How to Color Correct.

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A month or so ago, this snazzy Stila Color Correcting palette arrived in the mail. Pretty… To be honest though, I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it, so I set it aside. Then, almost immediately, it started to feel as though all I was hearing about anywhere was color-correcting! I wasn’t a complete dunce… I’ve used green powders to offset redness, and I tried concealing dark circles using this sort of crazy trick.

Then, I ran into my friend Sarah Lucero at a Stila event (she’s their Executive Director of Global Creative Artistry and a wealth of knowledge when it comes to makeup!) and I more or less attacked her. WHAT DO I DO WITH THE PALETTE!?, I demanded to know. Lucky for us she has provided some tips and tricks (this isn’t sponsored or anything, Sarah just knows her stuff and I wanted to take the opportunity to share some of her knowledge with you all… and her tips + tricks will work with whatever color correcting formula you choose.)

First off, Sarah loves the palette as it has everything you need (creams and powders) and the creams are actually waterproof. She uses her fingers to apply the product and a powder brush to set everything once she’s done. Also, she pointed out that Stila breaks down the steps on the back of the palette so you don’t have to remember everything.

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SARAH’S TIPS ON HOW TO USE THE STILA CORRECT & PERFECT PALETTE

 

Here is the best way to use each color and what concern it will correct and perfect.

  • Peach Cream: This neutralizes blue/purple under eye circles on most skin tones. I prefer to use the peach cream as a concealer on a daily basis. You can always mix the peach into your regular concealer routine and watch how it instantly lifts and brighten up your under eye circles. I tend to favor the peach cream on myself and all of my clients!
    Pink Cream: This brightens and highlights eye area to help mask fatigue. I like to use the pink cream after the peach and brighten up any areas like corners of mouth, smile lines, and also under the brow bone….the pink cream has a slight illumination to the formula which makes this shade extra special, giving an almost airbrushed and soft finish. I love it!
    Yellow Cream: This neutralizes purple/brown; hyper pigmentation and dark spots. It’s great for sun damage that peeks through on cheeks and forehead.
    Green Cream: This neutralizes red – rosacea, acne, broken capillaries, and sunburn. The green is such a sheer texture and blends into skin effortlessly so you can actually see the redness start to disappear and fade away. If you have allergies and tend to get red around your nose, try using the green cream in those pesky areas.
    Orange Cream: This neutralizes blue and purple tones and ideal for under eye correction – I like to use this shade alone on Olive/Deep skin tones as concealer. But all skin tones can wear the orange cream – just mix a tiny bit into the peach or pink to adjust and custom create your correcting shade. I tend to mix the peach and orange cream to get the perfect shade of under eye brightener. The orange will completely lift up the darkness under the eyes, so be sure to only apply where you need it. Its all about layering and correcting the issue with the best.
    Pressed Powders: The lavender powder will brighten up yellowness, sallowness, and dull skin tones. The yellow powder is used to set any of the cream correctors or use all over to even out the skin tone.

Pretty interesting, right? I have been playing around with mine and agree with Sarah. When I use it, I can wear less makeup which is always a good thing. It’s so interesting to me how the process works. Besides the Stila palette I’ve also been using Urban Decay’s new Naked Skin sticks. The green one is especially good.

And also.. my friend Jackie swears by the new colored Touche Eclat. I trust her opinion (she is a copywriter over at Sephora and gets to try everything). I asked her about it and here’s what she said: “Right now I truly consider YSL Touche Eclat Neutralizer in Vert my holy grail. I got to attend a color correcting event for work and the look on my coworker’s face as my redness disappeared was priceless. Sure, it’s an extra step in the morning, but now I use less foundation and get compliments on how healthy and natural my complexion looks.”

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Leave a Comment

Leave a Comment

16 Comments

  1. Jessica Rose:

    Colour correction confuses me as well. Thank you for sharing the post. Now at least I have some idea’s with what I’m supposed to do with the colours!

    4.13.16 Reply
  2. Christina:

    Such an interesting post – I don’t know much about color correcting, but I totally just learned a thing or two!

    Christina :: Simple and Delish

    4.13.16 Reply
  3. francesca:

    so helpful, thanks for sharing!

    xo
    http://www.cherry-mag.com

    4.13.16 Reply
  4. Franziska:

    How do I sign up for their jobs?! Those sound like the best jobs in the world (although I’m sure they are sick of hearing that because no matter what, a job is a job).

    I haven’t tried color correcting yet – part of me is telling myself that normal concealer is enough, but…I’m also curious. Hmmm.

    4.13.16 Reply
  5. Annie Reeves:

    I’m always looking for product to soften the dark circles under my eyes. It’s one of my obsessions when it comes to beauty/makeup (I really need to splurge on the Cure!!!) I’ve heard suuuuch good things about the Touche Eclat too. Always love your beauty posts, Grace!

    4.13.16 Reply
  6. mary:

    seriously so helpful, thank you!!!

    4.13.16 Reply
  7. terri martin:

    Love this. My biggest skin concern is redness, so I am going to check out that Touche Eclat!!!

    4.13.16 Reply
  8. kelly owe:

    thank you for this! I’ve been so intrigued by color correcting and how it works. I need to pick up that Stila palette, it sounds like it has everything I need!

    4.13.16 Reply
  9. Kara:

    Super interesting! My dark circles are out of control, I want to try the lipstick trick!

    4.13.16 Reply
  10. Thuy:

    Thanks for the post. This colour-correcting stuff overwhelms me but I love seeing all the products around. So colourful.

    http://www.dressupchowdown.com

    4.13.16 Reply
  11. Lauren:

    The Laura Mercier high coverage concealer is great for dark circles. A more affordable option is the NYX dark circle concealer. I think it’s less than $10 and you can find it at the drug store.

    4.13.16 Reply
  12. Catherine:

    I’ve been trying so many products lately to try and offset under eye circles, so now I really want to try that red lipstick trick! Did it work for you when you tried it?

    Catherine

    4.13.16 Reply
    • graceatwood:

      Haha, to be totally honest… no! It didn’t work! I think maybe I am too fair. I might have been using the wrong shade of red lipstick, and I might give it another try when I have a tan but I think the trick might work on olive and/or darker skin tones.

      That being said, what did work for me was using the orange cream in the Stila palette… I just patted on a small amount, really blended it in, and then applied concealer over. Dark circles, GONE.

      4.14.16 Reply
  13. Dena:

    you’re so right, this is EVERYWHERE, but now I actually want to try it!!!

    4.13.16 Reply
  14. Sharon Hughes:

    OOO I love Stila, I dont think we have this in Australia yet. Will have to keep an eye out!!

    4.14.16 Reply