Bad news: Turns out we're all probably applying our concealer wrong.

There's nothing worse than looking in the bathroom mirror at 2pm to find your concealer is just NOT being a team player. Like, at all. Your pimples are all flaky, your dark circles somehow look worse (HOW), and the redness around your nose is just there... y'know, doing its thing.

Love that for us.

Watch: Want to skip to the part about how to cover pimples? Check out this acne coverage tutorial by MakeupMeJordyn. Post continues below. 

So, what's the go? Are you using the wrong stuff? Are you applying it all wrong? Is it because you used that stupid wand applicator thingo instead of your fingers? It's because of that, hey?

To clear things up, we spoke to celebrity makeup artist Michael Brown who told us where we're making mistakes, and how to fix the problem.

What's the biggest concealer mistake you see on the reg?

When it comes to under eye concealing, apparently most of us have no idea what kinda shade we should be using.

How awkward! 

Wanna use your ears instead of your eyes? That's cool. Listen to this episode of You Beauty, where we tell you exactly how to use your concealer. 

If you're anything like us, you're probably just going right in with a concealer matched to your face shade. But apparently this is just making your under eyes look grey and ashy.

Image: Giphy

"The biggest mistake is not knowing what shades to use under the eye," said Brown. "Your foundation shade is matched to your skin tone, but dark circles are much deeper in tone."

The trick? Double concealing. 

"A different shade should be applied to the under eye area first, before going in with a brighter concealer over the top." 

Why? We hear all the low maintenance gals cry out. Well, because you want to correct first to reduce the appearance of dark circles, then highlight over the top to brighten and lift the area.

If you're confused what tone you should go for, usually a peach to yellow shade will work for pale skin, while a yellow to orange tone suits olive skin. 

Once the area is corrected, then you go in and brighten that sh*t.

But wa-wa-wait! Don't go too crazy - less is more! 

"Another big no-no is applying too much concealer on the outer under eye area. The further out you apply, it creeps into smile lines - so I like to avoid applying any concealer there."

Your dark circles usually sit in the inner under eye to centre area anyway, so there's really no need to apply concealer around to the outer under eye area. 

"Keep it fresh and then it’s less ageing when we smile," said Brown.

So, you need two different concealers for dark circles?

Yep. "Correct, then brighten! It really does take two shades of concealer for the magic to happen," confirmed Brown.

We know, we know. We're lazy too. But it's worth the hassle - we promise.

"Dark circles usually have a blueish/purple undertone, so you need to counter-balance and correct with warm peachy/yellow shades of concealer. In some more extreme cases, orange works perfectly," said Brown.

"Once this shade is applied to the area, you’ll see the dark circle correct. But to really make under-eyes pop, I then dab a lighter/brighter shade of concealer over the top. This is what makes your under eye area really fresh."

So, is there any particular formula that works better under the eyes? Or should we just grab whatever?

"I like to use a cream texture concealer, as it has a bit of weight to it," said Brown. "Unlike a fluid-texture formula, it’s less likely to move around and crease."

Okay. Fluid no, cream yes.

And how about pimples? What's the best way to hide 'em?

If you're someone who experiences breakouts on the regular, you'll know the pain of trying to cover up spots. It's bloody difficult. Especially if you've squeezed them. 

And while it may be tempting to just stack on a heap of concealer, it'll probably make it more obvious.

So, what's the deal?

"For any blemishes that are quite red, use a similar technique to how you cover dark circles," said Brown. "Use a slightly deeper/warmer shade of concealer so there is enough pigment to actually cover the red blemish."

Okay. What if it's not, like, fresh and red? 

"If you can see it’s slightly deeper than the rest of your complexion, then apply your foundation shade over the top to even out your skin. However, just using your foundation shade might not be enough pigment to cover blemishes..."

If your breakouts are super bumpy and the area is really uneven, or a spot is quite raised, Brown said less is definitely more when it comes to concealing. Covering your breakouts with tons of product will not only make it more obvious, but it will slow the healing process down, too.

In this case you can always opt for something like IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Breakout Full Treatment Concealer ($42), because it'll not only provide some coverage but it'll also treats your spot at the same time.

Brown said whatever you do, just make sure you steer clear of anything too shiny or glowy. "I always use a semi-matte concealer for blemishes and use a matte powder over the top, dabbing on the area so no shine can reflect and pull focus to the area."

Can you use the same concealer for covering dark circles and spots?

Yep! You can use the same concealer as you do for your dark circles, just so long as you make sure you get the shade right. 

Otherwise... yeah, you'll just be highlighting your breakouts rather than correcting them.

Image: Giphy

No good.

"When covering dark circles, pigmentation or blemishes, our concealer shade choice should be slightly deeper in tone than our foundation shade, as it needs to correct the area. It needs a more peach/yellow undertone to counter-balance the unwanted colour on the skin."

Noted.

And for hiding redness?

Don't go straight in with your concealer first. Like dark circles and pimples, you need to correct the area first, friend.

"If redness around the nose and cheeks is quite intense and noticeable, especially for sensitive skin, I use a green corrective shade first," said Brown.

"This is amazing for calming the area and counter-balancing the redness away. Then you can apply your normal foundation shade over the top for a perfectly even skin tone." 

Feature image: Getty

Do you have any nifty concealer tricks? Go on, share 'em! Pop your tricks in the comment section below.