Found: A Concealer Trick To Cover Up Age Spots Without Looking Cakey

Dark spots, age spots, sunspots—whatever you decide to call them, those little marks are often oh-so-frustrating. Why? They're stubborn spots with a variety of causes, and they tend to stick around for months (sometimes even years!), even with consistent care. 

That being said, it's important to tend to the discoloration patiently and brighten your skin tone with time, but some days you may just want to slap on some concealer and disguise those marks for the time being. We hear you.  

Concealer is a do-it-all makeup product (IMO), but that doesn't mean one single formula should carry all the weight. Meaning? You should use more than one concealer shade on different regions of your face! Your skin, after all, contains a range of shades and undertones, and simply swiping on the same formula may make your complexion fall flat. 

Don't just take my word for it: "The color you need to match your forehead will probably be a slightly different shade than that of your cheek or nose," iconic makeup artist and brand founder of Jones Road Beauty Bobbi Brown shares on an episode of Clean Beauty School. In fact, some beauty fans will even use multiple shades of concealer in lieu of foundation to contour, highlight, and cover up blemishes. To each their own—but if you're hoping to disguise dark spots of any kind, you'll want to consider your shade selection very closely.

See, you shouldn't just grab the same concealer you use for your under-eyes and dab it on your blemishes. "If you used the shade you used for your under-eyes on any other part of the face, it would make that area stand out instead of blend in," Brown adds. You might think a lighter shade would, well, lighten up the dark spot, but trust us—it will only make the discoloration more apparent. 

Rather, choose your true shade match or even half a shade darker than your usual foundation; that will actually help the spot fade into your skin. Kosas Revealer Concealer is my personal go-to formula (and the brand has 28 shades for you to choose from), or feel free to browse our curated favorites concealer here. 

From there, make sure you're very precise with the product and try not to cover outside the discoloration. You might even want to use a fine-tipped brush to apply, wait a couple of seconds for the formula to oxidize, then fluff the edges into the skin. Follow up with a touch of setting powder, if you're concerned about long wear.