The time has come to share with you my Top 5 Concealers from the drugstore (high street) and high-end, for dark circles, blemishes, spots, scars, highlighting and redness. These are the best concealers I’ve tried so far, and they work well on my dry skin. You will probably notice the lack of affordable concealers on my Top 5, and that’s because high-end concealers tend to suit me more, and they offer a bigger variety of shades and undertones.
You may find useful to know that I have dry skin, so if you have oily or combination skin, my recommendations may not be the best for you. Also, my skin tone is medium olive with neutral undertones, and I generally choose concealers that are 1 or 2 shades lighter than my skin tone.
If you’re in a bit of a hurry, you might prefer to watch my Top 5 Concealers video by clicking the play button above or click here to watch it on YouTube; it’s just over 12 minutes long and it gives you an overall look at all the concealers. However, if you have some time to spare, I highly recommend you carry on reading this blog post after you watch the video, as over here I’ve packed a lot more information about each concealer. Time to reveal my Top 5 Concealers!
My Top 5 Concealers
Garnier Roll-on Anti-Dark Circles Concealer, £10.49 / $12.99 (15ml)
Buy in the UK: Boots || Tesco || Superdrug || Asda || Amazon || Lloyds Pharmacy || Sainsburys || Chemist Direct
Buy in the US: Ulta || Walmart || Target || Amazon
Light to medium coverage
Lightweight, thin and creamy
Semi-matte finish
Hydrating and cooling on under-eye area
Needs to be followed by powder to set
Most suitable for dark circles
Works best with fingers
3 Shades (my shade is ‘Medium’)
If you’re here looking for a bargain, this is your best bet. It’s the only drugstore (high street) concealer that I have consistently enjoyed using over the years, but even so, it’s not without its faults. This concealer is lovely on the under-eye area; it has a cooling effect, leaving my eye area feeling refreshed whilst giving me enough coverage to hide my dark circles at the same time. The texture is thin, creamy and moisturising, setting to a semi-matte finish. It’s not really a long-wearing concealer and it tends to fade and slowly disappear after a few hours of wear.
Nevertheless, it’s great for more natural makeup days and the roller makes application very easy and convenient. On the downside, the shade range is quite poor, with only 3 shades to choose from – fair, medium and dark – and it’s not the best concealer for dark spots, blemishes or redness, as it doesn’t give you enough coverage and it fades relatively quickly throughout the day.
MAC Prep+Prime Highlighter, £18.50 / $26 (3.6g)
Buy in the UK: Debenhams || MAC || House of Fraser || Amazon
Buy in the US: Nordstrom || MAC || Macys || Bloomingdales || Amazon
Light coverage
Highlighting and brightening effect
Matte, flawless and radiant finish
Creamy paste texture
Most suitable for highlighting the under-eye area
Long-wearing
Works best with brushes
4 shades (my shade is ‘Light Boost’)
This is technically not a concealer, but it’s mostly used as a highlighting concealer because it does such a good job at brightening the under-eye area. As such, I wouldn’t use this concealer to hide blemishes or spots, as it’s not really a ‘high coverage’ product. The texture is more of a creamy paste with sheer coverage, and after it’s blended, it creates a super flawless and highlighted look on the under eye area, if paired with a more traditional concealer underneath; you could use this highlighting concealer to achieve the famous Kim Kardashian look!
The finish is matte and radiant, and the application is very smooth, but don’t apply too much, or it will look cakey on the skin. My favourite way to apply this concealer is after I’ve finished my entire makeup, using the pen to place the product on an inverted triangle shape under the eyes, and blend it with a buffing brush like the Zoeva Concealer Buffer. This concealer comes in 4 shades – a yellow, a pink, a peach and an orange toned, which will suit a wide range of skin tones for highlighting the under-eye area.
Giorgio Armani Maestro Eraser Dark Circle Concealer, £28.50 / $42 (15ml)
Buy in the UK: Debenhams || Armani Beauty || John Lewis || House of Fraser || Selfridges || Harrods || Harvey Nichols
Buy in the US: Nordstrom || Armani Beauty || Sephora || Neiman Marcus || Saks Fifth Avenue || Bloomingdales
Light to medium coverage
Dewy, skin-like finish
Thin liquid consistency
Super lightweight texture
Hydrating and comfortable to wear
Most suitable for blemishes and redness
Works better with fingers and makeup sponges
6 shades (my shade is ‘4’)
I bought this concealer to hide spots and blemishes without enhancing any dry areas on my face, and I think it’s exactly what it does best. It has a runny liquid consistency, that when blended, thickens to a lightweight cream, so it’s perfect on the driest areas of my face, as it conceals and hydrates the area at the same time. It has a light to medium coverage with a super lightweight texture, so I wouldn’t use this to hide acne or dark scars, but it covers most small imperfections without any problems.
