The Pro’s Guide to Covering Stubborn Sunspots

By Jillian Dempsey

Celebrity makeup artist Jillian Dempsey has worked with the most recognizable faces in Hollywood—and being based in Los Angeles means Dempsey knows all there is to know about hiding sunspots.

It’s a truth of life: If you circle the sun enough times and you have fair or medium skin tone, you will get sunspots. I’m talking about those little—or not so little—splotches of darker skin, often around the eyes or tops of the cheeks. First, the somewhat bad news: Those spots can be a real pain to cover up. They’re, let’s say, challenging. Sure, spend a minute berating yourself for all the times you didn’t wear sunscreen.

Ok, now that’s done. On to the good news. There’s an art to covering sunspots and it can be done. First, decide which spots really bother you and which ones could pass for a cute freckle. Let’s get to work.

Get a thick, dry concealer. They wear longer. If you go with thin or liquid, you’ll be trying to cover that thing up all day.

Orange is now your best friend. Sunspots tend to be brown, and a concealer with an orange base will counteract the brown.

Apply it with your clean, sanitized finger. You can also use a nylon brush. Your concealer might be a stick or a pot or pan. It might even be in a tube. The heavier the formula, the less you’ll need. Start out with gentle little taps and dots on the sunspots. Then tap, tap, tap on the spots.

Blend it with a pre-moistened sponge that is not too wet. If the sponge is wet, it’ll wipe off all that hard work.

Apply your foundation but do NOT rub the foundation over the concealer. Press, tap, press, tap, and DO NOT rub. You’re basically buffing it out to blend the edges.

Finish it off with a light dusting of loose, translucent powder where needed. That sets it in and keeps the concealer in place.

Twirl away from the mirror and out into the world with your flawless complexion.

 

 

Photography by Cassidy Bliss Cooper