Alex O'Brien
Beauty & Style

Perfect your complexion in one step

Perfect skin? It’s possible. Snap up one of these brilliant blur creams, and it’s yours in seconds.

What are blur creams? They’re creams that deliver instant flawless skin. Basically, blur creams tone down minor textural flaws in your skin. They instantly minimise the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, open pores, and irregular skin texture.

So they’re concealers?
Not quite. They don’t offer coverage in the same way a concealer does. Rather, they simply blur over imperfections and tone down rough texture, delivering the appearance of a more even complexion.

Where do I use them? Anywhere you have a flaw that you want to instantly blur away - your face, neck, décolletage, and the backs of your hands. If you are looking for pore reducing effects, smooth the cream over centre of the face, leading out to the cheeks. There is typically more oil flow here, and the pores tend to be larger.

To tone down any scarring, like an old chicken pox or acne scar, simply blend it over the area prior to applying make-up.  It will tone down the texture of the scar and create a smooth surface for the light to bounce off. Blur creams also work brilliantly to soften the appearance of any fine lines around the eyes or mouth, and there are even ones with light reflecting properties, which restores radiance to fatigued skin.

Finally, they tend to be mattifying, so they are really great for anyone who experiences shine or oil-flow along the T-Zone.

How do I use them?
Do your usual skin care routine and then use your blur cream like a primer. It is your first tool in building up a flawless complexion.

You can either apply a thin layer over your entire face, or blend strategically into problem areas using the pad of your ring finger. Then just go ahead with the rest of your make-up.

Hint: Throw your blur cream in your handbag, or gym bag, and touch ups throughout the day - Blur creams can be used either under or over your make-up.

BLUR CREAMS WE LOVE

Indeed laboratories Nanoblur, $29.99
This was the first blur cream on the market and it was so successful that it created an entirely new skin care category.  It contains micro-prisms that minimise the appearance of pores, reducing lines, textural damage and unwanted pigmentation.

Garnier Perfect Blur Smoothing Base Perfector, $16.95
This uses pearlised light reflectors that reflect light in random directions, to banish the signs of sleepless nights or stress.

L’Oreal Paris Revitalift Magic Blur, $24.95
An instant skin smoother that features a combination of light-reflecting pigments and smoothing polymers to even out the skin’s surface. 

Lancôme Visionnaire 1Minute Blur, $60
This dulls down texture irregularities, softens the appearance of fine lines and open pores, smooths out uneven skin tone and ups the radiance in your skin. 

Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch, $38
This softens the appearance of open pores and lines, giving you a beautifully smooth complexion. It’s also oil-free, so eradicates through-the-day shine. 

Kiehl’s Micro-Blur Skin Protector, $47
Together with light reflectors, which deliver a soft focus effect, this contains some serious skin care ingredients – think Lipo Hydroxy Acids (LHAs) and lentil extracts, which refine skin’s texture, soften the appearance of lines and reduce the appearance of pores.

Tags:
beauty, skin, complexion, beauty cream