When set with a powder, it lasts a good 6-7 hours without fading or creasing, but after that, I really need a touch-up. The finish is quite dewy and skin-like, which is different from all of my other concealers, but it looks quite fresh on the skin. I can use this concealer to hide my dark circles, but I prefer it as a blemishes and redness concealer, as it’s not high coverage, matte or long-wearing enough for my under-eye area. I only apply this with my fingers or my Beauty Blender, as I find the runny consistency of the product gets dragged around too much by a brush.
It contains skincare ingredients, which is probably why it feels so lovely on my skin, and it’s the the most comfortable concealer on my dry skin. There are 6 shades in the range, which is not a huge variety, and with the darkest shade being Beige, it definitely doesn’t cater for dark and very dark skin tones.
MAC Pro Longwear Concealer, £17 / $20 (9ml)
Buy in the UK: Debenhams || MAC || House of Fraser || Amazon || John Lewis
Buy in the US: Nordstrom || MAC || Macys || Amazon
Medium to full coverage
Economic – a little goes a long way
Comfortable to wear
Liquid and creamy, but dries almost solid
Matte finish
Super long-wearing
Suitable for dark circles, blemishes, spots and scars
Works well with fingers and brushes
16 shades (my shades are ‘NW20’ and ‘NC25’)
The name says it all – this is a seriously long-wearing concealer and it hides a multitude of sins! Even on my 16-hour wedding day, this concealer stayed put and flawless, with one minor touch up. You definitely don’t need a lot of product to achieve full coverage with this concealer, but the trick is in actually getting the pump to dispense enough without wasting product. This concealer doesn’t feel heavy or cakey on the skin, and once it dries it sets without smudging to a matte finish. It does crease after a good 10 hours of wear, but I wouldn’t say that’s a downside because it’s more than I could ever need from a concealer.
I’ve been using Pro Longwear for such a long time and my only criticism is that it can cling to dry patches and enhance them if the skin is not properly moisturised, so it’s less suitable for blemishes and scars on dry skin and more suitable to hide dark circles. It looks more natural when applied with your fingers and blended with a damp sponge, like the Beauty Blender, but for higher coverage, a buffing brush is your best option. The shade range is fantastic, with 16 shades varying from neutral cool to neutral warm undertones, but nothing really on the true neutral spectrum – you can read my full review here for more details.
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, £22 / $29 (6ml)
Buy in the UK: Space NK || John Lewis || House of Fraser || Look Fantastic || Selfridges || Liberty || Harvey Nichols
Buy in the US: Sephora || Nordstrom || Asos || Beauty || Neiman Marcus || Barneys || Saks Fifth Avenue || Bloomingdales
Medium to high coverage
Lightweight and easy to blend
Hydrating and creamy
Matte luminous finish
Long-wearing and crease-proof
Suitable for dark circles, blemishes and spots
Works well with fingers and brushes
10 shades (my shade is ‘Medium 1 – Custard’)
This is literally an all-in-one concealer and very hard to beat! The texture is lightweight, but creamy enough to be used on the under-eye area and all over the face on blemishes and redness. Although it’s a super long-wearing concealer, it doesn’t crease or cake-up throughout the day and it stays hydrating, even when applied to a high coverage degree, which is where it over performs the Mac Pro Longwear Concealer. The Nars concealer feels much more comfortable on my dry skin, as it’s super creamy and moisturising, without compromising on lasting power and coverage.
As bonus, it also has skincare benefits, light diffusing technology and it’s paraben free and fragrance free. This concealer is available in 10 shades with a variety of undertones, however there’s a slight preference for yellow undertones and a distinct lack of neutral undertones. It’s a bit less long-wearing and less full coverage than the Mac Pro Longwear concealer, but it’s more than enough for what I need. You can blend it easily with your fingers, brushes or makeup sponges, but I think the good old finger dabbing motion is the one that gives the best overall finish. It’s truly wonderful and definitely my new favourite concealer!
Top 5 Concealers – Swatches
So there you have it – my Top 5 Concealers, the best of the bunch, the creme de la creme, the ones I think are worth the money! I’m sure this list will get updated at some point, but I expect the Mac Pro Longwear Concealer and the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer stay on the Top 5 for many years to come. I hope you found this post helpful or interesting, and if you would like to ask me any questions about these concealers, I’m happy to answer them on the comments below!
What’s you all-time favourite concealer? Do we share any favourites?
More Top 5 & Top 10
My Top 5 Mascaras
My Top 5 Foundations 2014 (updated)
Blush Collection + Top 5 Blushes
My Top 5 Foundations
Top 10 Blogs: Beauty, Fashion & Lifestyle
Browse the Top 5 Concealers
YOUTUBE || BLOGLOVIN || INSTAGRAM || TWITTER || FACEBOOK
New posts delivered to your email
The post My Top 5 Concealers 2015 appeared first on Ysis Lorenna.