How do you test a concealer to determine if it works for you?
A part of me hates concealer because the only area that I see “aging” over time is underneath my eyes as my fine lines multiply and become more prominent, and my under eye bags get darker and more noticeable. I like to test concealer in terms of covering up unevenness or blemishes on my skin as well as underneath my eyes, as I do find that the areas can require different types of concealer–there are some that multi-task but often I’ll want something a bit lighter under my eyes and something that matches my complexion more spot-on for the rest of my face.
I test concealer with and without foundation underneath it, with and without powder, and I try an assortment of powders — some more brightening/luminous ones along with more mattifying/typical translucent powders. I’ll test application using brushes, fingertips, and sponges. I want it to be relatively easy to apply with high coverage that doesn’t look or feel heavy/caked on, and it should give me at least half a day without getting all in my fine lines.
I’ll test it in-store on the back of my hand to get a sense of the texture (and if it looks bad there, it’s sure to look bad on my under-eye area. Then I’ll ask the SA to apply some for me under one eye both to check colour and how it wears and then I’ll go about my business – more shopping in the mall or home to cook dinner – and see how I like it in natural light and just get a sense of how it works for me. If it’s pretty good, chances are I will be back in a few days to buy the stuff because being fairly pale and having prize winning dark circles, a good concealer is a must have/obsession for me.
Most concealers don’t work on me. I have a weird skin texture under my eyes that seems to repel makeup. I also have dark circles and puffiness, it’s a little thin because of aging, and I have very minor wrinkles (so far). When I try out a new concealer, I try it over bare skin that has either been lightly moisturized (I use Estée Lauder Day Care or CeraVe PM Moisturizing Lotion) or over a thin coat of Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Under Eye Primer. I gently tap in the concealer in with my finger or I use the Sigma 3DHD Precision Brush. I pat on setting powder immediately, to keep it from getting creased.
The best concealer so far for my weird repellent under eye area is Tarte Shape Tape. I only use a half-pea size under each eye because it’s so thick. It goes on evenly and looks somewhat acceptable by the end of the day. One tube has lasted me ages so far and I have another one waiting in the wings. I might try something different when they run out because although it’s a great concealer, it’s not HG.
When I see a YouTuber slathering on giant triangles of thick concealer under their eyes it makes me cringe. I don’t know if that’s for show or something many people actually do, but I tried it once and…no. Just no.
I don’t like the giant undereye triangles of concealer either. It always works out better for me when I blend it along the curvature of my dark circles. Apparently giant triangles are a thing, though? I’ve heard about them for years.
I test concealer the same ways you do, except I also experiment with mixing them together and in mixing them with some primer. For example, I’ve found that Tarte Shape Tape concealer works well underneath my eyes if I mix it with some Cover FX Anti-Aging primer; for some reason, most concealers flake up underneath the eye unless I mix primer with them.
I also test concealers by looking closely under various lighting situations and see how long they last.
For me personally, I use concealers instead of wear foundation, and since I’ve got several different things to conceal, I use at least three: one for under eyes, one for areas of redness and darkness, and one for areas too light. My concealers work well with or without powder, so if I can, I don’t use powder.
Concealer is a product I have to do a lot of experimentation with. I have dark under eye circles and concealer tends to crease very easy on me. I don’t apply concealer on blemishes or spots, I prefer to rely just on the coverage of foundation.
Even with the best concealers I had to do a lot of experimentation before I get best results.
So I try the concealer multiple days. I try to apply it both before or after foundation. Sometimes the concealer and foundation can mix, sometimes not. I try to apply it with different tools (brush, fingers, sponge), but to this day the best results I get by tapping the concealer with my fingers; might be the fact that I prefer thicker creamier formulas and the warmth of the fingers helps with getting the perfect look.
I always use powder, but I test if just dusting a little bit is enough or I have to press the powder to set the concealer properly.
And the `best` part of it? If I change the foundation in the meantime, the testing starts again. 😆
I just need a concealer to make my eyes look hydrated and not crepey by the end of the day and to not make the skin on either side of my nose cakey. For me, there is no such thing as a creaseless concealer. Even if I set my concealer, it still creases so I don’t really include that as a requirement.
Well, I just try different ones and see how they wear through the day. Not particularly learned or scientific, but I’m learning from these answers.
I have my routine concealers — YSL Touche Eclat for undereye, and Cle de Peau for spot concealing. When I run out of the YSL, I’ll look for another because it’s expensive and just very good versus perfect; CdP I will replace forever or until they reformulate it, whichever comes first as it’s perfect for me.
