Concealer Roundup!

My collection of concealers has grown and can only be described as ridiculous. I don't know why anyone would need this many - I certainly do not need them all. But I love trying new ones, and of course, some are for under the eye, some are for the face, and some are for both. Everything has it's purpose! Sort of. Anyways, I thought I would gather my collection to give my thoughts on each.

Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Porcelain - for me, this is one of those forgotten products. You know the ones you are excited to purchase and try, but then for some reason, it gets lost in the drawer and totally overlooked? This is a really nice under-eye concealer though - I don't use it anywhere else on my face. Inside the compact is the concealer, as well as a coordinating pressed setting powder. I think there are a couple of reasons why I don't reach for this very often - one is because I don't have extremely dark circles under my eyes, and two is because if possible, I would rather use one concealer that does it all, instead of using separate products for each concern. I have some concealers that are a bit more versatile, and as a result, I use them more.

Youngblood Ultimate Concealer in Fair - I love this concealer! I haven't tried many Youngblood products, but the ones I have, I really like. I even featured this concealer as a monthly favourite this year. I like the consistency because it is creamy, but not too thick or thin. Kind of in the middle. If you just touch your finger or brush in the pot, you pick up a nice amount and it seems to melt into the skin very nicely and stay in place. I use it anywhere on the face. This is a very handy product to have around.

theBalm timeBalm Conceealer in Lighter than Light - I also have this concealer in light, but it was too dark for me. This concealer supposedly has anti-aging properties in it, so it is a bit of a treatment product. I like it - it is quite think so it benefits from being applied with your finger to warm it up a bit, but it is a very good multi-purpose concealer. However, for me, I prefer something a bit lighter under my eye. This could possibly crease in the fine under-eye lines if not set properly. I often keep this in my purse for a mid-day touch-up around my nose.

Hourglass Hidden Concealer in Fair - so far I have loved every Hourglass product that I have tried - and this concealer is no exception. It is another multi-purpose concealer for me. It is in a stick form, but I usually put a bit on my finger and then blend it into the spot I'm trying to conceal. I'm almost finished with this one, perhaps I should have completed it before buying any new ones! The swatch in the photo below shows the shade a bit darker than it actually is in real life, not really sure why. 

Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer in Warm Light - this is my current go-to concealer that I have been wearing on a daily basis. It is a bit more yellow than some of the above products, but it is summer, I'm a bit more tan and this matches me perfectly right now. This concealer is really long wearing and goes on so seamlessly. I would highly recommend it. I use the doe-foot applicator to dab on the area and then blend with my fingers.

Cover Girl Simply Ageless Concealer in Very Light - this was also featured in a monthly favourites post. I purchased this at the same time as the Cover Girl 3-in-1 foundation, and the two products go perfectly together, in my opinion. It is very moisturizing as it has the Olay cream swirled throughout. I think this is a great winter under-eye concealer, so I will use more of it once the weather starts getting cooler and dryer. 

l to r: Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Porcelain, Youngblood Ultimate Concealer in Fair, timeBalm Concealer in Lighter than Light, Hourglass Hidden Concealer in Fair, Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer in Warm Light, Cover Girl Simply Ageless Concealer in Very Light

L'oreal True Match Concealer Crayon in W1-2-3 Fair Light - before I purchased the Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer, I was using this one on a daily basis. I wanted to purchase the shade N1-2-3 (neutral undertones), but it was always sold out when I went to look for it, so I gave the warmer toned version a try, and much like my Estee Lauder Concealer in Warm Light, this works great for the summer months when I have a bit more colour. I'm also just really impressed by this concealer in general. I don't love many drugstore concealers, but this one is worth trying out for sure. It gives great coverage and is easy to blend. 

Shu Uemura Cover Crayon - this is a double-ended product. One side is Fair, and the other is Medium. I don't actually use the medium side at all, but I have been meaning to try it for contouring. I bought this to use the light end in my waterline. I love it for this purpose. It lasts all day and I don't notice any eye irritation, like I do with some flesh toned eyeliners. 

Clinique Acne Solutions Concealer in Shade 01 - I mentioned this in my makeup empties post last week - I've purchased it several times. As I mentioned it that post, I really like it, it gives good coverage and blends nicely, but I'm not convinced of its actual blemish fighting abilities. 

Laura Geller The Real Deal Concealer in Light - this is an extremely heavy duty cream concealer. It could probably cover just about anything, but at the same time, it is easy to overdo things with this. Honestly, I haven't used it a lot. I feel like it has a lot of the same benefits as the It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye, that it has gotten overlooked in my collection.

