Ombré Concealer Technique Is The Unique Way To Look Fresh & Rosy
Concealer is literally multi-purpose magic in a bottle. It cancels out discoloration, brightens your dark under-eye area, gives your face a quick faux lift, and can be used to perfect the underside of your brows. There's pretty much nothing in your makeup routine you can't use a good pump of concealer for, and that also includes looking fresh and rosy with the ombré under-eye technique.
Made popular by TikTok beauty creator @klaudiasyd, the ombré under-eye technique is the makeup trend of the summer, and it merges two classic makeup items: concealer and blush (specifically, liquid blush). Where other concealer hacks focus on lifting your face and giving you a "snatched" look, this ombré technique gives you a warm, youthful glow. All you need are different shades of concealer and blush on various sections of your under-eye area, some setting powder, and lots of blending, and you'll be well on your way to achieving your most radiant look yet.
Gather your shades
Quick question: Are you team foundation-before-concealer or team underpainting? If you are on the latter, you might have to switch teams for the full ombré under-eye effect. Once you've finished your base (primer, foundation, contour), eyes, and brows, select the shades of concealer and blush you'll work with.
"Ombré" refers to a gradual gradient where the colors fade into each other from the lightest one on your inner corner to the deepest blush on the area under your outer corner. First, grab a concealer about two to three shades lighter than your skin tone and another that's one to two shades lighter. The first concealer brightens your inner corner, and the second tones it down and begins the gradient.
Next up, choose your blush shades. For this technique, you'll need two colors in the same shade range, with one lighter than the other. For instance, pair a soft pink blush with a fuschia blush or a light orange blush with a deeper coral. Now that your concealers and blushes are in formation, let's apply and blend.
Dot and blend
Apply the lightest concealer close to your inner corner and then apply some of the second concealer right next to it. Follow up with the paler blush in the middle of your under-eye area and then with the darker blush under your outer corner.
The goal is to maintain the ombré effect, and as such, you'll need a blending tool with enough precision to avoid mixing the shades. For this, skip the makeup sponge and try a concealer brush. Preferably, you'll use the dense, fluffy kind, but a regular flat one will do the trick.
Blend out the lightest concealer on your inner corner first and repeat with the other products. The trick is to blend vertically in the same area and avoid touching the other dots too much so you don't mix them up. If your other dots dry up before you can get to them, spray some setting spray on your brush or your under-eye area to dampen them up again and then blend away. When you're through blending, complete your under-eye area with some translucent setting powder.
Tips and tricks for the perfect ombré
The key to nailing this look is using high-quality products. Liquid blush tends to be a better option for this technique than powder or cream, as Charlotte Tilbury explains that it's easy to build and blend, resulting in a natural glow. If you're chronically scrolling through BeautyTok, you've probably seen multiple positive reviews on how pigmented the Rare Beauty's Soft Pinch Liquid Blushes are, so remember that a little goes a long way with products like this. Following the example set in the TikTok videos, only apply a small amount of blush — much less than you would under your cheek.
Also, consider applying a third concealer dot right before your blushes. This step is optional, but some TikTokers (including @klaudiasyd) prefer adding a concealer shade in their skin tone right before the blush which makes for a gentler, more seamless gradient. If you want to save costs, you can also use your foundation.