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The best colour correctors for every skin issue

For a flawless finish, every day of the week

By Kate Niven

Beauty Crew Beauty Writer / September 18 2018

When it comes to covering up skin imperfections, concealer tends to be our go-to product. However, relying on one formula to tackle all of your concerns (no matter how good it may be), could be stopping you from achieving a flawless finish. Instead, the secret to perfect-looking skin lies in using colour correctors specifically formulated to even out the variety of colours on your skin. Rather than covering skin issues with flesh-toned pigments, colour correctors effectively cancel out everything from redness and dark circles to dullness. The result? Great skin and less makeup.

So how do you pick the right corrector(s) for you? Believe it or not, it’s actually quite simple. The quickest way to determine which colour corrector is required is to first establish the colour you’re looking to hide on your face. From there, simply identify the contrasting colour – the one that sits opposite it on the colour wheel. If your understanding of the colour wheel isn’t quite up to scratch, follow this handy guide: To neutralise redness, reach for green colour correctors. To liven up dull, sallow and yellow skin, try lavender and blue-toned products, and to cancel blueish dark circles, use peach or orangey correctors.

To help you out even further, we’ve rounded up six of the best colour correctors that will work wonders at creating the flawless skin you’ve always wanted.

Clarins SOS Primer

Available in six shades, Clarins’ SOS Primer has been specifically formulated for sensitive skin. The tinted primer contains a High Lumitech Complex to correct, revive and illuminate the complexion instantly, while organic sea lily extract delivers all-day hydration. If you’ve avoided primers in the past for fears they’ll clog your skin, then this is a product you can get behind; the fine, weightless texture lets skin breathe and is formulated with the Clarins anti-pollution complex to protect skin from environmental damage.

Revlon Photoready™ Color Correcting Pens

If you only need to colour correct small areas on your face, i.e. the dark circles under your eyes, Revlon’s Photoready™ Color Correcting Pens may be just the ticket. The pens (which are available in green, purple and peach hues) provide a targeted, mistake-proof approach to combating the most common skin tone imperfections. Formulated with 3D colour correcting pigments, the pens work with your skin to neutralise imperfections rather than simply covering them.

Givenchy Prisme Mattifying Primer

In addition to evening out your complexion, Givenchy’s Prisme Primer will mattify the skin and reduce the appearance of pores. Also available in six shades, the creamy formula contains Givenchy’s Blooming Beauty Complex, a complex composed of hydrating pansy, magnolia and rose for a fresh and moisturised complexion day after day.

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Teint Corrective Pen

This high-coverage pen (which is available in four shades) has been specifically formulated for those with sensitive, intolerant or allergy-prone skin. For best results, apply your chosen shade with the brush head before blending the product in with your fingers to neutralise localised pigment imperfections.

Sisley Instant Correct Colour Correcting Primer

While Sisley’s Instant Colour Correcting Primer is only available in two shades (peach and lavender), the non-greasy and non-comedogenic formula hydrates skin, protects against environmental damage and acts as the perfect base product for makeup application. The peach shade illuminates skin and subtly corrects complexions with greyish undertones, while the purple hue gives a porcelain finish to very fair skin with yellow undertones.

Sportsgirl Complexion Corrector

Available in lilac, peach, yellow and green shades, Sportsgirl’s Complexion Corrector (which will only set you back $12.95) evens, perfects, hydrates and preps the skin for a flawless foundation application every time.

Looking to overhaul your beauty kit? Then check out 12 of the best products hitting shelves this month.

What’s your Holy Grail colour corrector? Let us know in the comments below.

Main image credit: Sevak Babakhani

Kate Niven

Kate started working for BEAUTYcrew in early 2016, first as a contributor, and was then named Beauty Writer in 2017. She loves picking the brains of the industry's top experts to get to the bottom of beauty's toughest questions. Bronze eyeshadow palettes are her weakness and she's forever on the hunt for the perfect nude nail polish to suit her fair skin. Her words can also be found in Men's Health magazine, and she now works in PR.