I love that they tend to be more opaque and full coverage, and they blend well without sheering out, but they can be heavier and sink into fine lines or appear caky.
— Christine
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Same, I love that they provide such good coverage. But they can look a bit unnatural and cakey if you’re not careful.
I don’t use them, as I don’t like them at all. Brand doesn’t matter. I find they melt off my oily face, even when I use primer and set with powder. I don’t think they cover acne very well, which is the main reason I need one. They tend to settle where I don’t want them and not stay where I do.
I can’t think about a single thing I love about them. I do much better with powder or liquid concealer.
Amy’s post made me think of a pro: They do work well as a lipstick base to prevent oxidizing, and lipstick-style form is convenient to carry and use.
I got a great one from Hourglass – amazing coverage and a brightening effect – but my rant is that it went RANCID within a year. No one could finish that stick in such a short time and it really should have lasted longer.
Coverage is great for acne, but it can also cause acne (for me) so it’s a big catch-22 makeup-wise
I had a great stick concealer from Almay that had salicylic acid that did wonders for my blemishes but I haven’t been able to find it in years. Hopefully something similar is out there!
Almay has a doe-foot wand creamy liquid one like that now, called Clear Complexion Concealer. I haven’t tried it, since my acne these days is cystic (hormonal), but it has salicylic acid in it, and is mineral based.
Murad makes one that has salicylic acid in it, and it’s always given me great coverage. The only downside is that it only comes in light and medium (I’m NW20 and use medium)
That’s’ fine for me, I’m pale so hopefully it’s light enough!
YAY! If you end up trying it out, I hope it works out for you 🙂
I’ve never had any real need for concealer, in any form, as I’ve always had decent skin & no issue with the undereye area. However, long before eyeshadow primers/bases were available to the masses, I found them to work wonders to make my eye makeup more vibrant! WnW had an amazing one in white, and is something I’d still use today if they brought it back. I currently have one from Maybelline that I use, but the WnW one was better, and much cheaper.
I used concealer with setting powder for eye shadow base before the days of primers. Concealer isn’t as good for my oily lids as modern primers, but it was whole lot better than nothing back in day. Concealer makes a great lipstick base as well. I used to have a horrible time with lipsticks oxidizing on me when I was younger, and I still occasionally do. I still find face concealer works better than lip primer for the oxidizing issue. My mom used those tricks and passed them on to me.
I have very dry lids, so powder shadows just don’t stick without *something* there. The old, white WnW concealer was great because it was kind of drier than most, which was why it made a horrible concealer, but held up eyeshadow.
I forgot about using it as a lip base, especially in the late 80’s, when pale pink lipstick was the rage, and my lips were just too pigmented. For that, I used Maybelline in white, as the WnW was too dry.
I stay away from them… They crease like a m…..f…..!
I have only ever tried drugstore ones back in middle school, especially before drugstore brands have been stepping up lately. It was an old Maybelline one back in the old white and blue packaging, and it was so chalky and the shade was terrible. It looked like I put a white clay mask over my zits. I would have been better off bare faced.
I think that was the issue I was having using my Cle de Peau stick under my eyes. I finally learned to use a flat concealer brush and tap it on the stick and tap it on my skin,build where needed. I need coverage under my eyes badly. I do get some creasing. But it has gotten much better since I learned to tap and not swipe. It just gets to heavy too quick. I compared it to Bye,Bye Undereye by it Cosmetics. I just need the coverage of CDP. If I could pull off a liquid, I would. I also have tried “full coverage” liquids and they seem to cause a demarcation between my concealer and base. I think they get too dry for my older skin (39) ! 🙂
Rave: Every single summer, I go through an entire stick (or two) of Nyx’s Waterproof Stick concealer. It has excellent coverage for my reddened spots by my nose and chin, dark areas of hyper-pigmentation and breakouts. Set with powder, PERFECT!
Rant: Also good coverage for undereye, BUT it makes my mascara, which is ALSO waterproof, smudge and if there’s any fallout, it just gets stuck! So I think I do need to use something different for undereye darkness.
The reason it causes even waterproof mascara to smudge is due to the fact the very first ingredient is mineral oil. Mineral oil is also the very first ingredient in cold cream & most cleansing oils, which we often use to *remove* makeup, as it breaks everything down. This is one of the main reasons I try to avoid mineral oil in any cosmetic products, especially in hotter weather. If I’m going to spend time & effort on my makeup, I don’t want to put another product on top of it that’s just going to take it off, LOL!
Actually it’s the 2nd ingredient, but still pretty high up there on the list! Unfortunately, liquid concealer doesn’t work too well in this insane heat (I live in the Greater Phoenix area), also, liquids haven’t looked all that great in my undereye area lately (crepiness is creeping in), so my guess is that I may require a separate one for the undereye, like the one by It.
Have you tried MAC Pro Longwear or Maybelline Master Conceal? I’m in SoCal, and they hold up well, but I don’t know about coverage (I use them to highlight).
I have definitely considered MAC Pro- Longwear, not sure if it’ll be too dry for the little fine lines that are now sprouting ( yep, I’m 56 and just starting to see them! ), though. When I did swatch it, it didn’t feel *too* dry, so maybe? There is one by It Cosmetics that Christine reviewed awhile back, and it looked REALLY nice and even had a smoothing effect!
Rave: I love how they don’t tend to have as many volatile silicones as liquid versions and that they tend to be full coverage. Rant: The heavy waxes in many stick concealers can be pore-clogging–so acne-prone people should beware
I only use them for very small areas, like a broken capillary or a small red spot. They are too heavy and cakey for me to use under my eyes.
for my combination skin,I don’t have a good experience with concealer sticks so far.they’re often have a thick texture with them uneasy to blend it out and they can’t used on under eyes circles no matter what I tried,they always look cakey and crack after two hours or so
They definitely aren’t the kind of concealers I’m drawn to.. I way prefer lightweight more liquid concealer 🙂
I can’t really rave about them at all. My oily skin would just break up all the concealer and it wouldn’t do its job. It feels too heavy to wear because I prefer a lighter coverage.
It is hard to find ones that are more dry in texture and not too creamy. Most don’t last on me if they are emollient.
But the ones I love and do use it the Annabelle CC concealer in light currently and in the past Urban Decay’s as they had that right medium of dry but not to dry on the skin and turn to powder.
WnW might work for you, if you can find one fair enough!
They can be EXTREMELY drying, especially in the colder months. They can also be cakey if not blended out enough. so when they get dry and cakey, it’s like literally wearing a nasty, flaky mask.
They’re good in the summer time, because they’re full coverage, and if set with a powder can be budge-proof and last throughout oils. I generally will only use stick concealers for cream contouring, bad blemishes or really, really full coverage.