Let's Talk: Concealers

Concealer Questions:

I need to cover

Blemishes: Use drier cream concealers that match your skin tone exactly

Dark Circles: Typically, a more liquid concealer works best under the eyes because it covers a lot of area, is easy to layer and gentle to apply, as well as sheers out nicely.Powder can also be used for a light coverage.

How do I shade match?

For a Highlight: 1 to 2 shades lighter than your skin tone or, if you're going for serious contouring, you can use Maybelline's white coverstick.

To Conceal: Match it to your skin tone exactly, or under the eyes you can use a correcter or product with an undertone, but it should be able to sheer out without looking drastically different from your skin color.

What is a corrector?
A corrector is a product that is not a normal skin color, which is designed to help neutralize discolorations. The theory of it is based on the color wheel, opposite colors cancel each other out. Green correctors are meant for redness, orange correctors are meant for blueness, etc. These should be layered under foundation or concealer.

How much should I spend?
Really that's up to you, if the only thing you cover up is the occasional zit though, I wouldn't spend a lot. I find that high end concealers generally crease less, and stay longer on average. My general advice is that it is often worth it to splurge on quality base products such as brushes, foundation, and concealer.


My Concealer Reviews

In this review I will be showing you six concealers I have and am able to swatch for you, two palettes, and the Almay Smart Shade Concealer and Clinique's All About the Eyes Concealer, which I have used and owned, but no longer have to swatch.

I have already reviewed Sheer Cover Mineral Concealer



Here is the first set of the concealer swatches, I have swatched all the concealers for you so that you can see the texture and undertone of each one.

For each one I will tell you what I use it for/if it has a specific use beyond general concealing, the texture, the cost, the coverage, and the staying power, pros and cons, anything I think is important.






Loreal Paris Naturale Mineral Concealer

I do not like powder concealers, they have terrible coverage and terrible staying power. However, specifically with this product, the packaging is awful. You have to unscrew the brush from the top and underneath there is a full thing of unsifted powder you have to try and dip your brush into.

Texture: Powder
Coverage: Light
Staying Power: Very short term
Cost: Discontinued
How I Use It: If I want extra coverage, I will use this to set my other concealer

*I imagine it will work with other powder concealers as well, which is why I included this.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer

This is a pretty good concealer, I heard a lot about the foundation and thought the concealer might be just as good. A little goes a long way, it doesn't crease, but I feel the doe foot applicator though grabs way too much product though.

Overall, it's a good concealer, but it doesn't blow me out of the water, I probably won't repurchase it.

Texture: Liquid
Coverage: Medium
Staying Power: Good
Cost: 24$
How I Use It: Under eye concealer

Tarte Maracuja Creasless Concealer

This is a thick, sticky feeling product, which is important to note. It is a huge part of what I like about it, but it takes some getting used to. This has good coverage, no creasing, the tiniest bit will go very far, and if you don't like the stickiness, you can put a primer underneath it.

Texture: Sticky Cream
Coverage: Medium- Full
Staying Power: All-day
Cost: 24$
How I Use It: I use it under the eye, before my primer as a base concealer. I always set this with another concealer or a setting powder.


Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser


At first I was so disappointed because this product was incredibly hyped up and I just didn't like it. The reason why was because of the sponge-tip applicator. Because I have really translucent skin and prominent veins under my eyes, I love to layer my concealers, and this applicator rubbed it right off. It is a great formula though, and it is super fast and easy to use. 

Texture: Drier Cream
Coverage: Medium- Full
Staying Power: Good
Cost: 10$
How I use it: It's intended for dark circles, but I use it for the veins on my eyelids when I don't wear eye shadow.

*Because this is a single sponge that can't be washed, don't share this with your friends if you are concerned about sanitation.

Garnier Anti-Dark Circle Roller

Yet another product that dispenses way too much, the roller ball is an interesting idea, but I don't need that much concealer for a single layer.

Texture: Liquid on a roller ball
Coverage: Medium
Staying Power: Decent
Cost: 11$
How I use it: Under the eyes when I have bad dark circles (note the nice orangier tone which corrects the blueness). My problem is less about darkness under the eyes, and more about veins under the eyes.

* They also just have a moisturizing under eye treatment and I really like to use that one at night.

Kat Von D Lock-It Tattoo Concealer

This is just a really good concealer to keep around. It is the consistency that you could get away with using it anywhere on your face, it has good coverage, doesn't crease, stays well, and it dries nicely on the skin without needing to be set.

Texture: Thick liquid
Coverage: Medium-Full
Staying Power: Good
Cost: 20$
How I use it: This is my favorite concealer for layering, it dries quick, blends easily, and has good coverage.

Clinique All About The Eyes Concealer

Texture: Thick liquid
Coverage: Medium
Staying Power: Good
Cost: 18$

I prefer really full coverage concealers, so this one was given away to a good home. The texture was a little more liquidy than the Kat Von D, and would probably function well as a high quality everyday concealer for someone who just needs a little boost.




Almay Smart Shade Concealer

I kept this concealer around for a long time, but this is a product you cannot keep beyond its expiration date because the smart shade function stops working and the shade no longer matches)

 It is definitely the most liquidy squeeze tube concealer I have used, but I more or less liked it. I think this might be a good alternative for the Clinique one if you are on a budget, because it has similar coverage in the same style bottle, and it's great if you can't shade match for anything.

Texture: Liquid
Coverage: Medium
Staying Power: Decent
Cost: 7$ on average

Concealer Palettes




















Above are swatches for the two palettes in this section. Palettes will often include correctors and multiple shades of concealer.

BH Cosmetics Concealer and Corrector Palette

All the colors in the light palette are swatched on my arm. I was incredibly enamored with this when I first got it, because it was the first experience I ever had with palettes and corrector, but the quality is terrible. In the end, I got what I paid for.

Texture: Cream to powder almost, but it works out to feel very chalky
Coverage: Little- Light
Staying Power: Poor
Cost: $4.95
How I use it: I still use this from time to time because of the red/pink corrector. Notice that on this palette it is redder than the usual pink you see in light correcting palettes.

Coastal Scents Eclipse Concealer Palette

There are 20 concealers/correctors in this palette. I swatched only my shade that I use and the correctors. I did a more complete review on them here While these are good quality concealers, I don't reach for this palette regularly because it's large and doesn't have the corrector colors I am most interested in.

Texture: Thick cream
Coverage: Medium
Staying Power: Good
Cost: $20
How I use it:  It is great for doing group makeup (Ex; parties and dances), and I also use it for when I do a COMPLETE face of makeup. The darker shades are good for contouring, comes with a highlight and a concealer, as well as corrector, so I only need to pull out one product for 4 functions, which is pretty worth it.

What's your go-to concealer?