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The Ultimate Guide to Covering Up Your Zits


Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Retailers

There are thousands of acne concealers on the market, but too many of them lack pigment or staying power. Lucky for you, we’ve been testing acne concealers since the days of our first pimples in middle school. Plus, after speaking with a few experts, we have their favorites, too.

SO, YOU NEED TO COVER UP ACNE?

➼ FAQs
➼ Our top picks
➼ More tried-and-true favorites
➼ Our experts

Our top picks

Best Concealer for Hiding Tattoos

best concealer to hide tattoos

DERMABLEND Quick – Fix Concealer

A husband-wife duo — one a dermatologist, the other a makeup artist — teamed up to create the company Dermablend. Since then, it’s become a favorite on movie sets, where makeup artists use it to conceal actors’ tattoos. The coverage is so strong that it can cover an entire body — so don’t worry, it can handle a pimple as well. It’s one of the highest rated concealers on Ulta.

$28 at Amazon

$28 at Ulta Beauty

The TikTok-Approved One

best concealer for acne tiktok

e.l.f. Hydrating Camo Concealer

Another viral concealer known for its hydrating qualities and affordable price, this one offers great coverage that makes concealing acne pretty easy, but pro tip: Use a brush instead of fingers to blend it in and avoid creasing.

$7 at Amazon

$7 at Ulta Beauty

$7 at Target

The Cult-Classic

best concealer for acne tarte

Tarte Shape Tape Concealer

The Shape Tape concealer has gone through phases of being in everyone’s makeup bag to being on the back burner, but there’s no denying that it’s full coverage is good for concealing acne. With 35 shades, its a perfect concealer for everyone and is made to be creaseproof for long wear. Plus it comes in a travel size, so you can test it out before spending the $31.

$31 at Target

$31 at Ulta Beauty

$31 at Tarte

The Best Color-Correcting Concealer

best color correcting concealer for acne
Photo:

Dr. Jart+ Cicapair™ Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment SPF 30

While not technically a concealer, this color-correcting cream works wonders on the skin and creates a base that you could wear without any concealer. After going viral on TikTok, it seemed as if everyone had their hands on the light-green cream and quickly learned a little goes a long way with this product.

$31 at Amazon

$22 at Sephora

The Best Affordable Concealer

Catrice True Skin High Cover Concealer

Catrice True Skin High Cover Concealer

Coming in at just under $10, this concealer recommend by Gray is an everythingproof full-coverage concealer. Gray notes that it’s long-lasting, lightweight, and full-coverage, which is ideal for when you really need to conceal.

$7 at Amazon

More tried-and-true options

The Best for a Natural Finish

HAUS LABS BY LADY GAGA Triclone Skin Tech Hydrating + De-puffing Concealer

HAUS LABS BY LADY GAGA Triclone Skin Tech Hydrating + De-puffing Concealer

The brand’s foundation has quickly become a fan favorite, but the concealer is just as good, and even better for acne. The non-comedogenic concealer won’t clog pores. Plus, the buildable formula has a natural finish so it will easily conceal blemishes and textured skin without highlighting the area.

$32 at Sephora

$32 at Haus Laboratories

The One with Niacinamide

Saie Slip Tint Radiant All-Over Concealer

Saie Slip Tint Radiant All-Over Concealer

Saie’s formulas are ideal to achieve a radiant, glowing finish. So, the brand’s latest concealer? It’s no different. With niacinamide, the lightweight and non-comedogenic formula conceals and helps smooth skin over time.

$28 at Saie

The Best Concealer for Sensitive Skin

Tower 28 Swipe All-Over Hydrating Serum Concealer

Tower 28 Swipe All-Over Hydrating Serum Concealer

One of the perks of Tower 28’s formulas is that they’re safe for sensitive skin, and the brand’s newest launch is no exception. The buildable Swipe All-Over concealer is hydrating and soothing with a natural finish. It also won’t clog pores, so you can conceal before, during, and after the healing process.

$22 at Sephora

$22 at Tower28 Beauty

The One That’s Good for Your Skin

IMAGE Skincare CONCEAL flawless foundation

IMAGE Skincare CONCEAL flawless foundation

This full-coverage makeup from Image Skincare is Graf’s favorite product for covering up acne, especially since it includes plant stem cells, antioxidants, and conditioning botanicals that she explains are “great for those with sensitive and inflamed skin, while it keeps you looking radiant throughout the day.”

$52 at Amazon

$52 at Image Skin Care

The Best Drugstore Concealer

best drugstore concealer for acne

L’Oreal Paris Infallible Full Wear Waterproof Concealer

This drugstore concealer is one of Avendaño’s favorites and is creamy, waterproof, and fade resistant for all-day coverage. It comes in 25 shades and features an extra-large applicator tip for easy use.

