6 Annoying Types Of Spots, And How To Cover Them Up

YouTube/Lisa Eldridge

Speaking from experience, the sudden appearance of a nasty spot can absolutely ruin your day. It becomes all you can see – you’re not you any more, you’re You plus Cystic Chin Acne.

Through trial and error, we’ve figured out how to cover every rotten type of spot, and we want to share that knowledge with you.

Whiteheads

In the grand scheme of things, whiteheads are the least annoying to spot to cover up (as long as you don’t pick them. More on that later). What will help here is using a very thin, precise brush, like what you might use to apply gel eyeliner – apply the concealer exactly on the whitehead and the red skin around it, as opposed to the area in general. You’ll never even know it was there.

Cystic acne

Honestly? Cystic acne is the worst. It’s painful, red, and raised, and seems to beam out at you no matter how many layers of makeup you put on. But there is a way to cover it properly!

First, you might want to stick a cold facecloth or ice cube on your cystic spot to take down the size and the redness. If it’s still pretty red, a green colour-corrector will cancel that out before you go in with your heavy-duty concealer. No green? A yellow-toned concealer will work too.

Dab the product on with your finger, and make sure to set with powder – if it still needs some more covering, dab some more concealer on and powder again.

Blackheads

The good news is that blackheads are easier to cover than they are to get rid of. A pore-filling primer will even out any texture on your nose and cheeks, allowing for the smooth application of foundation and concealer. Try Benefit’s Porefessional (€34) or NYX’s Pore Filler (€15.50).

Spots you’ve picked at, and that are now craters

If you’re a picker, you’ll know that concealer does not want to stick on a freshly-picked spot that is now more of an open wound. Powder is the answer – either a powder foundation, or non-translucent setting powder – use your precise brush again to pat it over the shiny red skin, then try applying concealer again. That should do the trick!

Flaky, dried-out spots that are on their way out

Another type of spot that absolutely wrecks the head. Like cystic acne, covering this is all about the prep. Use your facecloth to gently buff away the flaky skin, then moisturise, moisturise, moisturise – this MUA recommends putting something like Elizabeth Arden’s 8 Hour Cream on the spot for a few minutes, then wiping it off with a q-tip before going in with concealer (this is so any oils that might be in the moisturiser that won’t play well with makeup).

Dark marks where spots have been

You’ve defeated the spot. You THINK it’s all over. Then it hangs around for another two weeks as a dark mark on your chin. It’s just incredibly rude. A peachy-toned colour-corrector will neutralise the colour of the scars before you apply your regular concealer.

With these techniques in your arsenal, spots will never get the better of you again.

• concealer
• spots