A normal skin tone concealer is usually used over color-correcting concealers.For these, select deeper shades if you have a darker skin tone and pastel shades if you have a lighter skin tone. Most color-correcting concealers come in a single shade.In these instances, you should use a color next to the discoloration's complement. The exact opposite color can also sometimes overcorrect, making skin look lifeless and unnatural.For most types of color correcting, makeup of one color will cancel out discoloration of its complement.The following are the pairs of basic complementary colors you'll use for color correcting: red with green, yellow with purple, and blue with orange. Complementary colors are colors that are completely opposite each other on the color wheel.When picking concealers, an understanding of color theory will be helpful. Color-correcting concealers help to mask skin discoloration by bringing problem areas to a more neutral hue. Understand how color-correcting concealers work. This article has been viewed 300,887 times. In this case, several readers have written to tell us that this article was helpful to them, earning it our reader-approved status. WikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. Jealous, Colin Powell, Wanda Durant, and Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Her clients include Nancy Pelosi, Nancy Cartwright, Armin Van Buuren, Hugh Jackman, Vashawn Mitchell, Richard Smallwood, Benjamin T. She is also the lead makeup artist for Ascender Communications and freelances with the local NBC news team in the DC metro area. She has over 20 years of makeup and beauty consulting experience. Christin Birckhead is a Makeup Artist and the Founder of Conceptual Beauty, a beauty service based in Washington, DC specializing in wedding services such as engagements and bridal parties along with fashion shows and executive headshots. This article was co-authored by Christin Birckhead.