$15 at Amazon

$12 at Walmart

$12 at Target

The Best Multipurpose Concealer

best concealer for acne from urban decay

URBAN DECAY COSMETICS Original Eyeshadow Primer Potion

Reddit agrees: Use an eye-shadow primer — not a concealer — as the first step to covering your pimple. Urban Decay’s Primer Potion is so popular on the Reddit beauty boards that it even has an acronym: UDPP. Dot a tiny bit on the blemish and let it set to hide inflammation and redness and make concealer stick better.

$28 at Amazon

$27 at Sephora

$27 at Ulta Beauty

The Best Spot Treatment

best concealer for spot treatment

MAC Studio Finish SPF 35 Concealer

Once former deauty director Kathleen Hou got a little older and could afford something more expensive than tinted Clearasil, she found this, and it served her well for nearly all of high school. There are 22 shades (though they don’t offer as many darker shades as we would like), and the thin-but-tacky texture is really effective at covering up everything from mosquito bites to extra-bratty zits. Tip: If you’re going to wear it all day, set it with a bit of powder so that it doesn’t become oily.

$28 at Nordstrom

$28 at Macy’s

$27 at Ulta Beauty

The Cruelty-Free Vegan Option

best cruelty free concealer

KAT VON D Lock-It Concealer Crème

This comes in 21 shades, ranging from deep to very fair. Like all Kat Von D products, it’s vegan and cruelty-free. The formula is thick and pigmented, but easy to blend. Kat tested it herself to make sure it covers tattoos. One warning: It can look a little thick, so use it sparingly.

$36 at Sephora

The Dual-Shaded One

best dual shade concealer

Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage

Makeup artists know that to really cover a zit, you need more than one color. That’s why this two-shade compact, which contains a color corrector and concealer, is so useful. We’ve watched professional makeup artists masterly blend the two sides with a brush until they create a custom shade so perfect that it can disguise even the largest cystic pimples. It has a dry texture that molds to the skin, making it particularly great for oily skin types. Learning how to create the best shade for your own skin requires some trial and error, but once you master it, your cover-up will stay put.

$36 at Saks Fifth Avenue

$36 at Bloomingdale’s

$38 at Bluemercury

If You’re Feeling Fancy

best luxury concealer

Kevyn Aucoin The Sensual Skin Enhancer

How do you cover a zit that, as Mindy Kaling once said, “ha[s] roots that seemed to extend into [your] brain”? You need a truly sticky concealer like this one, a heavy paste that feels like spackle — in a good way. Use only the tiniest, tiniest pinprick, even if you’re trying to hide acne scars or a massive pimple. It comes in 15 colors, and you can even get a shade custom-made for you. To me, this is perfect.

$37 at Bloomingdale’s

$37 at Bluemercury

The Best Waterproof Concealer

best waterproof concealer for acne

MAKE UP FOR EVER Full Cover Concealer

The texture of this is somewhere between a paste and a liquid, so a few pats with a finger or a brush make it disappear into the skin. It’s highly pigmented, so it can work to cover smaller blemishes, dark eye-circles, and — with the help of a color corrector — bigger zits.

$33 at Amazon

$34 at Sephora

The Workhorse

best multipurpose concealer for acne

ESTÉE LAUDER Double Wear Stay-in-Place Flawless Wear Concealer

Another concealer that promises to stay in place and really does. A multi-purpose concealer, you can use this for under-eye circles, redness, and lighter blemishes. It comes in nine shades and purportedly lasts for 15 hours.

$32 at Nordstrom

$32 at Dermstore

$32 at Sephora

The One Everyone Loves

best matte finish concealer for acne

NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer

One of Avendaño’s favorite concealers, and one that is applauded all over TikTok as being “that concealer,” comes in 30 luxurious shades for the ultimate coverage. It’s oil free and gives the skin a soft-matte finish.

$32 at Nordstrom

$32 at Sephora

$32 at Ulta Beauty

$32 at NARS

The One That Does it All

best stick concealer for acne
Photo:

Merit The Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Stick

If you’re someone who prefers makeup that can do it all, this complexion stick from Merit will be your best friend. Both a foundation and a concealer, the creamy stick is medium coverage for a natural look but buildable for full-coverage, especially since it contains daffodil extract to diminish the look of dark spots and pigmentation.

$38 at Sephora

$38 at MERIT

FAQs

Our Experts:



Brooke LaMantia,Chinea Rodriguez , 2024-05-28 19:20:00

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