The order you apply your products isn't the only confusing part of wearing makeup. In the case of foundation and concealer, the shades you pick are more important than the sequence in which you use them. Since foundation and concealer go hand-in-hand, wearing the same shade in both products seems like pretty sound logic (and it is), but there's also a bit of a catch.

We turned to professional MUA Emily Cheng to bring you three tips for choosing the right shade of concealer.

Meet the expert

Emily Cheng is a celebrity makeup artist. Her clients include Yara Shahidi, Billie Eilish, and Sofia Richie, to name a few.

Keep scrolling to find out whether concealer should be lighter than foundation.

Consider What You're Covering Up

According to Cheng, your concealer should be pretty similar to your foundation shade but with a slightly different undertone, depending on whether you're covering up dark circles, redness, or blemishes.

To figure out what undertone you need, Cheng said to keep the color wheel in mind when selecting your concealer shade. 

"I will usually use something warmer to balance out the blue-ish undertones of a dark circle. The same goes for sunspots and scars," she explained.

Don't Rely on Swatches

When debating shade options, Cheng recommended trying each of them on the spot you want to conceal instead of relying on swatching them on your arm or hand. 

"Do this by a window in natural light. You'll know when you have the right shade when it takes only just a small amount of product to conceal," she noted.

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Make an Exception for Contouring

The exception to this guide is if you're using a concealer to contour your features. 

"I would go a few shades darker, but not pick anything too warm [when picking a contour shade]," said Cheng. "Keep in mind when contouring you are trying to create "shadow," so a few shades darker on the cooler/taupe side." 

Now, if only smoky eyes were less of an enigma.