I replaced my undereye concealer recently because what I was using, the MUR Shape Tape dupe, wasn’t covering my circles well. I researched brands to see what might have better coverage and be moisturizing and then I went to Ulta wearing full makeup but not concealer and proceeded to try the brands I had on my list. I used their mirrors and lighting and when I thought I had the right one, I went outside to check further.
It’s been a long time since I bought concealer for the rest of my face. The last one I bought was from Cover FX and I bought my foundation shade in that brand.
It wins IF:
1.) It doesn’t emphasize or accentuate every single little line in my undereye area, or worse, give it a crepey appearance. Those lines are usually pretty obscured until I apply certain concealers there!
2.) Oxidation is a deal-breaker.
3.) It needs to be able to last the whole time that I have it on. Touching up concealer is a PITA.
4.) Nothing too emollient or moisturizing, otherwise it breaks down in my expression lines and tiny undereye lines, aging me badly, not to mention that it looks messy!
5.) Must work seamlessly with my foundation.
And the winner is…?
During cooler or dryer weather: Maybelline Fit Me in Medium.
During our oppressively humid, hot monsoon weather: ColourPop No Filter Concealer Medium 28, and if I want to brighten up my undereye area a bit, I will add a little bit of CP NFC Light 18 to that.
I don’t… Fortunately, I’ve never had any real need to include concraler in my makeup routine. That doesn’t mean I don’t have my share of skin issues, it simply means their not issues that can be helped by any additional product. I have visible pores, and drier skin, but no discoloration aside from some slight redness, and foundation typically works alone, while concaler tends to emphasize my issues. That said, I do sometimes buy concealers with the hopes they’ll work on the rare occasion I need one; if not, I just use them as eyeshadow primers/bases.
I still haven’t found a concealer that doesn’t crease, separate or emphasis texture (or create texture that isn’t there!) all the while being high coverage. It’s super frustrating and I just keep buying more concealers and trying them out and seeing how they wear throughout the day. No matter how well they test in store, I need to try them multiple times with different makeup to see if I can make them look good.
Funny you should ask – I’m currently testing out a variety of new concealers to see which one I want to spend money on. I got samples from Sephora of different brands and colors to see which one best meets my needs and is the best color match in natural light.
Right now the Sephora brand one is outperforming the others (Born This Way and Tarte Creaseless Concealer, each in 2 different colors). I only use concealer under my eyes and want it to wear well without creasing, drying the skin under my eyes and well, it needs to conceal my dark circles. I’m finding Creaseless is creased on me by mid afternoon and BTW doesn’t seem to have the lasting opacity that the Sephora brand has for half the price of the other two. I may still test out another lighter color before I’m convinced I’ve found the absolute best one for my needs. It’s kind of fun doing the test runs on these and having enough time with the samples to see how they perform over time, not just after one day’s wear.
I guess I am one of the lucky ones that doesn’t need or use a concealer, but if I did, I would have to test it instore to see if it matched my skintone.
I’m lucky enough that my concealer works for what I need it for-covering up zits and dark circles-and I don’t really need to do intensive testing. These tips might be useful in the future, though.
Lucky you Christine, the very first makeup I bought was a concealer !
As a very pale girl, the skin under my eye and at the inner corner is very thin and translucent. So even if I’m as rested as possible you will be able to see my veins.
Most of the time I do my makeup with only one type of concealer, for my under eye area, and I correct pimples and the rest with this concealer and foundation on top if the color doesn’t match exactly.
First thing that a concealer has to do is hiding my veins and dark circles. if it’s not pigmented enough it’s a no go.
I go in store and have the concealer applied on me then I test the wear for the rest of the day. I can do that twice or more to be sure it doesn’t crease like crazy and it doesn’t dissapear to nothingness during the day.
I unfortunately buy concealer, find it is awful on me after a few tries then start all over with the same result. I don’t return bc I think it’s my application techniques. I don’t think that’s the problem any longer. I need help.
There are two different concealers I use.
For undereye, it (obviously) can’t make my skin look worse than without it. The only one I’ve found so far that accomplishes that is Shape Tape. Before I discovered that, I just didn’t use concealer because it always called more attention to the problems. But now I have found that Shape Tape, a few shades lighter than my skin, applied in a very small amount, works beautifully.
For blemishes, it needs to be a little thicker, easy to blend and an exact skin match. I don’t use this nearly as often as I used to, though, since I’ve gotten better about choosing foundation.
How do I answer this without writing a novel? I basically need color correction on most of my eye area including the under eye. I have mature non-oily lids and moisturize regularly so the problem is not just a color match. It’s something that holds up, without being cake-y and without smearing off my eye-liner. Using a setting powder is not a good idea due to fine lines. My solution is that if I want a moister product, I cannot line under the eye. And if I want to line under the eye, I need to use a dryer product. Neither holds us that well.