How to Cover Up a Hickey with Makeup

Searching for the fastest way to cover up a hickey with makeup? We’ve got you covered. Everybody gets a hickey on occasion, and while it’s generally not big of a deal for many of us, it can be rather inconvenient – especially if you’re a teen and you feel a bit embarrassed about it.

Or perhaps you simply do not want to go to school or work with a bruise on your neck or lip. 

No matter who you are or what your situation is like, here is a guide on understanding hickeys and how you can cover them up.

What Is a Hickey?

Even if you know what a hickey is (and who doesn’t)? You still might know exactly how it is formed. A hickey is a “love bite”. It’s essentially a bruise that forms after getting your neck or lip lightly bitten.

It can actually take several hours after the bite for the bruise to form. Even a light, gentle bite can result in a large, dark bruise if you have sensitive skin. 

A hickey can take several hours to form, so there are a few preventive measures you can take to prevent the bruising from getting too noticeable. 

• Take a tool or object with a flat surface and gently massage the area (don’t rub). Your fingers might even work. Do this for at least 30 minutes. 

•  Keep the area cool with ice as soon as you notice swelling to help prevent the bruising from forming. 

•  Apply aloe vera to the area. It’s a good alternative remedy.

How to Cover Up a Lip Hickey With Makeup?

Lip hickeys can be REALLY inconvenient because they could easily be mistaken as an act of violence. If you don’t want people to get the wrong idea and believe that you are being abused by your partner or anyone else, you’ll need to learn to cover them properly. 

Covering up a lip hickey essentially comes down to experimenting with darker shades of lipstick. Dark or bright reds are usually good choices. Not comfortable with dark red or plum lipsticks? It helps to first apply a little bit of concealer or pale pink blush to lighten the lipstick color up. 

Lip stain might be better if lipstick just doesn’t seem to work. Nude lipstick or lip stain most likely won’t work. If the hickey doesn’t seem to stand out, you might get away with just using a tinted lip gloss. 

For bruising around the lip, use a color corrector just as you would when covering any other bruise.

Mix in a little bit of your usual concealer with either a green or reddish/orange corrector makeup (depending on the color of the bruise), and apply it on the bruised skin around the lips with an eyeliner brush. Follow with an application of full-coverage powder. 

How to Color Correct a Hickey?

Speaking of color correcting, it’s usually the first solution you’ll come across when researching how to cover up a hickey with makeup. 

You’ll want to customize your cover-up regimen based on the color of the bruise:

• If it’s a purple-reddish color, for instance, you might want to try a corrector with green undertones. 
• For greenish-yellow bruises, use a color corrector with purple undertones. 
• For dark blue/gray or even black bruising, use a color corrector with orange or red undertones. 

As for your own natural skin tone, use a salmon tone for lighter skin and a mango tone for darker skin. 

If the inside of the hickey is a different color than the outer edges, then you might need to use two different hues of color corrector. Refer to the color wheel – the color you need to use to cover the hickey should ideally be on the opposite side of the wheel from the color of the hickey. 

Note: As a hickey heals, it might start turning a pale yellow or green. You can correct this by using a concealer with pale pink undertones. 

How to Cover a Hickey With a Color Corrector?

This is one of the best ways to cover up a hickey with makeup. Now that you have an idea of which color(s) to use, it’s time to apply the color corrector.

You DON’T want to use one that is too creamy as it will just slide around and get messy, and settle into creases in your neck. Make sure your skin is clean and dry, and then pat the color corrector gently onto the bruised area with your fingers. 

DO NOT rub the makeup. You’ll want to pat the formula in. Neutralizing the bruise coloring with the corrector is the first step. 

The next step is to cover it with concealer. Your usual concealer that you use on your face might not work since the neck can be a shade lighter or darker than the skin on your face. Lightly tap it on the same way you applied the color corrector. Finish with a bit of no-color setting powder to ensure that the makeup stays in place. 

How to Cover up a Hickey With Just Concealer?

Don’t have a color corrector on hand? A lot of younger people with healthy skin don’t. Luckily, you can improvise by just using concealer by itself. A thicker concealer is recommended since it will cover the entire hickey more easily. Apply it with a brush by patting it on – it might take a few coats. 

If the concealer itself doesn’t seem to work, use a lip liner of the appropriate color to substitute for the color corrector. 

Makeup Method – Step-By-Step Guide 

Here is a step by step guide for those who are really serious about covering up a hickey. 

• First, grab the tools: Concealer, make-up brush, color corrector(s), foundation, lipstick (for lip hickey), and an object such as a screwdriver, coin, or spoon.

• With the flat end of the screwdriver (be careful!), spoon, or coin, begin the “scraping method”. Gently scrape the bruise from the center outwards in every direction. This helps to catalyze the healing process and makes it easier to apply the makeup. 

• Start dabbing in the area with the appropriate color for the correction, whether you’re using an actual color corrector or substituting it with lip liner. If you’re using lip liner, you can make a few light strokes. Whatever you do, don’t rub. 

• With a thin makeup brush or your finger, start filling in the inside of the bruise. Once again, you might need two colors if the outer edges of the hickey are a different hue. 

• The next step is the concealer. Just like paint, a primer needs a coat of product on top of it. The color corrector alone might not be enough. Try putting some concealer on top of the coating of color corrector to try and get it to disappear into your natural skin tone and texture. The right concealer color might or might not be your usual one, depending on the exact tone of your neck and whether it matches your face. Dab a small bit of it onto the affected area with your fingers and gently tap it on.

• If it needs more blending, do it with a brush – just don’t rub it too much. Foundation might or might not be needed. Have it on hand just in case you need extra coverage, and apply a layer to keep the stubborn hickey hidden.

• Pat it with a translucent setting powder. A high-quality one will blur, conceal, and even mattify the area with just a few taps. 

Note: Some of these steps might need to be repeated. Just keep adding the makeup on until you are satisfied that the hickey and discoloration is no longer noticeable.

How to Hide a Hickey on Guy’s Neck?                                         

Are you a guy who doesn’t want anybody to find out that you have a hickey? Or a girl who wants to help your boyfriend cover it up? Consider yourself lucky if you have access to makeup, or can run to the store really quick to buy concealer, makeup brushes, pressed powder foundation, and the ideal color corrector, this is ideal. 

For guys who don’t have easy access to makeup, there is the scraping method if the bruising has already begun.

Some experts recommend putting a spoon in the freezer and letting it get cold before using it to scrape the hickey, starting in the middle and moving outwards. Doing this continuously for a couple of hours will really help it to heal FAST. 

If there is a new, unused toothbrush nearby with a stiff-bristle, it can be used to “brush” the hickey to help increase circulation in the area. It should be done lightly, as pressing in too roughly will hurt the bruising worse. 

However, it will hurt, and you’ll want to be careful not to press in too hard. Don’t worry if the area gets really red at first – the redness will tone down after awhile. 

Using an ice pack will also aid in the healing process. Do not press it directly onto the skin – wrap it in a light cloth first. 

Lastly, depending on its exact location, you can maybe put some small bandages over the area and try to pass it off as a shaving accident. 

Conclusion 

Having a basic understanding of color theory really, really goes a long way in choosing the right products for the job. 

Don’t worry if you can’t conceal or hide a hickey 100%. Cover the hickey up with makeup, the best you can and don’t wear anything that will draw attention to the area, and most people probably won’t even notice that anything is different.

Even if you used high-quality makeup and a setting powder, you’ll still want to avoid wearing any accessories that might cause the makeup to smudge.