It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye in Light and Natural Medium - I have two shades in this thanks to an online order mix-up, but of course light is the shade that works for me. This is a super concentrated heavy duty concealer, much like the Laura Geller Concealer. If you have hard to cover under eye circles, this is worth trying. It is basically crease-free, and lasts all day. It is also suitable to be used allover as a foundation-type product for extremely problematic skin, however I find it too much for my skin. I keep this primarily as an under eye product. 

l to r: L'oreal True Match W 1-2-3 Fair Light, Shu Uemura Fair end, Shu Uemura Medium end, Clinique Acne Solutions Shade 01, Laura Geller The Real Deal Concealer in Light, It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye in Light, It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye in Natural Medium

Wow, that was a lot. If you read all of this, I'm extremely impressed!

In case you did not, here is a quick summary:

Best for under-eye: Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer and Cover Girl Simply Ageless (tie, although prefer Cover Girl in the winter)

Best for on-the-go touch-ups: Youngblood Ultimate Concealer

Best heavy-duty: It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under-eye

Best multi-purpose: Estee Lauder Double Wear and L'oreal True Match (tie)

Favourite all around: Estee Lauder Double Wear

What are your favourite concealers?

Thanks for reading!

Goodies I Picked Up in Asia - Part 1 - Shu Uemura

Last month, my husband and I took an amazing trip to Asia. We stopped in several locations but because we were flying around a lot (and due to the restrictions on carrying liquids on board), I waited until our final stop in Hong Kong to pick up some beauty products. These days I hardly pay attention to purchasing souvenirs, it's just cosmetics and skin care for me when travelling!

I always like to check out local drug and department stores when I travel, but I was especially excited to do this in Asia. I feel like Asian women are really into the latest and greatest skincare. Also, since my skin is quite fair, I can always fit into their foundations, even when they only have one or two shades (which is quite common). My top skincare concerns are oil control and evening the overall tone of my face and these appear to be the top concerns of Asian women as I found these products everywhere. Even the large brands in America seemed to have special Asia-only lines that focus on whitening and brightening. So it is pretty exciting to take a look around at all of these products you cannot get at home. There are a couple of products I picked up that I will definitely be looking for online once I run out. 

Shu Uemura is a brand that I have never tried before. I know that there is a Shu Uemura counter at the Holt Renfrew near me, but I think it may just be a lash bar. I'm not sure that you can get the full line in Canada, or even in the USA right now. I knew there would be a Shu Uemura store in the mall close to the hotel I stayed in while visiting Hong Kong, so this was my chance to try a couple things. 

I only picked up two items, although there were plenty of others tempting me. The two things that stood out to me were the POREraser and the double ended concealer. 

The POREraser is basically a primer with a mousse consistency. The sign at the store advertised that it is Asia's top-selling makeup base and reduces the touch-ups required during the day. It is available in either beige or pink. I chose the beige as I do not like putting too much pink into my skin. It foams up in your hand like a hair mousse so it is a bit strange at first, but then it smooths onto your face and feels almost creamy. 

The consistency is foamy, like a hair mousse

After applying POREraser, my face looks smooth, and it does minimize the appearance of my pores. If my skin had fewer discolorations, I may consider just applying a light layer of powder and skipping foundation altogether, but this is not the case, so I apply my foundation as usual. I really do notice that fewer touch-ups are required when I use this primer! I normally need to use an oil-blotting tissue mid-morning, or by lunchtime at the latest, but with this, my makeup looks fresher and I look less oily for much longer. I have even gone a whole day without my oil-blotting tissues. 

The ingredients and directions on the packaging are all in, what appears to be, Japanese, so I couldn't read this while I was at the store, but I did find out later that this product contains alcohol. I'm not sure exactly what type of alcohol is in this, but it does not irritate my skin at all. I suppose it is just something to be aware of. 

My conclusion on Shu Uemura's POREraser? It's a keeper! I really like it after a couple of weeks of use. A quick google search told me that I am going to have a hard time repurchasing though. I could not find it. Darn. 

** Edit - I found this in-store at my Holt Renfrew! So happy! **

The second item I picked up is the Cover Crayon. This item is double ended so there is a lighter shade and a darker shade. There are also two versions of the product, and I got the lighter of the two. The reason I picked this up is because I had seen someone on You Tube (sorry, I cannot remember who), use this on their waterline to brighten up the eyes. I had never seen anyone use a concealer in this way, and I'm not actually sure if this is a good thing for my eyes, but wow does it work good. My waterline stays bright all day with this. Normally anything I apply to my waterline sort of smudges and disappears after an hour or so, so I was quite amazed by the staying power of this concealer. I have also used this on redness around my nose and on my cheeks, and of course, this is also a good use. So overall, I'm happy with this product, although concealers in this pencil form usually last me forever, so I won't have to worry about repurchasing anytime soon.

I was eyeing the Shu Uemura eyelash curler, but ultimately decided against it. I took a pretty close look and honestly could not figure out how it could possibly be any different than the Tweezerman version that I have at home. 

Overall, I'm really happy with my Shu Uemura purchases! Makes me think I should have picked up a few more things from them! 

Do you have any favorites from the line? I'd love to hear.

Thanks for reading!