Why You Should Be “Cooking” Your Concealer

Add RuPauls Drag Race to your list of go-tos for invaluable makeup tips: The beloved reality show has introduced us to the genius of cooking makeup. You can put the pots and pans awayin the drag community, the practice refers to warming your cover-up with your own body heat. Heres the science: When you let your concealer sit on your face instead of immediately blending it in, the air thickens its consistency and your own warmth slowly melts the product into your skin for ultimate coverage.

Unlike, say, souffl, the recipe for cooking your concealer is super easy. Apply a creamy formula like Benefit's Boi-ing in a triangle shape under your eyes, bringing the center point down further than usual (so its hitting the top of your cheekbones), and extending the outer point toward your ears. Now, the hard part: Resist the urge to blend for 20 whole minutes (you got this) while the product heats up on your skinuse the time to throw some waves in your hair, fill in your brows, or blend the perfect lip color. Once your concealer is fully cooked, use your fingers or a rounded sponge like a beautyblender to blend it per usual, and proceed to work.