Colour correcting: The beauty trick for zero eye bags and whiter teeth

The theory is simple: If you want to see less of one colour, you counter it with the colour that’s directly opposite on the colour wheel to neutralise it.

At the same time, avoid too much of one colour on your face. For example, if you’ve neutralised dark circles with reddish tone concealer, avoid applying red anywhere else, and also don’t use the colours that are close to red, like purple or orange.

When applying colour correctors, dab in small amounts instead of smearing on thickly. Then use a blending sponge to, well, blend until the colour looks seamless.

Starting light allows you to build up the coverage where needed, and honestly, you don’t need to use too much. Once you layer it with your usual foundation and loose powder to set, it should unify your overall skin tone and shouldn’t look too thick.

Offending red tones from pimples or broken capillaries, can be neutralised with a dab of green or cool-toned  colour corrector.

If you’re neutralising a stubborn lone wolf like a huge zit, use a small brush instead of your fingertip for more precision correction. Make sure to use a tiny bit of green (unless you want to look like Shrek), then follow up with your regular concealer or foundation.

A pesky cluster of veins reside under our eyes, which can show up as bluish or purplish dark circles at times. The main colours to counter this are yellow, peach and even red.

For medium to dark skin, use bright orange or red to neutralise the bluish eye bags. Then, go over with a normal concealer. You can also use them for your lids which can also appear veiny.

Some fairer skin tones actually look better with orange, so sometimes there’s some trial and error involved until you find the perfect match.

For the dullness under our eyes and on other areas of the face, use a yellow, peach or cool toned concealer (like a purple base) to neutralise the grey tones. If you’ve light to medium skin, this usually does the trick.

If you’ve got a sallow, yellowish undertone, counteract it with opposite hues like blue or lavender.

These colours also work when you want to brighten selected areas like around your mouth or your forehead. Using these colours around your mouth can also make yellowish teeth seem whiter, thanks to the cool undertone.

Once you’ve put on your concealer or foundation after colour correcting, your face should be a neutral, clean canvas. If you choose to wear a dark lippie, be sure to have enough concealer and bronzer to look healthy. My go-to: Urban Decay’s Naked Concealer, $40 and Benefit’s Hoola Bronzer, $51.

However if you want to skip all of these and keep the discolourations minimal, you should still avoid wearing colours like lippies and eyeshadows that bring out your discolourations. For example, those with bluish dark circles should avoid dark plum lips or purples as these would emphasise that flaw. A safe lippie bet is always a light pink or nude pink lipstick like Tom Ford Beauty Lip & Boys in 03 Anderson, $50.

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