What's your process in figuring out if a concealer is working well for you?
I have to wear it for at least a week (consistently or else a week’s worth of wear) and see how it pairs and blends with other foundations and mascaras (I find that some foundations/concealers can make a mascara more prone to smudging!). I’m getting to the point where I sort of accept some limited amount of settling/creasing in my lines over time but want a concealer that covers quite well, doesn’t emphasize my lines or dryness, and doesn’t stay settled in my lines initially.
— Christine
I don’t know if I’ve ever found a concealer that has really worked for me on my undereye area. Generally though, if it doesn’t crease too horribly and covers well without making my undereyes look crepe-y, I’ll keep using it. Also, I use concealer on either side of my nose to cover up redness and I just like for that not too look to heavy or cakey at the end of the day.
Just wearing it and trying it with different primers and without primer and with different setting powders. I have one HG product that I use every day, so I rarely try any others anymore.
Same regarding mascara, I found that some concealers invite raccoon eyes and I don’t have time for that. I wear a concealer for awhile and if it’s both high coverage and doesn’t settle into lines, I’m good to go. I want something that can brighten my undereye and conceal dark circles, and something that will conceal discoloration and blemishes – you know, the intention of concealer in the first place. Right now I’m using the Edward Bess Extreme Cover Cream and the KKW Beauty Liquid Concealer, both work the way I want them to so unless something changes, they’re my winners.
Hardy har har. You’d need a flow chart! First I start with the product by itself. You see, there are 5 possible layers: primer, corrector, brightener, concealer, and setting. Then you slot the new one in where it goes, and play with the various combinations and permutations. And I have a slew to work with. It could take the rest of my life, no joke. At bat now is the Julep Perk It pen. Reminds me of two products, an old Smashbox brightener in a small tube with a brush, and Tony Moly Dream Brightening eye base. And I hated both of them! Julep is usually a win for me, so I will Tim Gunn Perk It for a while. But it’s goldish, though it does not look gold in the tube. Suspect it’s an unexpected major miss.
LoL. Some are retired to the drawer of shame faster than others, but it is an arduous trial process.
trial 2, with it and FAB triple duty (MISTAKE!!) plus ysl vinyl masc in green. Rechristened it I’m the Swamp Alien. Omg, walk the dogs and all the lower mascara was deposited glumpily under the eyes, in around an hour. Fortunately, no jobs that day. Actually comical.
I always try multiple application techniques, to see what works best. I test the concealer before or after foundation, applied with the beauty blender, fingers or brush; I also try to get a `feel` what the amount of product that works best.
I’m also coming to terms with the fact that any concealer will show on me some settling/creasing, but technique helps. Personally I’m a fan of thicker textures with higher coverage, best applied after foundation with the finger (the warmth helps) and set with dust of powder.
I can generally tell after one or two wearings. If it really creases and settles into lines and a bit of “re-pressing” and setting with powder doesn’t fix it first or second time, then I know it won’t work for me. If it’s dry and scaly (like NARS Radiant Creamy – that name is such a LIE) and using a rich eye cream doesn’t help, then I’m done. And if it doesn’t do a good job of concealing what I want it to conceal (Tatcha, I am looking at YOU) – namely my dark under-eye circles, which is really the only place I need concealer – then it’s not going to work for me.
It must cover dark circles, red areas near my nose, and hide eczema patches and blemishes, without going creasy on me! Or looking dry and stark, refusing to blend into my foundation. And it must last the day, too. I don’t mind if I have to touch up the sides of my nose, as that area is very oily, so it will eat up concealer and foundation alike after about 6-7 hours if the air is filled with humidity.
I’ve never given it much thought, to be completely honest… I’ve really only used concealer to even out my eyelids, and to give my eyeshadow something to stick to, as I’ve never had to deal with any skin issues that a good foundation couldn’t handle. That said, I do have relatively deep-set eyes, so if I’m doing a full-face, glam look, I will usually remember to use a concealer to brighten up my undereye recess, although it’s not so bad I deal with it on a daily basis. When it comes to choosing/ trying a new product, I look for something emollient, and with a luminous finish. I don’t need heavy pigment, as I don’t have any real darkness/discoloration, and I still have good texture/smoothness, so creasing isn’t an issue; however, dryness can be an issue, so I like something moisturizing. If for any reason a concealer doesn’t work for my eye area, it gets repurposed as either an eye or lip primer, to carve out my brows, or to correct my lipstick line.
If it settles into the lines around my eyes (which aren’t noticeable without makeup) it’s not working. So basically my process is whether it makes me wipe it off in disgust midway through my day lol
I basically experiment similar to what you and others have said.
An odd thing I’ve had happen with several under-eye concealers is that they end up flaking on me. I’m not super dry under the eyes so this flaking is sort of a surprise. Using any eye cream beforehand doesn’t seem to resolve the issue. What I’ve found to work is to mix my current concealer (Tarte Shape Tape) with a pea-sized bead of primer, and then dab on this concealer mix and carefully use any brushes there.
