THE CONCEALER RUNDOWN

After a short interlude, we return to our regular programming. I.e. back to the rundown series. We've covered bronzers and highlighters. So what's next, you ask? Pretend like you asked. Concealers! I'm bizarrely a total concealer nutcase. They are one of my all time favorite makeup products because I truly believe a good concealer can massively raise your confidence level. I've tried a fair few in my many wise and humble years, so please allow me to have a chat. Then you shun me.

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer
An oldie, but a goodie. This concealer has been in many a monthly favourites. I still love it more than a lot of high end concealers. It has about a medium coverage and a very creamy, blendable consistency (a lot more so than the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, which it's often compared to). For that reason I find it glides beautifully over drier under eyes, however it is prone to creasing if you're not careful about how you set it. It's just a shame that the shade range isn't larger.

Quality: 8/10
Coverage: medium
Best for: under eyes and general redness

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer
I feel like I could be stoned to death for saying anything negative about this concealer. People love it so much that I swear they've written it into their wills. I do think it's a good product in a lot of ways. This is one of the only liquid concealers I would ever use to cover blemishes. Because it is so pigmented and thick in consistency it can build up to be able to cover very well. It's also a decently long wearing concealer. My only gripe is that I find it can look cakey and heavy on dry under eyes. Also, I wish NARS would come out with a more yellow toned light shade.

Quality: 7/10
Coverage: high
Best for: blemishes and under eyes

Sephora Collection Bright Future Serum Concealer
I have a love/hate relationship with the Sephora Collection Concealer. It stays in place well and the shade range is good, so it's handy to have around. Bum bum butt, I don't love the way it looks under my eyes after a few hours. I notice that I look just a little bit dried out. The coverage is only about a medium by the way. So it's not good for covering blemishes.

Quality: 6/10
Coverage: medium
Best for: under eyes and general redness

Estee Lauder Double Wear High Cover Concealer
This would be an excellent concealer for beginners. It's creamy, blendable and easy to work with. It's high pigment levels make it ideal for covering spots and its texture makes it beautiful for concealing under the eyes. It's only downfall is that I find it not quite as long wearing as you'd think a double wear product would be.

Quality: 8/10
Coverage: high
Best for: under eyes and blemishes

H&M Concealer Palette
Here's one everyone's been raving about... jokes. I've not heard one mention of this concealer. I do however think it's worth a mention. It actually reminds me quite a lot of the Estee Lauder Concealer above. It's creamy and high coverage and it has about a similar staying time. For $10 and three colours, that ain't bad.

Quality: 7.5/10
Coverage: high
Best for: under eyes and blemishes

Make Up For Ever HD Concealer
I'll give this fella props. This is one of the most natural looking, hydrating, high coverage concealers I've tried. It is a bit prone to creasing under the eyes if you're not careful to set it properly. I've never tried using it to cover blemishes, but I think it would probably be a bit too thin of a consistency for that.

Quality: 8.5/10
Coverage: medium – high
Best for: under eyes and general redness

Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer
What a gem. What. A. Gem. This is a terrifying product when you first use it because it is rydink stiff and waxy. But that's why I've grown to love it. Its stiff consistency means that it's super long wearing and it builds up well when covering spots. It's also good for adding to the mix under the eyes for a little boost of coverage.

Quality: 9/10
Coverage: extremely high
Best for: blemishes

MAC Studio Finish Concealer
Sweet love of my life. I would never be without my MAC Studio Finish. It's been a life saver for me ever since I first purchased it some four years ago. It's full coverage and the perfect consistency for covering blemishes – stiff, but not so stiff that it's hard to work with. It's not really great for under the eyes, but who cares.

Quality: 9.5/10
Coverage: high
Best for: blemishes

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer
People are going nuts for the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer and the funny thing is that it reminds me a lot of this. I've heard a lot about how moisturizing the Urban Decay one is, but I actually feel like it's the opposite. To me it feels very long wearing and dry. It smells like that familiar paint smell that you get from long wearing foundations like Colorstay or Double Wear. Anyways, I digress. Basically this is a medium to full coverage concealer that isn't budging. It's good.

Quality: 7.5/10
Coverage: medium – high
Best for: under eyes and blemishes

MAC Prep & Prime Highlighter
I forgot to put this in the photograph. The Prep & Prime Highlighter is a really nice option for brightening under the eyes. It's not going to add a lot of coverage, but who needs a lot of coverage when you're getting all that brightening? Well, unless you have severe discolouration. I do find that due to it's fluid consistency it tends to get caught on dry skin, however, as long as you're hydrated under your eyes, it's a winner.

Quality: 7/10
Coverage: light – medium
Best for: under eyes

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Concealer
It's been a few years since I've owned one of these, but I do remember it well. It's a lovely, natural looking under eye concealer that, like MAC's option, doesn't have a huge amount of coverage, but provides luminosity. I find the main difference in comparison to the MAC one, other than the shade range, is that it's a little bit more prone to creasing. Still, a lovely option overall.

Quality: 7/10
Coverage: light – medium
Best for: under eyes

As per usual, I've got a few concealers that I don't own, but love using at work and I believe deserve honorable mentions:

1. Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer: extremely pigmented and long wearing. It's waterproof and fantastic for covering blemishes and tricky discolouration.

2. Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer: great for dry under eyes that need a lot of coverage.

3. Marc Jacobs Remedy Concealer Pen: a beautiful, luminous, hydrating, medium coverage concealer that is fairly crease proof. Great for anyone and everyone's under eyes.

4. Becca Ultimate Coverage Concealer: lovely both under the eyes and for covering blemishes. It's very high coverage and has an interesting hydrating, yet grippy texture.