What's the best way to cover a pimple?

May 28, 2016

Dana E.

I haven't gotten a bad pimple in sooo long, of course it comes at such a bad time when I'm going out tonight :(

I bought a green color corrector for the redness. A NYX potted one.

In what order should I use my color corrector, concealer, foundation, and powder to get the best coverage? Or how do you cover a pimple?

May 28, 2016

Alexis C.

I would apply the color corrector first (a thin layer should do fine), foundation, and then skin tone concealer to cover any discoloration that's still peeking through from underneath the foundation, then powder.

May 28, 2016

Dana E.

Okay thanks Alexis!

May 28, 2016

Jacqueline H.

Covering a pimple can be tricky because you're dealing with a raised area with no pores for the makeup to stick to. This is why you can paint over a blemish and the foundation slides right off, which which makes people want to layer the makeup on to cover it and it ends up looking very cakey. When it comes to covering a pimple, you need to have a light hand because if you pile too many products, you're only adding to the problem. Even applying powder to set the products can be problematic, because if you don't have the right touch, it can lift the make up right off the top of the pimple. ;( The best way to cover a pimple is airbrushing, but not everyone has acess to an airbrush, so this is what I do. :)

A good investment for anyone that is oily/acne prone is Cover FX Clear Prep. I think it's now called Mattifying Primer With Anti-Acne Treatment, Great primer, and it gives one a workable adherent surface area. What you do not want to do is apply a liquid foundation over that area. Do not apply concealing or extreme cover products over foundation. The denser product just won't grip properly or stay in place over the foundation. The concealer's heavier pigment weight will either slide off the foundation or mix with it and cause separation and in this case, cause the area to look cake like.

What I usually do is use a bit of the Cover FX Clear Prep and let the area set for a few minutes, then I do minor color correction with a small concealer brush and with my ring finger gently blend the area around the pimple. Then I go back in with my concealer and another small concealer brush to spot conceal problem areas.. Then I will blend blend this area where the edges meet into the foundation.

To set the area, what I do is take a brush like BDellium's 960, and apply a bit of powder to one side of the tips of the bristle. Then, I gently press the powder onto the area, flip the brush and ever so gently pull the brush down and over the area. Once the powder is over the pimple, then I just blend out the sides of any remaining powder. :)

May 28, 2016

Emma R.

With regards to colour correcting and blending, do you put the colour over the acne, then only blend around the edges so the actual acne is clearly green or do you blend it all out? I use the max factor cc sticks (not the best, kind of chalky but it works well with my other products because of how much dryer it is) and always seem to blend the whole thing out , which cancels out most redness but the actually acne spots are still a bit too red and noticeable?

May 28, 2016

Diana T.

A concealer I like to use is the Clinique acne solutions spot concealer - it has green color corrector built in and I swear it turns any pimple without a white head to the color of your skin and hides it beautifully - and the coverFX primer miss Jacqueline mentioned is great too - and I agree with her that less products is better otherwise too much just makes it stand out more and like she said blending is key.

May 28, 2016

Dana E.

Thank you everyone! :)
I never even realized the pores thing. It makes a lot of sense now as to why my concealer always slides off the pimple, lol. Thanks for the help:)

May 29, 2016

Hannah E.

The only thing that works for me is very simple. I put a good coverage foundation on, and then I use a packed powder to cover the spots. I apply extra powder with a smaller brush to the spots that stand out more. No concealer. It's what I swear on, and my face looks clear every time!

May 29, 2016

Shengmin L.

Wow Jacqueline! That was super informative! I've always hated how no concealer or foundation can cover my pimples entirely.

May 29, 2016

Jacqueline H.

Yes, covering a pimple although seemingly easy, can be pretty tricky. Glad you found what I said informative Shengmin.  :)

May 30, 2016

Chris M.

Try a skinny concealer pencil (the thickness of an actual pencil). They're harder and dryer than a chubby one. You could use a flesh-toned lip pencil, too. MUFE has some new ones out that I haven't tried yet, but if they're firm enough, they will adhere. MAC make one called Chromographic that's pretty good. You could dab the pimple with a toner on a q-tip to blot away any moisture first, then conceal.