I’ve also found that I’m unable to use whichever concealer I use under the eye on the rest of my face, or vice versa. My under-eye area is much more sensitive than the rest of my face, and using my under-eye concealer elsewhere doesn’t work for me since I use different color concealers on the rest of my face.
It probably sounds pretty involved but using multiple concealers works for me better than using a foundation.
I only conceal blemishes so as long as it blends into my base and stays on all day, I’m happy. I’m currently using the ABH pot concealer in 1.5 and it’s pretty good. I never bother concealing my undereye area but I’ve done it on other people and I find it a major hassle, to be honest.
Surprisingly, I don’t have any trouble with concealers settling into my fine lines and texture from eczema. My main concerns under my eyes is dryness and concealing of dark circles and fluid bags. I have had good success with the fluid bags using a combination of cool metal lymph rollers and products with arginine. The dryness under my eyes is a problem because even using the strongest moisturizer’s and moisturizing concealers, I still look dry in that area. I also find that not many concealers actually work well for dark circles or hyperpigmentation that I have on the tops of my cheeks which is right at the under eye area. I have found that using the minimum amount of concealer and blending well with my finger and then setting lightly with a super fine setting powder works about the best, although, not perfectly. I usually apply the powder with my finger just tapping on those areas that have concealer.
So, to answer the question, I keep trying new ones and either determining that they work okay or I trash them and go back to one that works just marginally better. Haven’t found a holy grail concealer although Tarte Shape Tape is probably the closest, as long as I use a minuscule amount and tap it gently on and then use a minimum amount of setting powder. I am just about done with my tube of Tarte Shape Tape and won’t be repurchasing as I am boycotting the brand so will need to begin a new round of testing.
Hi Deborah S.,
I was just curious to know your reason for boycotting Tarte? Thanks!
I believe people boycott Tarte because they weren’t inclusive in their Shape Tape foundation shade range, and when people complained, they didn’t apologize but said something along “we were going to introduce darker shades anyways”.
I can’t use a concealer without it looking cakey or thick or it creases. If it doesn’t do any of those, it doesn’t really work and so I’ve decided to skip it. I
It just can’t get cakey or crease after finishing. It must cover light dark circles and redness around my nose.
I’m currently using the Nars concealer that applies with a does foot.
I am so fortunate that even at my age (60+) I don’t need to use a concealer at all.
Great genes….highly envious. I needed concealer in third grade!
I picked the last two concealers I wore-the Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin 10 Ivory I use now and the discontinued Maybelline Mineral Power concealer (I believe I used 960 Ivory) it replaced-basically on a whim because they matched my skin, and they both worked well for me, so I don’t really have a process other than sheer luck.
I like to think that I’m fairly adept at applying makeup but under eye concealer continues to be the bane of my existence! Nothing seems to do the job for me…failing in at least one if not more ways as others before me have lamented. I’ve pretty much given up for the time being and may try again as the weather cools into the fall. In the summer months I can’t stand a lot of makeup on my face. I’m trying to embrace my dark under eye circles and have become quite the genius in drawing attention away from them. It seems to work better on my pale skin than the “reverse raccoon eye” that I seem to get when concealers fail me. And I cannot find a happy medium between a product being too dewy or too dry (after setting with powder) and draws attention to fine lines under my eyes. Again, as another reader mentioned…the lines aren’t there sans makeup. So frustrating trying to find something that works let alone an HG product. I suppose it’s all trial and error. I’m just over it for the summer.
Concealer is one of the items I’ve used all my cosmetics life; like mascara it’s a desert island requirement for me. I have deep set eyes and have had dark circles since I was a child. I think I was born needing concealer!
I’ve had a few that seemed to help somewhat but I wish there was something that solved my dark circle issue once and for all.
A few years back I tried something by Revlon that was supposed to last all day, and it did. But after using it for a couple weeks the skin under my eyes was so dry and looked very much more wrinkly that I stopped using that one as soon as I saw the changes to my skin. It was pretty scary.
Still searching for the ultimate holy grail. It needs to cover my circles, look natural and not settle into fine lines or wear off. Not asking for the impossible, am I? Whoever could invent this would be a gazillionaire in no time. Kylie? ? 😉
I don’t long to decide, a day’s wear. I’m like Christine in that initially I want no line demarcations; however by the end of the day, I want zero to minimal lines being emphasized. I will use concealers that don’t fit the bill (because I need to get rid of them), but now that I’ve found some I really like, I probably will stick to those few. As for coverage, I have such deep swallow undereye circles that I don’t have a magic, one application solution. I always have to layer and even as an older women, fine powder helps to set my concealer/foundation layers.
I haven’t found one that is not noticeable at all. If it shows even a bit I’m not wearing it. Bought a couple and don’t use them. Don’t really need so much cover up and don’t like them.