We all have that tired morning face when we look – and feel – rather down in the mouth. It feels like fatigue and heaviness are taking over, and both your skin and mood are in need of an immediate improvement. If this sounds familiar, you’re in luck. Celebrity makeup artist Val Garland recently shared a clever new insider secret that lifts your entire face in seconds using an incredibly easy technique.
No tricky contouring, multiple product blending or anything that obviously looks like makeup – just a few quick swipes that create an invisible facelift look.
And how is this magic done? Using concealer. This is a product you probably already have, and even if you need to buy a new one for yourself, Val’s picks for this trick start at less than £6.
BBC glow up Judge shares all her insider info as part of her excellent ‘Bold Not Old’ Instagram series, where she showcases her years of expertise in mature makeup. and that In fact Get to know her: She’s worked with Helen Mirren for L’Oréal Paris, as well as every supermodel from Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss to Cindy Crawford.
Following Val’s popular Instagram tutorial on ‘sculpting for seniors’ using blush, contour and highlighter, Val has now shared a one-product technique that even makeup aficionados can adopt.
‘Sometimes you just want a lift,’ Val says in her latest Instagram tutorial. ‘This is where your concealer will come in handy, because sometimes you don’t want a shiny, glossy top of the cheekbones, but you do want to look lifted. So this is my bold hack, not an old one.
Val starts with a swipe of eye-catching concealer, which is applied just above her cheeks
Val starts by selecting a skincare-infused concealer to ensure a seamless, invisible finish. She demonstrates the technique using Kosas Revealer Concealer, which is the Good Housekeeping Institute’s top pick for concealing dark circles, so it’s definitely worth the £28 price tag.
However, if you’re on a budget, Val also praised the NYX Bare With Me Serum Concealer and picked it up for its bargain price. For a real steal, it’s currently on sale at Amazon for just £5.99 – not bad for a facelift in a tube!
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It takes only a few moments to create a ‘lift’ using the back of the hand as a makeshift palette. ‘Using a small flat concealer brush, I apply the concealer where I want to bring lift and illumination to the face,’ Val explains, adding carefully placed stripes of product.
His technique focuses on contouring the mid-face, using two diagonal lines of concealer on either side of the face. The first goes from just above the cheekbones to the temples to lift the eyes, and the second is a parallel swipe to lift the mouth and cheeks.
‘So this is from the corner of the mouth, right below where you’ll make your outline,’ Val says, swiping across the bottom of the two lines. ‘Take it up to the ears. And under the eyes, where the bags are,’ she says, applying concealer where needed.
To help find the right spot for your face, look carefully at your reflection to target dark areas. ‘Apply concealer where you have shadow, (like) under the nasolabial fold.’ she adds.
Val recommends applying brightening concealer to the sides of the mouth and the lines between the nose and lips
This technique will visually lift your eyes and hide fatigue. ‘I also like to use concealer as a highlighter on the eyes to accentuate my brows,’ says Val. ‘You can also apply concealer across the eyelid, as I find on mature eyes, the eyelids are often a little pink.’
The overall effect using concealer is what she calls a ‘light lifter’. ‘The way to do this is to use a concealer that is one shade lighter than the concealer you would normally use,’ she explains. (Chances are, there’s already one in your makeup bag, she notes.)
Use concealer to lift the brows and hide redness on the eyelids, says Val
When the ‘light lift’ lines are in place, it’s time to use a dense, soft brush to blend the edges.
‘You want it to melt into your skin,’ says Val. ‘You don’t want it to look like you have these diagonal lines moving across your face. It should look like the light is hitting your face right there.’
Use a soft brush to melt concealer into the skin for an invisible lift, says Val.
It only takes a minute or two to achieve, but this simple technique will make an immediate, yet subtle, difference on mature skin. Unlike trying to swipe your face with a glitter highlighter stick, it’s an imperceptible boost.
‘What you’re doing is illuminating and brightening your face, but in a much more natural way,’ says Val. ‘Old rules are shiny sticks, bold rules are light lifts.’
It’s adventurous! Get the full tutorial here.
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