What Should You Apply First: Concealer Or Foundation?

Makeup is a beautiful art that builds confidence through its wonderful products and formulations. With so many makeup products, choosing the best for your skin is crucial. Women have always needed clarification about whether to apply concealer or foundation first in their makeup routine. While many have different opinions, understanding the products' approach and their power to alter your look can help you decide what you should apply first. While liquid foundation and concealer are equally crucial, let us learn more about each individually and then decide whether to apply concealer or foundation first.

What is a Makeup Foundation?

Makeup foundation is a beauty essential that helps even out skin tone, blur pores, conceal minor imperfections, and create a smooth base for further makeup. The cream, powder, and liquid foundation available in multiple shades helps cater to different skin types and undertones, giving you a flawless finish. Liquid foundation coverage ranges from sheer, offering a natural, lightweight look, to full coverage foundation that helps effectively hide blemishes and redness. The texture impacts the feel and appearance. Liquid foundations are suitable for most skin types; cream is best if you have dry or mature skin, whereas powder suits oily or combination skin with a matte finish. Makeup foundation has formulations that can give you a matte, velvety, shine-free look or a dewy, satin, and radiant glow for a natural balance. Testing the foundation on the jawline or neck ensures a perfect match, helping you create a flawless complexion by evening out your skin tone and providing a smooth canvas for the rest of your makeup routine.

What is a Concealer?

Concealer is a highly pigmented beauty product that helps camouflage skin imperfections like dark circles, blemishes, puffiness, scars, redness, discoloration, etc. Unlike makeup foundation, which you usually apply all over your face, concealer targets specific areas on the face with a higher coverage formulation. Available in various textures—liquid, cream, stick, etc., each caters to different skin types. Many concealer palettes even include different shades for mastering the art of colour correcting. From green, purple, peach, red, etc., you can use different shades to cover the deepest scars and marks on your face perfectly. The concealer blends seamlessly into your skin and is layered with a shade that matches your skin tone for a natural finish. This versatile makeup product, when used alongside full coverage foundation, effectively hides imperfections and enhances the complexion for a flawless look. Eye concealer is specifically designed for your dark circles and under eye puffiness.

Difference Between Concealer and Foundation

1. Purpose

Foundation: The foundation works as the base for your makeup look, providing overall coverage to even out skin tone and create a uniform canvas. It's applied to the entire face to blur imperfections, create a smooth texture, and create a balanced complexion.

Concealer: Concealer is specifically designed to target and hide imperfections of your skin and need not be applied all over your face. It offers higher coverage than foundation and is applied sparingly to cater to your specific skin concerns alone.

2. Coverage

Foundation: Foundations come in different coverage levels, ranging from sheer to full coverage. Sheer foundations offer a natural, lightweight finish, while full coverage foundations provide maximum opacity to conceal imperfections effectively. Foundations are generally easy to build and can give superb coverage with minimal application.

Concealer: Concealers typically offer a higher coverage and are opaque compared to foundations. This allows you to effectively cover up specific imperfections with a small amount of product. They are formulated to be more pigmented and provide targeted coverage where needed.

3. Application Technique

Foundation: Foundation is typically applied all over the face using a beauty sponge, brush, or fingertips. It's applied sparingly all over the face and then blended outwards from the center of the face to ensure an even application and seamless transition into the neck and hairline.

Concealer: Concealer is applied selectively in small quantities to targeted areas that require extra coverage or correction, such as under the eyes, around the nose, on blemishes, or areas of redness. It's usually dabbed or stippled onto the skin using a précised face makeup brush or a makeup sponge and gently blended into the surrounding skin.

4. Color Correcting 

Foundation: Foundations usually do not offer color correction but can help even out minor skin imperfections with its buildable coverage. It helps create an even base but requires additional products to hide stubborn blemishes on the face.

Concealer: Concealers are best known for correcting imperfections. The concealer corrector palette contains different shades that will easily correct all your blemishes and give you a flawless base. The colors opposite in the color wheel help you decide which scar will be covered using which shade of corrector concealer. For example, green concealer can counteract redness, peach or orange concealer can camouflage dark circles, and lavender concealer can brighten dull skin.

Concealer or Foundation First?

What Happens When You Apply Foundation Before Concealer?

