NARS’ new Soft Matte is really quite good! It’s creamy without being too thick or too heavy. I’m also a long-time fan of Cle de Peau’s Concealer (the one in a stick) and more recently, Shiseido’s (also in a stick).
— Christine
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I second Christine’s nomination of the Nar’s new Soft Matte. I like it. Amazing Concealer is also very good, but it takes more work than the Nars.
I’m sticking with Becca Ultimate Concealing Creme!
NARS has a new one? Omg must try. Their liquid one is my favorite. As for creamy ones, I think NYX makes a great one (in the pot packaging).
KVD’s Lock-It Concealer Creme!
Dermablend Quick-Fix Concealer (stick) works best for me. My main concern is covering cystic acne. This does the job and sticks well to my oily skin. For some reason, most concealers don’t like to stick on me, even over primer and foundation.
That’s common, probably because you don’t realize you’re touching your face. When I break out, especially if it’s those deep pimples, I find myself touching them because I can feel them on my face. Or is your acne, like mine, is on your lower face, you may be rubbing off your makeup if you use your phone or lean on your hand as you’re working, reading, or online.
Finding concealers has always been so difficult for me as I have fair skin with pink undertones. So many of them are too neutral or yellow-based for my skintone, are too drying, settle into my fine lines, and/or have too little or too much coverage. By process of elimination, I have two EL cream concealers (little round compacts) that are very close to my skin tone. I like the darker of the two shades on my cheek to cover a brown spots. I only use the lighter one on the outer corners of my eyes where I have some darkness.
These EL cream concealers are excellent in terms of color selection (many, many shades). They also aren’t drying after application, so they don’t settle in my fine lines. The coverage is whatever you build them to be. I’ve used small beauty blenders, various brushes and even my fingers to apply them. Whatever works. I don’t find them to need setting powder at all and the wear time is all day for me. If you’re over 40, I would recommend you take a look at them, particularly if you’re normal to dry.
Regarding concealers in general, I have a love-hate relationship. No single product does the job for my entire face. So, I have several products (liquid and cream concealers, color correctors, a shade lightener and that magic potion in a bottle sold by Burberry, Fresh Glow Luminous Fluid Base — a great idea for the Sephora sale) that I have available to mix (always the mixer, here) to get the proper color, texture and coverage I need. Quite frankly, I think concealers are a big, fat royal pain. When they work, they’re great. When they don’t, they’re worse than awful. Rant concluded.
I agree…they are a pain and often they draw more attention to that which you are trying to conceal. Whenever possible, I go without.
I like the cream concealer (the one in the pot) by Marc Jacobs. It’s similar to the nars soft matte concealer, but I like it better (I think) for under the eyes.
I like the feel and coverage of the new NARS one!! I was playing around with it at sephora the other day!!
I really enjoy MUFE’s conceal and correct cream concealer palette! I’v hit pat on two of the shades!
I have tried Cle De Peau’s concealer in the past way too thick for under my eyes. I love Sisley Paris eye concealer. I would like to try Burberry’s cashmere or their sheer luminous concealer’s. Also, Maybe YSL’s.
I haven’t used a cream stick in a long time. I think my last favorite was billed as foundation stick from Becca. I also used to love the Max Factor pan stick!
How about my old standby from the 70’s-Max Factor Erace?
I am using Kat Von D’s Lockit Concealer Cream and I like it but it is a tiny bit too light for me. I usually struggle to find a light enough concealer with yellow undertones as most cosmetic companies seem to think anyone fair skinned must have pink undertones.
I also quite like MUFE Full Cover Extreme Camoflage Cream.
The only one I’ve ever used and love to bits is the NARS Soft Matte one. Definitely worth the money.
I don’t have a recommendation, but I would love to know folks comments/experiences on the Nars Soft Matte Complete Concealer specifically for under the eyes. I love Nars products and use the Nars Radiant Tinted Moisturizer on a day to day basis.
I’ve been using a combo of the Nars creamy concealer and Too Faced Born this way (I’m trying to use these expensive products up), but I still get creases and feel like my under eyes make me look much older than I am.
I’m contemplating Tarte Shape Tape versus Nars Soft Matte. Your feedback would be great! We have such a knowledgeable friendly beauty community on here!
I have dry 30 something undereyes, own both shape tape and Nars soft matte. I would choose Nars over Shape. Nars is buildable with little creasing and it tends to look skinlike. Shapetape on the other hand has amazing coverage but tends to look heavy and only goes when I am wearing a complete full coverage look. Both are good not perfect but if I had to choose Nars wins.?
