Full Coverage

Full coverage packs the highest pigment load with the least water, so almost no light reaches the skin underneath. Hyperpigmentation, birthmarks, tattoos, deep under-eye shadow and persistent redness all disappear beneath it. Beyond stage and photography, this band matters to people covering vitiligo, melasma, burns or scarring. For them the point is not glamour but leaving the house without being asked about it.

Technique carries more weight here than in any other band. Apply in thin layers and stipple rather than sweep, because dragging a dense formula pulls the previous layer off with it. Set with a light powder where oil breaks through, usually the T-zone and around the nose. Skin preparation does the rest, since opacity will not smooth texture. Exfoliate the night before rather than the same morning. Moisturize far enough ahead that the base is not sliding on a wet surface.

Everything the band gains it charges back in tolerance. Shade and undertone have to be close, since a mask with a visible edge shows at the jaw in daylight. Long-wear versions lean on silicones and film formers to resist transfer. An oil-based or two-phase remover is needed to take them off, and a plain foaming cleanser leaves residue behind. Heavier films also settle into fine lines faster and read as makeup in flat daylight in a way they never do under lights.