Current Concealer Crop

Concealer, believe it not, can be quite a minefield of beauty. Whilst some may simply dismiss it as a 'beauty basic' which we 'all must surely know how to do?' if truth be told, I'm pretty certain that a quick poll across the ladies of the world - us bloggers included - would reveal that many of us find it more of a stuggle than we'd like to let on.

Up until the last few months, I'd been using a total of two concealers. The Natural Collection Green Concealer which I used before applying my foundation to cancel out the ruddy tones to my skin, and the Collection Lasting Perfection, which I used on everything. Bags, blemishes, blighters - you name it - it was employed for it. That was until recently, when I'd been noticing that my concealer choices weren't perhaps as foolproof as I'd once thought they were. The Lasting Perfection just wasn't looking as perfection as it used to, and so I knew other options had to be investigated. It was still good for covering up blemishes and any odd pimple I'd get, but for under the eyes? I'd starting noticing patches, creases, cracks - it just wasn't working as well for me anymore. Bring in the Rimmel Wake Me Up...

 

This concealer, as the name would suggest, is designed to 'wake you up', and so should, in theory, work especially well for concealing those pesky dark circles. It claims to 'reawaken' and 'illuminate' under the eyes, whilst also covering spots and blemishes. Whilst I would not so much agree with the latter claim (who wants to brighten and illuminate their spots?!), I do agree with the former. A noticeably more liquid-y formula than that of the Collection offering, this is much more blendable under the eyes and so leaves a much lighter finish - eliminating the chances of all the problems I'd encountered with Lasting Perfection. I find because of this its lasting power for that area is far longer, and I find I can go a full day without feeling the need to reapply. It's a winner.

 

Another addition I've made to my concealer crop recently is the MUA Pro Base Prime and Conceal. This thing, is fab. When doing my research into what kinds of choices other bloggers were making concealer-wise, this one came up again and again. Some may argue that it's not technically a concealer, but more a step you would take before applying your usual - much like my Natural Collection Green Concealer - to correct any areas of pigmentation. This concealer/corrector has a yellow tone (and actually comes out bright yellow when you apply it to your face - scary stuff), so works particularly well for cancelling out purple tones under your eyes (just as the green works for correcting red), but MUA also claim it can be used as a colour corrector for any area. I was intrigued. After a few trial uses I can confirm it now has a permanent place in my concealer line-up. A creamy, easy-to-blend formula that almost disappears into the skin, I find not only does the concealer I apply on top conceal better, but also lasts longer. It can also be used as an eyelid primer before applying eyeshadows, but I am yet to employ it in this way. I'll report back on that one...