By the time you reach your 50s, chances are you’re well acquainted with pesky dark spots, whether they’ve appeared due to hormonal changes or years of sun exposure. If so, you’ll also know how tricky they can be to conceal.
Of course, there are plenty of full-coverage foundations and concealers readily available on the shelves. That said, not every occasion calls for such heavy coverage. Even then, you may find that, rather than covering the spots up, they can end up creating a ghastly ashy or grey tone instead.
Luckily, at 67, legendary makeup artist Val Garland has plenty of tried-and-tested makeup tricks up her sleeve. Plus, with a glittering client list that includes Helen Mirren and Kate Moss, she certainly knows her stuff.
In her latest Instagram tutorial, Val shared her insider routine for covering pigmentation, but not before making one thing very clear: ‘First rule is always mandatory: wear SPF, summer and winter. This won’t correct the damage you’ve already got, but it’ll help to combat any future damage.’ A statement we certainly won’t argue with.
To disguise her own pigmentation, she reveals her secret weapon: Stila’s Correct & Perfect All-In-One Palette. It’s a creamy, colour-correcting palette packed with shades designed to neutralise everything from dark spots to redness.
Stila Correct & Perfect All-in-One Colour Correcting Palette
At first glance, the array of colourful hues might seem intimidating (and very unlike real skin), but Val explains that this works far better than a concealer matched perfectly to your own complexion.
‘When you’re putting your concealer over a blemish – let’s say it’s a sunspot – what you’re doing is you are lightening that sunspot. That’s not going to address the depth of the colour. You won’t get rid of it; it’ll just look a bit grey. You want to change the colour, not hide it.’
As Val explains, covering up pigmentation effectively is all about colour theory. ‘This is where the colour peach, all the way through to orange, is really going to bring the warmth back to the skin, and it’s going to neutralise that colour, so you can then put your concealer on the top,’ she says.
For lighter skin tones, a soft peach corrector is ideal, she explains. Meanwhile, deeper skin tones, or particularly dark spots, require more warmth, making the orange shade a better choice.
She teams the palette with a small ‘pinpoint’ brush, dipping it into the peachy shade. ‘I’m just applying this anywhere I need to cover a sunspot,’ she explains. ‘Then, I’m going to let the product sit there for a minute just so that it can absorb into the area. After, I’ll come back with a bigger brush and I will just pat that product right into the skin.’
While Val doesn’t reveal exactly which brushes she uses, similar styles are available online for less than £10. We’d recommend NYX’s Pro Micro Blending Brush and e.l.f.’s Tap & Blend Concealer Brush as great budget-friendly options.
With the colour corrector settled on the skin, Val then goes over with a light foundation – her pick being Chanel’s Les Beiges Foundation. ‘You don’t really need a lot on a mature skin. You just want to feel the hydration.’
With the tutorial complete, Val proves just how much of a difference it can make. Her skin is left with a natural-looking finish, no heavy splodges of concealer or grey hues in sight. Genius – and surprisingly simple.
