Colour-correcting Concealer

A good t-girl friend of mine recently asked me for recommendations on concealer, particularly one able to hide shaving redness and beard shadow. And although I replied immediately in email, it has inspired me to write a blog article on it to go into more detail in case it is of benefit to others too.

Until I had the laser hair removal, I suffered from really bad shadow. Even after wet shaving really closely I’d have dark shadow that normal foundation and concealer couldn’t hide.

I found two systems, both by Kryolan, to be extremely effective. Kryolan are a German company who specialise in make-up for the film, theatre and television industries. But their products are also widely used by people who need serious concealer coverage.

The first is Kryolan’s “Derma Color” Camouflage concealer range. This is marketed as

“A paramedical makeup line developed by Kryolan, a world leader in cosmetic manufacturing. Dermacolor is designed to correct skin disfigurements or discolourations whether they are accidental, dermatological, surgical or congenital.”

It’s suitable for covering tattoos, scars, skin pigmentation issues such as Vitiligo and, of course, beard shadow! The concealer comes as a creme and can be bought in individual shade pots (pictured), palettes, compacts, and also a handy Tester Kit (pictured)

The tester kit contains Camouflage Cream in 7 shades, Fixing Powder, Cleansing Cream, Moisturiser Cream, Cleansing Lotion, Cleansing Milk and makeup remover. Of the kit, I think I have only ever used the camouflage cream and fixer powder. The rest are rather superfluous, in my opinion. But it is an inexpensive way to dip your toe into the Dermocolor range.

However, my personal recommendation would be to get one of their palettes as these are refillable and have more long-term use. I actually have one of these – a 12-colour palette – but I can’t find it right now so can’t take a photograph of it for you. The one I have is rather retro; it’s in a metal case and looks like a watercolour paint set I owned as a child. You can also get palettes in 3, 5, 6, 12, 24, and any number of others (I’m not going to do exhaustive research on this. Let’s just say “a variety of palettes are available”).

However, if this proves not to be enough, you can wheel out the really Big Guns of concealer and try Kryolan’s “TV Stick” (oh! the irony in that name!) which is a very heavy cream concealer that looks like a Pritt Stick, and is only slightly less gunky. This stuff is seriously thick & creamy, and covers even the most stubborn beard shadow. It would make even Homer Simpson look clean-shaven (although I don’t think Kryolan make it in yellow). I found that dabbing it directly onto the skin and then blending in with a damp cosmetic sponge was the way to go. I then put normal liquid foundation on top (such as MAC’s excellent Studio Fix) and then fixed with translucent loose powder. Be warned that you run a real risk of looking like you are wearing a face mask with this stuff, but it really is the way to go if you have problem beard shadow like I used to have.

Edit: I’ve had feedback emphatically agreeing that TV Stick can end up looking like a face mask (well, I did say that!). I really can’t emphasise enough that it is vitally important to blend this with a damp latex cosmetic sponge and also to use a loose powder to fix it. This really is extremely effective in making it look more natural to the point I would say that it is essential.

Links & Further Reading

Extreme Makeup
UK seller of Kryolan products, including both TV Stick and Dermacolor

Kryolan UK
Kryolan’s UK website

Vanity Treasures review
A review on the TV Paint Stick.

Makeup and Beauty review
A review of Dermacolor concealer.