My Five Favorite Concealers

Concealer can be used to hide blemishes, to cover up dark circles underneath the eyes, and to highlight the face. I've picked out five of my favorite concealers (because, let's face it, six would just be insane) to swatch and review for you all. Three of them are from the drugstore and all coincidentally by Maybelline.

Before I get into my reviews, I want to share a trick I discovered about making concealer last longer under the eyes. If you have issues with your concealer sinking into the fine lines beneath your eyes and creasing up, try dabbing on some eye shadow primer first. This creates a smooth barrier that prevents the concealer from creasing under your eyes. I love the Eyeshadow Primer from Milani Cosmetics, which can be found at CVS and Walgreens. It only costs $5.99, and a little goes a very long way.

I have found the best method when it comes to under-eye concealer is to apply the product in a V shape and then fill in the space so that you have two upside-down triangles beneath each of your eyes. Then, I pat the product in gently with my ring finger. This method doesn't tug at the sensitive under-eye area, and it also provides the highest coverage as opposed to rubbing the concealer in, which would just smear the product around. I always recommend setting your under-eye concealer either with a loose, translucent powder like this one from Nyx Cosmetics, or a pressed powder in a shade or two lighter than your natural skin color like this one from MAC or this one from Rimmel.

If you want to see swatches of each concealer as you read, scroll down to the bottom for a picture of what each product looks like next to each other.

The first concealer is the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser.

This product is my tried-and-true, holy grail concealer. I've been using it for years, and I buy the shade 110 Fair, which is a little bit lighter than most of the foundations I wear. I use this concealer under my eyes or even on my eye lids to cancel out any veins or redness that might be visible there, but I don't apply this to blemishes. It creates a brightening effect under the eyes, which helps you look more awake. However, if I were to apply this concealer to a blemish, it would make the spot stand out even more because it would be brighter than the the makeup surrounding it. According to Maybelline, this product contains an ingredient called Haloxyl, which reduces the look of puffiness and shadows while fading the appearance of under-eye circles.

The next concealer I'm going to discuss is the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer.

I purchased this a few weeks ago in the shade Chantilly, which is the palest color in the range. Sephora describes it as a "true ivory for fairest complexions." This concealer is the best for highlighting the face or for concealing blemishes when I'm not wearing very much makeup. When I highlight my face, I apply a brightening concealer to the center of my forehead, down the center of my nose, on my chin, and underneath my cheekbones. This process just adds some dimension to the face and brings forward the areas which the light would naturally hit. The concealer is also great for covering blemishes when I'm not wearing foundation because it is one of the few products that isn't too dark for my skin tone. This was a little bit of a splurge, but it was worth every penny.

The next concealer is the Maybelline Face Studio Master Conceal.

I did not like this product the first time I tried it a couple of months ago. I have the shade 10 Fair, and it has a yellow undertone for people with warmer skin tones. I use this concealer under my eyes, and because it does not come with an applicator, I applied way too much product the first time I used it, and it got very cakey. I tried it again, using much less product, and it worked like a dream. It provided great coverage, and it blended out so much more smoothly when I just used a tiny bit. I haven't tried this to conceal blemishes because I don't have warm undertones in my skin, but if you do, I think it would work really well for that purpose.

Next is the infamous MAC Pro Longwear Concealer.

This is only one of two MAC products that I own, and it was also one of the first high end makeup products I purchased. Mine is in the shade NC15. I'm sorry about how dirty the pump is, but I've had it for about a year now, and look how much product is still left! I don't use it every day by any means, but I pull out this concealer if I know I'm going to be sweating or I need something that will stay put all day. The Pro Longwear concealer has a thicker consistency, and it is formulated with a non-creasing technology. This product can be used on blemishes, but I would recommend applying it sparingly because of how thick this one is. It can cake up very easily if you're not careful.

The last concealer is the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer.

The packaging of this product is very similar to that of the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer from above, but this is the one I always reach for if I need to cover up blemishes when I'm wearing a full face of makeup. I use the shade 15 (Fair) in this concealer, which is actually lighter than the shade 10 from the same range. I find that this is the perfect consistency to cover blemishes without looking too unnatural on top of foundation, and it provides full coverage without feeling too dry or thick on the skin. This concealer is also great because it doesn't contain any oils or waxes, it is non-comedogenic, dermatologist-tested, ophthalmologist-tested, and fragrance-free.

That's it for the reviews! I've tried countless concealers from the drugstore, but these three from Maybelline are the only ones that I've loved. The high end concealers that I mentioned are amazing, but I don't normally use those on a day-to-day basis because they're more expensive.

The last thing I want to show you is swatches of all the concealers I talked about.

  

Here they all are against my forearm. I swatched them in the same order that I reviewed them, but from top to bottom: Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser, NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, Maybelline Face Studio Master Conceal, MAC Pro Longwear Concealer, and then the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer.

They are all different colors, yes, but no foundation is the same color either. Five concealers might seem excessive to most people, and it's certainly not necessary to own that many. Picking the right concealer for you is all about knowing your skin type and whether you have warm, cool, or neutral undertones in your skin.

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