FACELAB · GUIDE
A glossary of makeup and skincare terms
Cosmetic vocabulary grew by accident: part of it came from professional makeup, part from marketing, part is borrowed wholesale from other languages. These are the terms you meet most often, explained by mechanism rather than by advertising copy.
Base, foundation and correction
- Primer — the layer between skincare and foundation. It evens the surface and extends wear, but provides no coverage of its own.
- Foundation — evens skin tone across the whole face. Masking individual spots is not its job.
- Concealer — denser than foundation, for targeted cover: under-eye circles, redness, single blemishes.
- Coverage — how much skin shows through the layer. Sheer, medium or full; it decides how visible texture stays.
- Finish — how the layer looks once dry: matte, satin or luminous.
- Undertone — the cool, warm or neutral cast of the skin itself. It decides which foundation will not pull grey or orange.
- Oxidation — foundation darkening a few hours after application, as pigment reacts with sebum and air.
- Colour correction — cancelling a colour with its opposite: green kills red, peach kills blue.
- Baking — a thick layer of powder left for several minutes and swept away. Very matte, and unforgiving on dry skin.
- Setting — locking a layer in with powder or spray so it does not move or transfer.
Sculpting the face
- Contouring — darkening areas you want to push back: the hollow under the cheekbone, the hairline, the sides of the nose.
- Highlighter — light on the points that project: the top of the cheekbone, the bridge of the nose, above the upper lip.
- Bronzer — a warm shade for overall warmth, not for shadow. It differs from contour in temperature, not in depth.
- Draping — blush swept broadly from the apple of the cheek to the temple, used instead of classic contour.
- Blending — diffusing the boundary between product and skin so the transition never reads as a line.
- The gap — the unpainted strip between shadow and light. That gap is what creates volume, not the patch or the shine itself.
- Apple of the cheek — the rounded part that lifts when you smile.
- Cheekbone apex — the highest point of the cheekbone, the main landmark for highlighter.
Eyes and lashes
- Mobile lid — the part that folds when the eye opens.
- Crease — the boundary between the mobile lid and the fixed area above it.
- Hooded lid — when the fixed part covers the crease with the eye open. It changes the whole logic of application.
- Transition shade — the intermediate tone in the crease that links dark to light.
- Gradient — a smooth shift from dark to light across the lid, with no visible edges.
- Wing — the line along the upper lash line with a lifted outer end.
- Tail — the part of the wing that extends beyond the outer corner of the eye.
- Waterline — the inner rim of the lid, right at the roots of the lashes.
- Kohl — a soft pencil safe for the waterline.
- Curler — the clamp that curls lashes. Used before mascara, never after.
- Tubing mascara — wraps each lash in a polymer sleeve; removes with warm water alone.
Brows
- Head — the inner end near the bridge of the nose, always the lightest part.
- Arch — the highest point of the curve. Its position shapes expression more than anything else.
- Tail — the outer end of the brow.
- Body — the main stretch between head and arch.
- Lamination — setting the hairs in one direction with a chemical treatment that holds for weeks.
- Microblading — depositing pigment into the skin in separate strokes that imitate hairs.
- Angled brush — a brush with a slanted cut; produces a short stroke that reads like a single hair.
Lips
- Lip liner — a pencil line along the lip border; it stops lipstick from bleeding.
- Overlining — deliberately drawing the line beyond the natural lip border.
- Cupid’s bow — the double curve at the centre of the upper lip.
- Matte lipstick — no shine, the longest wearing, but it emphasises dryness and lines.
- Satin lipstick — between matte and gloss: softer on the lips, shorter wearing than matte.
- Tint — long-wearing pigment that stains the lip surface rather than sitting on it as a layer.
- Gloss — a clear or pigmented layer that adds apparent volume by reflecting light.
Tools
- Domed brush — a rounded edge that diffuses over a wide area and leaves no boundary.
- Flat brush — a straight cut that lays product down densely and precisely.
- Angled brush — a slanted cut giving the most controlled line.
- Fluffy brush — loose bristles for soft diffusion; picks up very little product.
- Sponge — used damp, it presses foundation in and lifts the excess instead of smearing it.
- Ferrule — the metal collar holding the bristles. Dry a brush upright and water runs into it and dissolves the glue.
- Natural hair — scaled bristles that hold powder particles. Better with dry textures.
- Synthetic hair — smooth, does not absorb cream. Essential for foundation, concealer and cream textures.
- Palette — a set of shades in one case, usually chosen to work together.
Skincare and ingredients
- Occlusion — a film on the skin surface that blocks water evaporation. The mechanism behind patches and masks.
- Humectant — an ingredient that attracts water: glycerin, hyaluronic acid, urea.
- Emollient — an ingredient that smooths the surface and fills the gaps between cells.
- Niacinamide — a form of vitamin B3. Works on pigmentation and barrier function; judged over months.
- Retinoids — vitamin A derivatives that speed up cell turnover. Introduced gradually.
- AHAs — water-soluble acids that work on the skin surface.
- BHAs — oil-soluble acids that can get inside the pore.
- Comedone — a blocked pore. Open ones read as blackheads, closed ones as small white bumps.
- Post-acne — what breakouts leave behind: pigmentation or uneven texture. No longer inflammation.
- Skin barrier — the outer layer that keeps water in and irritants out.
- SPF — the rating for UVB protection. UVA protection is labelled separately.
- Non-comedogenic — less likely to block pores. Not a guarantee and not a tested standard.