Oh how I abhor my dark undereye circles! I've tried so many products to try to cover up these bad boys but still have not found my holy grail (but have been pretty close)! In this post, I'm going to review some concealers I have tried recently and help you gals out a little bit too. =) First, I want to note you should always use an eye cream under the concealer for moisture
(I use MAC Fast Response Eye Cream) and loose powder on top to set it
(I use NYC Smooth Skin Loose Face Powder in Translucent). Now let's begin the reviews!
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit ($32). Out of 5 stars, I would give this a 4.5. This is really two products in one! The concealer itself is so creamy and not dry at all. It goes on smooth and finishes very nicely and there is also a lot of shades to choose from. This is a medium coverage concealer but you can pack on some more for a heavier coverage. The loose powder attached to it is great also and has a slight subtle yellow tint to it.
Prescriptives Flawless Skin Total Protection
Concealer SPF 25 ($22) The great thing about this is Prescriptives is known for having a wide range of shades and it is likely that they will have the near exact color match to your skin. I have this in Level 3 Warm and it just matches me PERFECTLY! I find this to be a little dry around the undereye area but the coverage is AMAZING for blemishes and I use these on a couple scars on my legs as well. It really makes your skin look "Flawless". As an undereye concealer I would rate it a 3.5.
MAC Select Moisturecover Concealer ($15.50) If you're looking for an undereye concealer from MAC you should look for an NW shade (even though I'm an NC30) because NW has peachy undertones and will cancel out the discoloration much better. NC has yellow undertones to it and can tend to make your undereye take on a gray cast/color (not very pretty if I do say so myself). This particular concealer is very moisturizing but offers very little coverage. This is great for people with very very minimal darkness. But in my case, this just did not cut it =( 2.5 stars out of 5.
MAC Studio Finish Concealer SPF 35 ($14.50) The only shade that would work for my undereye area was NW20, recommended by a few MAC make up artists. NW25 was way too dark and NW 30 was darker than that so NW20 made sense...... or so it seemed! I took it home and played around with it but it was just WAY too light! It made me look like I had REVERSE raccoon eyes! Plus, the texture was just too dry and not very easy to blend. 1.5 stars out of 5.
MAC Select Cover-Up ($14.50) I got recommended shade NW20 for this concealer as well. It was definitely less drying than studio finish and more coverage than select moisturecover but again, this shade was just too light for me! and the next shade up was too dark. Out of the three MAC concealers I reviewed, this definitely beats the other two. So if you can find a right shade, go for this pick! 3.5 out of 5.
Benefit Boi-ing ($18) This concealer is at a big disadvantage already because it only has three shades: lite,medium, and dark. I was suggested to get it in shade medium but when I tried it on myself, it was a tad too dark. and lite is definitely too light. This product actually accentuated my dark circles even more and it is hard to blend so back to the store it went and pronto! 1 star out of 5.
TheBalm TimeBalm Concealer ($17) This is actually a pretty good product. Medium coverage. Easy to blend. Good color selections. 4 out of 5. lol I love how this review is so much shorter than the rest haha.
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer (around $7) For a drugstore concealer, this works particularly well. It has a lighter coverage but it makes my under eye look brighter and blends in really well. The shades, even though limited, matches well also. 3.5 out of 5.
Vincent Longo Cream Concealer ($26.50) I remember I bought this a longggg time ago maybe 4 years ago and thought that it was pretty decent for an undereye concealer. I don't know where it went so I bought it again recently in the shade Medium. I was very dissapointed!!! I remembered the first time I had it, it was MUCH creamier but this time, the consistency was very dry and hard to blend. It made my undereye have a gray cast to it and when I looked in the mirror in the department store, it was SO noticeable and really accentuated my darkness and bags! How ugly!! I returned right away, so not worth it. 1 out of 5 stars.
Make Up For Ever Lift Concealer ($21) I got this in Neutral Beige 3 and really liking it so far. It doesn't COMPLETELY cover my dark circles but it does a pretty good job and it really does seem to lift and brighten and make me appear more awake. It's very easy to blend and not drying at all~ 4 out of 5 stars!