Enhanced Coverage Precision

The makeup foundation acts as a base layer that helps even out your skin tone and provides initial coverage for minor imperfections. By applying foundation first, you create a smoother canvas, making it easier to assess which areas require additional coverage with concealer. This method allows you to target specific imperfections more precisely, resulting in a more polished and refined makeup look.

Optimized Product Usage

The foundation helps to create a uniform base, reducing the amount of concealer needed to achieve desired coverage. Since the foundation already provides some level of coverage, you may find that you require less concealer overall. This not only conserves product but also prevents over-application, ensuring a more natural and breathable finish.

Seamless Blending

By layering concealer over foundation, you can seamlessly blend the two products for a flawless finish. The foundation provides a smooth base for the concealer to adhere to, allowing for effortless blending and preventing the concealer from settling into fine lines or creases. This results in a more cohesive and natural-looking complexion, with imperfections effectively camouflaged.

Longer Lasting Makeup

Applying foundation before concealer helps to anchor the concealer in place, enhancing the longevity of your makeup. The foundation creates a barrier between the skin and the concealer, preventing it from fading or sliding off throughout the day. This ensures that your makeup stays fresh and flawless for extended periods, making it ideal for special occasions or long wear.

What Happens When You Apply Concealer Before Foundation?

Risk of Concealer Displacement

whether concealer or foundation first, applying concealer before foundation increases the risk of it being displaced or blended away during the foundation application process. This can result in uneven coverage and patchy areas, detracting from the overall finish of your makeup.

Difficulty in Blending

Concealer applied before foundation may be more challenging to blend seamlessly into the skin. Without the foundation base, the concealer may adhere unevenly or appear streaky, compromising the overall appearance of your makeup.

Potential for Product Overuse

Applying concealer before liquid foundation may lead to product overuse, as it's harder to gauge the amount needed without the foundation base. This can result in a heavy or cakey finish, detracting from the natural beauty of your complexion.

Accentuated Imperfections

When concealer is applied before the makeup foundation, there is a risk of accentuating imperfections rather than concealing them. The lighter concealer texture may draw attention to blemishes or dark circles, especially if not blended seamlessly into the foundation.

The Correct Sequence – Concealer or Foundation First?

To ensure your makeup look is on point, it's crucial to follow the right sequence. Here's a step-by-step guide that also answers whether concealer or foundation first in your makeup routine:  

Step 1 - Start with a Clean Canvas

Before starting your routine application, prep your skin by cleansing and moisturizing it. This creates a hydrated base for your makeup and helps it adhere better, ensuring a flawless finish. Layer it with a makeup primer to lock in the moisture.

Step 2 - Foundation First

Begin by applying liquid foundation evenly across your face. Choose a makeup foundation shade that matches your skin tone and undertone for a seamless blend. The key to a flawless base is to apply it evenly using a makeup sponge, foundation brush, or your fingertips for a flawless finish. Blending ensures that the foundation doesn’t settle in fine lines or appear cakey. 

Step 3 - Concealer Next

Once your foundation is in place, it's time to address the specific imperfections with concealer. Concealer is like a magic wand that can make blemishes, dark circles, and other flaws disappear. Using a concealer shade that matches your skin tone or foundation, dab it onto areas that need extra coverage. Use under eye concealer for dark circles and puffiness under the eyes. Use a corrector concealer for hiding stubborn marks. Gently blend the concealer into the foundation using a damp beauty blender or brush, ensuring a seamless transition between the two products.

Step 4 - Set Your Masterpiece

To lock in your flawless complexion and prevent any unwanted shine, finish off your makeup look with a light dusting of loose or compact powder. This helps set your foundation and concealer in place, ensuring long-lasting wear throughout the day. Use a fluffy powder makeup brush to lightly sweep the powder across your face, focusing on the T zone that tends to get oily or shiny. You can even apply setting spray to seal the base for further makeup application.

Whether you choose to apply concealer or foundation first depends on your personal preference, makeup routine, and desired outcome. Applying makeup foundation before concealer enhances coverage precision, optimizes product usage, ensures seamless blending, and prolongs makeup wear, but it is still your personal choice. Experimenting with both methods allows you to discover what works best for your unique skin type, makeup style, and preferences. Viseart foundation and concealer offer a unique formulation that blends a seamless finish that enhances your makeup base. Formulated with vegan ingredients, a range of Viseart beauty products cater to all your makeup needs, enhancing your beauty and confidence.