Uh-oh. You have a zit. A big one. Right where no one could possibly miss it. Ugh. Ok, deep breaths. I am here to teach you the one makeup trick you really need to know above all others: the creative zit coverup.

My mother, who has great style, taught me this trick when I was a teenager and it has served me well! I feel like a criminal for not having told you yet. At 13, I was flipping out in front of the bathroom mirror, unable to understand why I suddenly had a huge zit on my up-till-then perfect skin. Patiently explaining (again) about puberty, my mom opened the bathroom cupboard, took out her makeup bag, and rooted around until she found a brown eyeliner pencil.

She patted the bathroom counter. I hopped up. Mom leaned over my face and carefully placed a single dot of eyeliner on top of the zit.

“There,” she said, standing back to look at her handiwork. “It looks like a beauty mark. No one would ever know.”

I turned to face the mirror. There, by the side of my mouth, was a ridiculous-looking “beauty mark.”

“I look like an idiot,” I wailed.

Mom snorted. “You think anyone looks at your face that much? Or could tell if you have a mole or not?”

She walked out of the bathroom, and I stood in front of the mirror and examined my new look for ages. You know, she was right: if you didn’t see my face up close all the time, how would you ever know this wasn’t a beauty mark? You wouldn’t! So I humbly pass my mother’s knowledge on to you all.

To turn a nasty zit on or near your cheek, nose, mouth, or chin into a gorgeous beauty mark, all you need is your choice of black or brown wet or dry eyeliner and a steady hand. (Brown looks more natural, black looks more dramatic.) You also need the confidence to pull this off. I suggest practicing a, “Yeah, I have a beauty mark, so what?” face in the mirror first, and adding some drama to your look with a bright lipstick.

Nothing is different but the “beauty mark” and the lipstick. I used Elite Paris Matt Liner in Matt Brown. See how it turns her whole look around?