Have you ever wondered what those bright coloured concealers are? Why or how you should use banana powders? Or green or purple primers, don't they make your skin look sick? Well fear no more, we have everything you need to know about colour correcting.

Colour correcting is one of those things that when done correctly can have amazing results for your makeup. Not everyone needs to use colour correcters and they can look quite intimidating to beginners, but they really are easy to use.

To understand colour correction, you need to first look at a colour wheel.

Colour correction uses colours from opposite sides of the colour wheel to neutralise/cancel each other out. 

So what do each colour correcting shades do...

Peach/Orange - are used to neutralise out blue tones in the skin, so use under the eyes to cover darkness or for bruising. For fair skins go for peach correctors, for deeper skin tones go for orange correctors. (men can also use this shade to conceal the shadow from facial hair)

Green - neutralise redness in the skin, use on blemishes, birthmarks, broken capillaries, rosacea and scarring.

Purple - neutralises yellow/sallow skin. Use to cover hyperpigmentation or any areas looking a little dull.

Yellow - neutralises purple tones, so use under the eyes if your dark circles show more purple then blue and use for more purple bruises. Also used for brightening.

Pink - neutralises yellow/green tones. So it is also used as a brightener like purple. (use with caution, can have the opposite effect and make you look sick.)

Blue - works the same as the purple colour corrector, except on areas that are more orange then yellow.

Colour correctors can be found in primers, concealers and powders. So which product is best for you?

If you have an overall problem you want to correct, like redness all over the face or hyper-pigmentation it would be best to use a colour correcting primer. Purple and green primers are very common.

If you have a more specific area to conceal it is best to use concealers. Colour correcting concealers are the only concealers that need to go under your foundation. We find it best to apply them using your fingers, as the warmth of your fingers helps to blend the product onto the skin better, if you are opposed to using your fingers to apply makeup, apply using a fluffy eyeshadow brush, so not to apply too heavy. A little bit goes a long way, if you put too much on it will show through your foundation and make your skin look discoloured.

Pat the colour lightly onto the area you wish to correct, with the colours mentioned above for the specific problems. When you go to apply foundation over the top, you don't want to disturb the colour corrector, so gently press the foundation on over the top using a brush or sponge. Set everything in place with powder. 

The most common powder colour corrector is yellow, also known as Banana Powder.  Everyone can use this and it is best for brightening under the eyes, or in the t-zone. Pink is another colour corrector that regularly appears as a powder, but as mentioned above, can do the opposite depending on your skin tone, so proceed with caution. Use a powder brush to pat under the eyes, centre of the forehead, centre of the nose and chin.

Used correctly, your skin will look fresh and flawless!