The 7 Best Tattoo Cover-Up and Makeup Products to Effectively Hide Your Ink, According to Editors
Cosmetics that let you have your ink (and hide it, too, when you need to).
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Tattoos are an incredible way to express yourself. However, sometimes there are occasions when you want to cover up your tattoos, like during a big client meeting or at that holiday dinner, when you don’t want to have that conversation with your family. Unless you’re willing to splurge on pricey laser-removal treatments, tattoo cover-ups and makeup are the way to go for a quick and painless fix.
How do you know which ones actually work? Our editors put several products with tattoo cover-up claims to the test, so you don’t have to! Read on to see which ones offer the right amount of coverage for your needs, plus tips for blending and setting to create a natural look.
The Best Tattoo Cover-Ups and Makeup
- Best Overall: Dermablend Leg and Body Makeup
- Best Budget: L’Oréal Paris Infallible Total Cover Foundation
- Best for Performers: Best for Performers: Mehron Tattoo Covering
- Most Amazon Reviews: Dermacol Full Coverage Foundation
- Best Duo: Phoera Foundation
What to Consider
Makeup Formulation and Coverage
Tinted moisturizers are fine achieving a natural look for your face, but when you want to temporarily camouflage your body ink, you’ll need to use makeup that is full coverage. Cream or liquid makeup is typically your best bet compared to lighter-weight skin tints and powder foundations.
- Cream tattoo cover-ups and makeup typically offer the highest grade of coverage possible. They’re usually oil- or wax-based, so they’re excellent for anyone who has dry or mature skin. They also tend to dry down for a velvet matte finish.
- Liquid tattoo cover-ups and makeup coverage, like KVD Beauty Good Apple Non-Comedogenic Full-Coverage Serum Foundation, can vary — but typically you have plenty of options that are fuller coverage.
- Lastly, there are lotion cover-ups and body makeup, like the Westmore Beauty Body Coverage Perfector, which are designed for the TV and stage, so they can offer more coverage than say your typical tinted body lotion.
Application
Skin Prep
Like when applying face makeup, skin prep is the most important first step. You’ll want to apply these tattoo cover-ups and makeup to clean, moisturized skin. A simple way to further ensure the makeup doesn’t cake is by using a gentle body scrub to exfoliate dead skin cells.
How to Apply
Once your body lotion is soaked up, then you go in with the makeup. But just because you’re camouflaging dark or colorful body ink doesn’t mean you should go in with an excess amount of product. Start with thin layers and work up the coverage as necessary for the most natural look. Following this method will allow you not to waste product and concentrate on areas of your body ink that need to be covered up. You can use a makeup sponge, such as a beautyblender, a makeup brush, or your fingers. The tools you use are helpful, but just make sure they’re clean. Otherwise, you run the risk of dirt and oil on your fingertips and tools contaminating your new makeup and your skin which can lead to potential irritation or body acne.
Tips for Longevity
- “Setting powder will literally set the makeup to make sure it stays put,” makeup artist Pamela Faller previously told us in our guide to the best setting powders.“They usually come translucent and are a bit heavier.”
- Apply setting spray: To seal everything in place for several hours and to help prevent product transfer, you’ll want to spritz on setting spray after powder and let it dry down completely. Celebrity makeup artists Jenny Patinkin and Jenna Apel recently told me that setting spray works by leaving behind a light film to help lock in the makeup and prevent it from smudging or evaporating no matter the weather.
How We Chose
Here are Best Products, we’re all about getting our hands on items to help readers make smart shopping decisions. So, what better way to figure out how effective tattoo cover-up and makeup products are than by getting our hands on some promising options? After our team spent 16 hours carefully researching what to consider and potential options, three of our editors with body ink spent 46 hours testing five tattoo cover-ups and makeup products. At the end, we concluded that the Dermablend Leg and Body Makeup, L’Oréal Paris Infallible Total Cover Foundation, and Mehron Tattoo Covering from that pool are 100% worth considering.
So what about the rest of the items on this list? That’s where I come in as our current beauty editor. Although I don’t have body ink, even if I can’t test everything myself, I report on and research all of the beauty products I recommend. I carefully looked into full-coverage body-safe makeup and found several standouts. For added security, I read hundreds of online reviews to ensure they actually camouflage tattoos.
Pros
- 12 shade options available
- Buildable coverage
- 16-hour wear time
- Formula has SPF 25
Cons
- Rubs off on light clothing
- Difficult to remove
Our best overall recommendation is from Dermablend, a makeup artist-favorite line known for high-quality makeup that works for the stage and regular daily life. If Dermablend sounds familiar, it may be because of a viral video where makeup artists concealed a full body of tattoos using the brand’s products! We tested the leg and body foundation to see if we could replicate the results.
Our former senior food and drinks editor, Danielle St. Pierre, reported that, although this product “almost completely covered my tattoo for an entire workday, she had to combine it with concealer and “was impressed with the coverage once blended.” She also liked that the ingredient list includes SPF 25.
If the Leg and Body makeup isn’t opaque enough on its own, try adding Dermablend’s quick-fix body foundation stick and finishing with setting powder to prevent any transfer to clothing.
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Pros
- 12 shade options available
- Blends in with skin for a natural look
- Washes off easily
Cons
- Doesn’t work for everyone
- Rubs off on clothing
We first discovered this L’Oréal foundation can be used as a tattoo cover-up option in a YouTube video by Brittanyleesaunders. It’s a heavy-duty, full-coverage foundation that’s an affordable way to temporarily conceal tattoos.
