We tried it: Why body makeup isn't as scary as it sounds

Showing a bit of skin is par for the course in hot summer weather. And while it's easy to throw on some foundation if we want to cover up a pimple or a dark spot on our face, when it comes to anything we may want to conceal on our body, it gets a little trickier. Some may wish to conceal varicose veins, tattoos, birthmarks, stretch marks, scars and bruises — but don't necessarily know how. Cosmetic company Dermablend recently launched Leg and Body Makeup, a new, game-changing product that will make covering up spider veins or a tattoo as easy as 1, 2, 3. We sat down with Chelsea Bice, the brand's professional makeup artist and national trainer, to get a few pointers on how to correctly use the innovative cover-all.

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Prep your skin "It's just like the face, the more you prep your skin by exfoliating and [hydrating] it, the better [Leg] is going to look," says Bice. While the formula contains moisturizing ingredients like vitamin E — which means if you apply it without any prep work it will go on easily — she recommends making your skin really shine by exfoliating and applying body lotion before hand.

Hands are best If you're worried about body makeup being hard to apply or messy, don't be. Leg and Body is quick and super easy to apply. Bice recommends squeezing some out onto the palms of your hands and blending it into skin. "You can just rub it on like body lotion."

Before and after pics of covering varicose veins with Dermablend Leg and Body Makeup

Layering is possible If you're covering something that has more pigment to it, like a tattoo, for example, you can easily layer the body foundation for more coverage. While one or two coats will probably do the trick (the formula is highly pigmented) Bice says the trick for a flawless application that won't look cakey is letting your layers dry in-between. Give each coating a minute or so dry time before adding more on.

Powder is key Once you're happy with the coverage you've applied, the trick to keeping it on and transfer-resistant for up to 16 hours is powder. Bice advises using a large powder puff and patting on a layer of translucent powder over the area to really lock it in. "Set it with translucent powder only [not] so nothing will transfer onto your clothes at all. If you do it properly, it won't budge."

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Find your right shade Leg and Body comes in 12 shades, so there's lots of options to find one that works with your skin tone. If you need help finding the right hue for you, try Dermablend's Shade Finder tool on their website.

We were so intrigued by the launch of Leg and Body Makeup that we did a quick experiment in the office to see how well it stood up to the test of covering a tattoo. Check out the results below.

covering a tattoo with body makeup

Here’s my tattoo that we’re covering up using Dermablend Leg and Body Makeup.