How to Use Concealer for a Mini Facelift

From: Lauren at InStyle - Saturday Nov 25,2023 09:01 pm

And so it goes, change begets change—especially in autumn. As soon as I dyed my hair red, I had the urge to double down and bleach my brows (more on that below). It wasn't my first time and won't be my last; the stark constrast injects so much new life into my style. It's Thanksgiving weekend and, in addition to spending cozy quality time with family, I'm using my new look as an excuse to go vintage shopping and clean out my closet to make room for new gems. I'm also set on finally seeing Sofia Coppola's Priscilla (I dressed up as her for Halloween, hence the transformative bleached brows!), which I know will be a feast for the senses, especially on the beauty front. I hope your weekend will be similarly relaxing and regenerative!

— Lauren Valenti, InStyle Beauty Director

BEAUTY TIP OF THE WEEK

Use concealer, like Gucci's Concentré de Beauté, to sculpt your face. Apply one dot on the inner corner of the eye, on the outer corner of the eye, on the side of the nose, and at the corners of the lip, then blend out with your finger. It lifts the whole face—it's kind of like a secret mini facelift.

— Thomas de Kluyver, Gucci Beauty's global color and makeup artist

PHOTO: LAUREN VALENTI

TREND TEST

Ahead of Halloween, when they'd come in handy for the aforementioned full-tilt transformation, I asked my hair colorist Jenna Perry to bleach my brows. The look is trending thanks to stars like Doja Cat and Lady Gaga, and I love how they make a bold eye or lip really pop. But there's no getting around it, bleached brows are hard to maintain. I use Virtue Labs purple shampoo in the shower to de-brass them (the purple pigments neutralize yellow tones) and blend some concealer at the roots as they grow in salt-and-pepper style.

EMPTY OF THE WEEK

Since makeup artist Colby Smith, who works with everyone from Jenna Lyons to Caroline Polachek, first introduced me to Monika Blunder's Botanical Balm lip tint, I've been obsessed. Infused with hyaluronic acid and rosehip oil, it's super hydrating and delivers a sheer veil of color and shine. My go-to shade is Frühling (that's German for spring), a neutral mauve that gives me that perfect your-lips-but-better effect.

BUY IT

PHOTO: NINA PARK

Q+A with Lauren

Q: I love my natural freckles. How can I wear makeup without totally covering them up?

A: One trick I learned from Nina Park, the master behind the freckled glows of Sadie Sink and Saoirse Ronan, has been a game-changer: Instead of just using one foundation, layer a couple of different ones ranging in coverage from sheer to full to add more dimension. Use the sheerest formula on the areas where your freckles are most concentrated, blending it in with the pads of your fingertips for a second-skin-like finish. Nina's recommendation? Armani Beauty's Neo Nude tinted moisturizer. As she says, “It blurs and softly covers unevenness but is sheer enough to let the freckles shine through.” If you want to punctuate your freckles or add extra flecks, try a pen like Jason Wu Beauty's Faux Freckle Pen.

Read More on InStyle.com

Sadie Sink's Makeup Artist Shared the Best Trick for Enhancing a Freckled Glow →

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