How to conceal blemishes in 5 minutes; here are tips from a celebrity makeup artist

How do many East Asian celebrities manage to attain radiant and luminous skin while wearing a full face of makeup, even in the scorching summer weather?

Celebrity makeup artist, Ye Zi, who has worked with singer-and-actress Esther Yu, has divulged his tried-and-true methods for achieving this look.

In a demonstration video posted onto his Xiao Hong Shu page, he shared various skincare and makeup application tips, which has since garnered over a thousand comments from users ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the impressive results it provides.

Here’s the full step-by-step tutorial!

Step 1: Moisturise with a serum and face oil

After cleansing, pour out some serum of your choice onto a cotton pad, and swipe it gently across your face to gently hydrate and moisturise your skin.

If your skin still feels a little dry, you can add a few drops of facial oil onto the skin, massaging gently until it’s fully absorbed.

This step serves to prevent your foundation from sticking to the powder. Cracked lips should be tackled here as well, so make sure to apply some lip balm too!

Step 2: Apply a lightweight primer and blend it in with your fingertips

Next, use a makeup brush to apply a mild and lightweight primer onto your trouble spots, such as your acne scars or other pigmented areas.

Blend it in with your fingertips afterwards as opposed to a beauty tool, as this helps to massage the product into the skin, creating a skin-like and natural makeup result.

If you have red spots, opt for a green tinted primer to cancel it out, and if you have dark yellow patches, a purple tinted one will do the trick.

The one Ye Zi uses is the Albion Elegance Modeling Color Up Base, which is available in five different shades.

Step 3: Highlighter

Use a stick highlighter to brighten the parts of your face where the light naturally hits, such as your nose bridge, Cupid’s bow, the area right under your chin, and on the highest points of your cheekbone.

He explains that the key here is to not go overboard and apply it on your entire face, as it could make your face appear too oily.

Afterwards, use a semi-wet beauty sponge to lightly pat the entire face. This makes your base makeup last longer and not fade!

Step 4: Foundation and concealer

If your skin is particularly prone to dullness, you can mix a bit of liquid foundation and pink makeup primer together to create a more lightweight texture. A cushion foundation is a great option here as well! It provides both coverage and hydration.

Use light and quick brush strokes to apply and blend it throughout your face.

Pro tip: Never apply a thick layer all at once just to get high coverage, as this is a surefire way of ending up with a cakey mess by midday.

Then, use a thin makeup brush to apply concealer to the dark areas around your eyes, crevices around your nose, and your nasolabial folds, to make your face appear smoother.

Afterwards, use your fingertips to apply a small amount of concealer to your acne marks, instantly removing signs of pigmentation.

Go in with the beauty sponge again and dab it throughout the entire face to blend all the product in.

Your skin should look visibly brighter and evenly-toned at this stage!

Step 5: Set the makeup

Another special tip here is to use different tools to set different parts of your face. To ensure areas such as your nasolabial folds and eye area appear smooth and refined, you have to use a dry makeup brush to apply the setting powder.

As for the rest of your face, use the tip of the beauty sponge to pick up the powder, and then gently press it onto the face. This will make your base makeup look light and smooth, instead of textured and powdery!

Ready to get your glow on? Give these professional makeup tips a go.

Featured image credit: Credit: 造型師葉子/Xiao Hong Shu