job is to make the overall color of your skin look more even.
Maybe you have redness around your cheeks and nose. Maybe your forehead is a little darker than the rest of your face. Maybe your skin just looks kind of uneven that day. Foundation helps bring all of that together.
It is not supposed to erase every freckle, blemish, pore and tiny bit of discoloration on your face.
I actually wish more people knew that.
Foundation formulas are usually made to spread over larger areas of the face. Some are very sheer. Some are full coverage. But even with a full coverage foundation, I don’t usually keep piling it on until every single spot disappears.
That’s where makeup starts looking like makeup.
You put on another layer because you can still see that little red spot. Then another. Suddenly your whole face has three layers of foundation because of one blemish on your chin.
I have done this myself, by the way. Especially when I was younger and thought more coverage automatically meant better makeup. It does not.
Foundation should even things out. Then stop.
What Does Concealer Actually Do?
Concealer is for the smaller stuff that foundation didn’t completely cover.
Dark circles. A breakout. Redness around your nose. A dark spot. Maybe that one annoying mark that somehow survives every foundation you own.
Concealer usually has more pigment and a thicker texture than foundation. That’s why such a small amount can cover so much.
And I really mean small amount.
One of the biggest mistakes I see is putting huge triangles of concealer under the eyes because that’s how people used to do it online. There are still times when that look works, especially for full glam, but most people do not need anywhere near that much concealer for everyday makeup.
A couple little dots can be enough.
Too much concealer, especially under the eyes, gets heavy fast. Then it settles into little lines you didn’t even know you had at 8 a.m.
Concealer can also brighten. If I want the under-eye area to look a little fresher, I might use a concealer that’s slightly lighter than the skin. Not five shades lighter. Please don’t do that. Usually half a shade or maybe one shade is plenty.
For blemishes, though, I want the concealer to actually match the skin. A light concealer on top of a pimple can basically put a tiny spotlight on it.
Ask me how I learned that one.
Do You Put Concealer on Before or After Foundation?
For regular everyday makeup, I put foundation on first and concealer second.
I feel pretty strongly about this.
Foundation is going to cover some of the redness, spots and discoloration all by itself. So after you apply it, you can look at your face and decide what actually still needs concealer.
Usually it’s less than you thought.
If you put concealer on first, then start blending foundation over it, you’re often moving the concealer around anyway. Then you look in the mirror, realize the spot is showing again, and add more concealer.
Now you’ve got foundation, concealer, foundation, more concealer. It gets thick.
Foundation first. Then concealer where you still need it.
I go through the rest of the sequence in What Order Should You Apply Makeup In, including primer, powder, blush and everything else.
There is one exception.
If I’m using a true color corrector, like peach for very dark under-eye circles or green for strong redness, I may use that underneath foundation. But that’s color correcting, not just regular concealer.
For normal makeup, foundation first.
Do You Actually Need Foundation and Concealer?
No.
This is probably not the answer you’d expect from someone who has spent most of her adult life around makeup, but you absolutely do not need both.
I have clients who look better with a few tiny touches of concealer and no foundation at all.
Concealer under the eyes. A little around the nose. Cover one or two spots. Blend the edges and leave the rest of the skin alone.
Done.
It’s one of my favorite everyday looks, especially when your skin is behaving and you don’t feel like doing the whole routine. Once I became an aesthetician and got much more interested in skin itself, I started appreciating this kind of makeup even more. Good makeup doesn’t have to cover every inch of you.
If you’re newer to makeup, Everyday Makeup Routine for Beginners is built around that kind of simpler approach.
You can also wear foundation without concealer. If your foundation gives you enough coverage and you’re happy with it, there is no makeup rule saying you need to keep adding products.
I tend to use both when I want the skin to look more finished. Weddings are a good example. Photos are unforgiving, especially those close-up professional ones where you can suddenly see things nobody noticed in real life.
For that type of makeup, foundation gives me the even canvas and concealer lets me fix the little areas that still need attention.
How to Pick the Right Foundation and Concealer
The shade matters, but the texture matters too.
Sometimes a foundation and concealer look perfectly fine separately and then turn into a complete mess when you put them together.
They separate. They pill. Little crumbs start appearing around your nose. You try to blend them away and somehow make it worse. Not fun.
Often that happens because the formulas just don’t play nicely together.
As a general rule, products with similar bases tend to layer better together. Water-heavy products usually behave better with other water-heavy formulas. Silicone-heavy products often work nicely together too.
It’s not a perfect rule because makeup formulas are more complicated than that, but if two products keep separating no matter what you do, I would stop blaming your technique. Sometimes they just hate each other.
For foundation shade, I like to test around the jawline.
Your hand is not your face. I know testing foundation on the back of your hand is convenient in a store, but it doesn’t tell you whether your face is going to match your neck.
The goal is for the face and neck to look like they belong to the same person.
For concealer, use a shade close to your actual skin tone when covering blemishes or dark spots.
For under the eyes, you can go slightly lighter if you want a brighter look.
Slightly.
What About Airbrush Foundation?
Airbrush makeup changes things a little.
I learned airbrushing after I had already been working with traditional makeup, and it really changed how I thought about coverage.
With airbrush foundation, you’re applying extremely thin layers of product in a fine mist. You can build coverage slowly without putting a thick layer of makeup across the entire face.
That means I often need less concealer with airbrush makeup.
Not always. A stubborn blemish is still a stubborn blemish. But airbrush can build coverage in certain areas without getting that thick, painted look that traditional full coverage foundation sometimes gets.
I compare the two methods more closely in Airbrush Makeup vs Traditional Makeup.
For everyday makeup at home, though, you do not need an airbrush machine to get a good base. Technique matters a lot more than owning one more beauty gadget.
And I say that as someone who loves beauty gadgets more than I probably should.
Concealer vs Foundation Mistakes I See All the Time
Using concealer all over the face
I’ve seen people basically paint their whole face in concealer.
You can do it. You can also wear jeans swimming. That doesn’t make it the best tool for the job.
Concealer is concentrated. Use it where you actually need the extra coverage.
Trying to cover dark circles with more foundation
Foundation usually isn’t pigmented enough for a dark under-eye area.
So you add more.
And more.
Meanwhile, the skin under your eyes is thin and moves constantly when you smile, blink and talk. It’s probably the worst place on your face to stack thick layers of foundation.
Use less foundation there and let concealer do its job.
Putting concealer on first
Again, there are exceptions.
But for normal everyday makeup, I don’t understand making yourself cover everything twice.
Foundation first. See what is left. Conceal that.
Using the wrong concealer shade on a blemish
If the blemish is red and you put pale brightening concealer on it, congratulations, now it’s a pale bump instead of a red bump.
Match your skin.
Not blending the edges
This one is small but makes such a difference.
The middle of the concealed area needs coverage. The edges need blending.
Tap around the outside of the spot with a finger, sponge or small brush until you can’t tell where the concealer stops and your skin starts.
Don’t keep wiping directly across the center or you’ll remove the exact product you just put there.
I catch myself doing this when I’m rushing too.
Concealer vs Foundation: The Easy Way to Remember It
If you’re standing in your bathroom holding both bottles and can’t remember what you’re supposed to do, remember this:
Foundation evens. Concealer corrects.
Foundation goes across larger areas of the face to even out your overall skin tone.
Concealer goes on smaller areas that need extra coverage.
For most people, foundation goes first and concealer goes second.
And you probably need less of both than you think.
That’s the part I wish someone had drilled into my head when I first started doing makeup. Better skin makeup is very rarely about adding one more layer.
Most of the time, it’s knowing when to stop.