Colour Correcting: Everything You Need To Know!
Let’s face it: We all want flawless and beautiful skin. But, no one wakes up with perfect skin, like there can be dark circles, redness, or dullness. Everyone wants to cover these up as best as possible but at the same time also don’t want to look cakey with layers of makeup. If you are looking for a way to cut down on layers and still look stunning with a flawless base, then you might want to learn about this new trend of ‘Colour Correcting Makeup’.
What is Colour Correction?
Colour Correction is a method of neutralising the shade of an imperfection or the flaws in the skin tone, such as sores, redness, acne, puffiness, under eye circles, etc., by applying a colour that sit opposite of it on the colour wheel. This is basically a method of camouflaging flaws in the skin and giving it a smooth and flawless look.
It gives you a more natural looking skin without the need of a lot of foundation. The only thing to take care of is to use a light hand and only correct the areas of concern. Always apply thin layers and build up slowly as you go. Colour correctors are often quite pigmented and so if you go overboard, it will require a heavier layer of foundation and then the whole point of achieving the natural and flawless skin is gone.
The fundamentals of colour correction is in the colour wheel. All you need to understand is that which colour corrector to pick as per the skin condition. A colour wheel has contrasting colours that sits in opposite places. These colours cancel out the effect of one another.
Every makeup artist in India or a makeup lover should have a basic understanding of the colour correctors and how it works. To get started, you’ll need a colour correcting palette.
To better help you master the colour correction art, let’s take a close look at what each of the colours does for your skin and what it cancels out.
GREEN – Neutralizes Redness
Green corrector is used to neutralize redness. It is a great choice if you want to get rid of any redness on your face or are prone to redness and inflammation because of the sensitivity, the green could do wonders. It works really well on acnespots or other red blemishes like zits and scars.
If you just have overall redness, apply a green colour correcting primer as a base for your foundation to significantly reduce the redness. A layer of foundation can be applied over it to get a flawless, even skin tone.
ORANGE – Neutralizes Dark Circles on Deep Skin Tones
Orange corrector is ideal for people with darker skin tones who have dark circles and pigmentation. It can be used to conceal blemishes and spots on the skin. Dark circles under the eyes can also be removed using orange corrector.
Dark circles usually have a blue undertone, so the orange cancels out the blue and gives you an even base for concealer and foundation.
PEACH – Cancels Blue/Purple on Fair to Medium Skin Tones
Peach corrector works quite similar to orange corrector. They are of the same family. They are used to cover up any blue undertones or dark spots caused by blemishes or pigmentation. It is used to conceal under-eye dark circles for light to medium skin tones. They work really well to hide the signs of fatigue or if you have been slacking your beauty sleep.
YELLOW – Brighten and Highlight
Yellow corrector helps in turning up the brightness. Yellow sits opposite to purple in the colour wheel and hence cancels it out. This one is ideal to hide the prominent veins around the eyes and the dark circles. It also helps to cover purple/blue bruises on the skin.
It can also be used to turn a regular foundation into a brighter one. It can be used to highlight the under eye area, bridge of the nose, chin and t-zone. You can use a yellow corrector as an alternative to eye primer and also to define your brow shape.
LILAC / PURPLE – Neutralizes Yellow Tones
Purple corrector is used to even out yellow undertones and to brighten dull skin. Purple sits directly opposite to yellow in the colour wheel. It helps to remove dull and yellow complexion and gives your skin a healthy glow.
A purple or lavender spot corrector can help to conceal sallowness and hyper-pigmentation. If you want to remove yellow undertones from your face, then you can also use a purple colour correcting primer.
Below are few tips that you should always keep in mind about colour correction and its application.
- Apply the corrector in thin layers and build up slowly as you go, because a thick layer of corrector may peep through your foundation.
- Use only the required colour corrector to cancel as per the undertone of the pigmentation. No need to use all the colours just because you have them.
- Try to choose the right hue of colour corrector for your skin tone.
- Apply the colour corrector over that specific spot where the correction is needed instead of applying it all over the face.
- Either use a beauty blender or your fingers to apply the product.
- Colour correctors should not be blended all over the face, it should be pat into the skin.
Lastly, do remember that makeup should enhance your skin. You don’t have to conceal your blemishes if it is not necessary. Try the colour correctors only if you are uncomfortable in any way with bruising or acne marks or redness or else, Let your natural face shine!!