Pamela – This is so incredibly helpful and exactly the feedback that I was looking for! I’m turning 37 next week, so we are on that same tip! 😀 Nars it is! Thanks so much for replying! Much appreciated!
Eve Pearl salmon lt-med can eliminate the need for ultra multiple products. But it’s not uncommon to do fab triple duty, then u/e primer, like Smashbox, a corrector, it or EP, and a brightener like Becca. That line up WITH regular concealer. Then Paula TM. OMBFG. Really? There’s so much wait time that I can walk dogs in between. But stand alone cream? It’d have to be the EP.
And Anne, let me say you don’t have to be ultra light to have that too yellow issue. Some companies expect pink undertones with real light skin, but there is a dearth to none at the lt-medium level. And as you age, some folks lose the translucency in their skin. The undertones shift towards red, instead of pink. so, you are warmer, but not truly warm, and all the yellow stuff looks just as wrong as it ever did. no fun at all. The mufe R colors for foundation aren’t bad, but haven’t gone for their concealer. But you seem to be talking more about skin than under eye. I believe they should be completely separate products.
I agree. Concealers are so need-specific, it’s hard to generalize about how one uses them or what their favorite products are. One concealer is good for one problem and another is useful for another problem. Add color, coverage and anti-dryness needs to the equation, and it all gets very complicated. And, add age concerns to the list and it gets even more complicated. Concealers make me crazy, actually. Lol.
Lisa Eldridge just uploaded a video in which she mixed her cream blush into her concealer because she needed to conceal after she had applied her cream blush.
Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick, used as a concealer and applied with a brush.
I have been using Tarte Shape Tape in Fair for awhile now and I like it. There is a learning curve however, and you can’t use too much or it will look dry and textured. I just ordered the Cle de Peau concealer after a conversation on Temptalia regarding Cle de Peau foundations. I have ordered two of the foundations to try out so I am excited to try them and the concealer.
I primarily need to cover my under eye area so I need something that is opaque, yellow toned, non drying, and does not crease or settle into my fine lines.
Cle de Peau’s stick concealer used to be my favorite but I find it too drying for my skin now. I just tried La Mer’s concealer stick & was really impressed! (BUT it was $75, yikes!)
It Bye Bye Anti Aging concealer is now my ‘go-to’ concealer. I like it because it covers in one application, does not settle into my fine lines, lasts all day without fading, does not oxidize nor dry to a different color, and actually feels moisturizing to my parched eye area. I don’t think it’s that expensive as an 8ml/.28 oz tube lasts me about 6 months. I know a lot of people do not like the It concealer because it is not a matte finish but I like the slightly satin finish as it seems to brighten up my tear troughs/under eye bottomless pits of despair.
(It the It concealer a cream? I don’t know but it works!!!)
Other things I like the It concealer for is to add more coverage to the It CC cream & I use it as an eyeshadow primer. I bought the $65 IT foundation and after reading the ingredients the only difference between the foundation & the $38 CC cream is some of the ingredients from the concealer. So just add a little It concealer to the CC cream & you’ve got a full coverage foundation! The It concealer also works well as an eyeshadow primer over the lid, a great multitasker for traveling!
I wanted to like the NARS soft matte concealer but it creased on me within 5 minutes of trying it out. And I have dry skin! Still struggling to find my favorite concealer, right now I use Benefit’s Fakeup and it’s just OK.
I have several and tend to switch them around. The one I probably use most is Laura Mercier’s Secret Camouflage (one with two shades in a compact where one matches your undertones. I also really like the matching concealer brush.) It helps that the shade is a perfect match, which can sometimes be tricky since I’m pretty fair. Others in rotation include Nars’ Creamy Concealer, Amazing Concealer, Cle de Peau’s stick concealer, Kat Von D’s Lock It Concealer, Kevyn Aucoin’s Sensual Skin Enhancer and Lancome concealers — both the Teint Idole and Maquicomplet.
Christine, what color do you wear in NARS soft matte concealer? I want to buy it to try under my eyes and I am having trouble with shades online. I am just a touch more medium that you are (MAC NC30).
I’m not sure which suits me best – I literally use four right now! I think Cannelle is the one I use under my eyes!
Aren’t all concealers basically creams? Just thicker or thinner based on the format? I agree that the Nars is great, but the two I have been most impressed with are It Cosmetics and Balance Me. Both were from subscription boxes. Balance me is much thinner and easier to blend right in than IC, but both of these conceal without settling in and making my undereye area look wrinkly and/or puffy.
I have heard that Tarte Shape Tape is AMAZING. All my YouTube makeup junkies rave about it, but I haven’t tried it myself yet. Wth am I waiting for??