The editors had mixed results with this one, so it may take some experimenting to see if it works with your tats! Former visuals editor and photographer Kayla Ramsey reported that “this was the best coverage for me, and I didn’t even have to layer other products with it,” while St. Pierre said that she “definitely needed to use concealer as a base layer.”
Both editors found that the formula blends in well with their surrounding skin.
Pros
- Opaque enough to completely cover tattoos
- Can be used with your normal foundation
Cons
- Sticky feel and difficult to remove
Mehron’s professional makeup products are made for the stage (they’re used on Broadway and by the New York City Ballet), so with a bit of skill, this is a tattoo cover-up that’ll give you complete and total coverage! It comes in five shades, so to get the right match, start with the one closest to your skin tone to conceal, and then follow with translucent setting powder and your go-to foundation.
Our editors all reported the consistency to be a bit sticky, so we highly suggest not skipping the setting powder, using a setting spray, and watching Mehron’s how-to video to get the best results from this product.
Former editor Adam Mansuroglu said that while this option “might not be best for daily use” since it takes some time to apply, the level of coverage “made me do a double take to remember I had [a] tattoo.”
Pros
- Covers tattoos and natural body discolorations
- Reviewers say it’s also a great pick on days they want to hide their freckles
Cons
- The diversity of deeper shades is weak
Sometimes two is better than one, especially when it comes to these mini bottles of tattoo coverup. Not only does this makeup boast an impressive 4.3-star average from more than 19,700 Amazon ratings, but shoppers can pick either two of the same color or combine them. This is especially handy as we head into the cooler season and our complexions become lighter. You can pick your lighter fall/winter cover-up now and use the deeper shade in the spring/summer when you’re back to your natural color or have a tan.
As for the formulation, the lightweight liquid foundation has a creamy feel. It’s also waterproof and lasts up to 24 hours! So if you need to cover up your tats while summering with grandma this is an excellent pick.
“This foundation is amazing. Its coverage is so strong I was able to cover a tattoo with it. I ended up keeping on and giving one to my mom who uses it to cover vitiligo spot,” says a 5-star Amazon review.
Pros
- Long-lasting
- Good for the face and body
Cons
- There’s a good mix of light to medium-deep colors, but not enough richer colors
Looking for a popular, Amazon-loved tattoo cover-up? I got you! This one earned a casual 4-star average from more than 31,100 Amazon ratings.
Dermacol’s waterproof option is also our only tattoo cover-up that offers SPF 30 protection so it’s safe to wear in the daytime, like at the beach or at an alfresco lunch with the grandparents.
Speaking of these promising Amazon reviews, here’s one of our favorite 5-star testimonials: “I purchased this product to cover my tattoo for [a] job interview [and] it works great! It’s a little dry so you may want to mix [it] with the lotion when applying [to] make skin feel more comfortable.”
Pros
- Waterproof and lasts for up to 24 hours
- Doesn’t crease
Cons
- Skip if you don’t like makeup that has a thin, watery consistency
Sephora reviewers can’t get enough of this liquid concealer to cover up tattoos. One reviewer said they used it during a wedding, while others ordered it for their partners.
“I bought this for my husband who has hand tattoos. He wants to keep them covered for job interviews, and it seemed to cover it quite well over a rough and dry surface without being obvious,” says a 5-star Sephora review.
One reviewer who easily covered their foot tattoo also shared a great application hack — use blotting paper. Before applying makeup, ensure oils in the skin don’t soak through by soaping them up with blotting sheets. Next, use a makeup sponge to apply and blend, then set it and forget it with setting powder. And if necessary setting spray for extra longevity, though many reviewers say it’s good to go without the bonus step.
KVD Beauty Good Apple Serum Foundation
Pros
- Can be used on the body and face
- Non-comedogenic, so it’s safe for oily and acne-prone skin
Cons
- Sephora reviewers advise working fast because it sets relatively quickly
Everyone deserves to find a tattoo cover-up that perfectly matches their complexion. Von D’s is available in an impressive 40 shades with undertones suitable for warm, neutral, and cool-toned complexions.
The vegan-friendly formula is non-comedogenic, meaning it won’t clog pores leading to body breakouts on the tattoos. Instead, the liquid foundation provides full coverage to help camouflage tattoos.
To quote a 5-star Sephora review, “This [is] perfect for tattoo cover-up or ultimate coverage. The coverage for sure is unmatched but the long wear wasn’t the best for me.”
If the longevity isn’t performing up to your standard, consider pairing it with your favorite face primer for extra grip.
Nicole Saunders is the beauty editor at Best Products with over seven years of experience researching, writing, and editing lifestyle content. She specializes in breaking down complicated topics, like high-frequency wands and microcurrent devices, into easy-to-understand guides. She takes great pride in heavily researching and testing featured beauty products, — such as hairdryers and foundations — on our site, and spotlights her all-time seasonal favorites in her quarterly column Best New Beauty. And she tests quite literally thousands of launches for our Beauty Awards package.
Katie McBroom is an award-winning content creator and freelance writer. Prior to contributing to Biography, she served as Content Editor for Google and Beauty Editor for Best Products. Her work has also appeared in publications including CNN, WWD, Business Insider, Forbes, and Men's Health, among others.
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