How to Cover Up Spots With Makeup

Q: Should you cover spots before or after foundation?

Use your concealer to cover spots after you apply a light coat of primer and a base of foundation. A light foundation base detracts from the redness of spots and helps to prepare the skin for concealer. It also means that you can use less concealer, which can have a cakey texture if too much is used.

Q: How do you cover up pimples with makeup?

Prep your skin with cleanser and primer, then apply a light layer of foundation. Use a small amount of concealer directly on the spot, blending it outwards into the surrounding skin. Build coverage gradually to avoid a cakey finish.

Q: What is the best concealer for pimples?

A buildable, high-coverage concealer like Super Stay 24H works best for pimples, as it allows precise application without looking heavy. For redness or discolouration, a colour correcting concealer can help even out skin tone before applying your regular concealer.

Q: Why is concealer making my spots look worse?

Blemish concealer is a great way of concealing spots, but if used incorrectly, it can make skin look worse. If you use concealer to cover up spots and find your skin looks worse, you have likely: Used too much concealer and created a cakey texture on your face. Used the wrong shade of concealer. Not blended your concealer well enough.

Spots happen.

Whether it’s a pimple on the cheek or a full-blown breakout, spots can happen to anyone at any time and at any age. But, even though spots are common, that doesn’t mean we have to put up with them, and with the right makeup, you can conceal spots and make your skin appear flawless again.

In this article, we’ll go over how to cover up spots with makeup, looking at the best techniques for different spot types and skin types, before going into the best Maybelline makeup for the job.

Using Makeup to Cover Pimples: Key takeaways

Blemish concealer is a temporary, but effective solution for covering spots and making your skin appear smooth and uniform.
Before using makeup to cover pimples, always apply a coat of Primer and a thin base layer of Maybelline’s Super Stay 30h Lumi-Matte Foundation.
To cover spots, blend a small amount of Maybelline’s Instant Eraser Eye Mult-Use Concealer into the spot and skin around it. Regardless of the spot’s size, start small and add concealer as necessary to avoid a cakey texture.
For red or darker spots on the face, try using our Instant Eraser Colour Correcting Concealer, which balances out strong colours and keeps your skin an even tone.

Why Spots Still Show Through Makeup

Before we start, let’s make something clear: using makeup to cover pimples is a temporary solution, not a permanent one. Despite this, it can still be an effective way to conceal spots in the short term, and if you’re seeing spots show through makeup, you’re likely making a couple of ‘makeup mistakes’ when covering spots. These could be:

Using too much makeup, which then clumps together and doesn't cover spots.
Putting on products in the wrong order (more on this later)
Skipping out or missing steps when prepping your face for makeup.

Prep Your Skin Before Covering Spots

Before you start using makeup to cover pimples, it is vital to properly prep your skin.

Start by gently cleansing your face with your usual cleanser. This helps to remove previous makeup residue and any dirt and impurities from your face, both of which ensure your new makeup will adhere to your face more cleanly.

Then, after drying your face, apply a Maybelline Primer, like our Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser Primer, which helps to prepare the face for makeup adhesion and soften the look of your skin.

How to Cover Spots With Makeup Step by Step

Now that you know the mistakes to avoid, we can get into our step-by-step guide on how to hide spots with makeup.

STEP 1: Apply a light base:
After your cleanse and your primer, it’s time to add a light base layer of foundation. For makeup to cover pimples, we recommend using Maybelline’s Super Stay 30h Lumi-Matte Foundation, which provides a subtle and mattifying base layer perfect for layering concealer on top of. When covering pimples, a natural look is essential, so try to choose a foundation as close to your skin tone as possible.
STEP 2: Conceal spots precisely:
Next, it’s time to add your concealer. For blemish concealer, targeted application is key, and that’s why we recommend using our Instant Eraser Eye Mult-Use Concealer. Use the included applicator to apply foundation directly to your face, and enjoy the correcting benefits.
STEP 3: Blend around the spot:
Though you add concealer directly to your spots, to achieve a natural and subtle look, you should blend your concealer outwards, towards the edges of each spot. Blending ensures that your concealer doesn’t show up as blobby and obvious, replacing one spot with another. Instead, blended concealer naturally covers red marks and spots.
STEP 4: Less is more:
When learning how to cover spots with makeup, it may be tempting to go all in and use as much concealer as possible, but trust us, less is more. Using too much concealer can cause an unnatural and cakey texture, which is best to avoid. Start small, and use more concealer as appropriate.

How to Cover Different Types of Spots

How to Cover Red Spots With Makeup

If you want to know how to cover red spots with makeup, then a colour correcting concealer could be the best option for you.

Colour correctors use opposite colours to cancel out discolouration, and so for red spots, your best bet is the green variant of our Instant Eraser Colour Correcting Concealer. Though it may sound overwhelming, the blend of red and green will even out and give your skin a neutral, normal tone.

How to Cover Dark Spots With Makeup

For covering dark spots with makeup, a colour corrector may also be your best choice. Though a normal foundation could work, the amount needed to even out a dark spot could result in a cakey texture, so instead, why not try a colour corrector?

The pink shade of our Instant Eraser Colour Correcting Concealer is designed to brighten dark circles, and works to even out skin tone for up to 12 hours of wear.

How to Cover Active Breakouts

If you struggle with breakouts, then using concealer to cover spots may seem a daunting task. But, though it may take longer, there is no reason why you can’t cover acne with makeup and concealer.

Apply a small amount of concealer to your face and blend outwards, over the breakout. Add more as appropriate, being careful not to create a thick and cakey texture on the face. Though it may not completely conceal a large breakout, a concealer can help to reduce the visible appearance of acne and boost your skin confidence!

How to Make Spots Less Noticeable Without Heavy Makeup

Knowing how to hide pimples without heavy makeup tends to be a skill that develops over time as you become more comfortable using concealer. That said, there are a few blemish concealer tips and tricks that can help you sharpen your skills more quickly:

Strategic placement: Only put concealer where you need it, limiting your use to keep your skin looking natural.
Keep coverage uniform: Try to use the same amount of concealer on all spots or blemishes you are covering up.
Stay confident: Remember, our spots are always more visible to us than to anyone else. You don’t need loads of blemish concealer to hide marks and pimples, only a small amount blended well.

Feel Skin-Confident with Maybelline Concealers

Blemish concealer is a great way to cover spots, breakouts, and blackheads, if you can use it correctly. When you use makeup to cover pimples, remember to prep your skin with primer, use a light foundation base, and only use a small amount of concealer (blended well).