The hunt for a Holy Grail Concealer

Finding a good concealer isn’t easy. What feels like silk on one person, might feel like cement for you. Everybody looks for something different from a concealer. Some want it to hide dark circles, while others may  want it to conceal spots.

To help you in your search, I have picked out some of my favourite concealers for you to have a mooch through.Each and everyone of these concealers I love for their own individual reasons. While most are high end, I will do a more budget friendly post in a few weeks. I would love to know what your favourite concealers are, so leave me a comment down below, so that I can give them a try.

Nars Radiant creamy concealer

First up, is a concealer that has been a firm favourite of mine for a long time. The Nars radiant creamy concealer is a bit of a cult classic and it is not hard to see why. You can read a full review here

Shade Range: There are 8 shades in this range, with chantily, vanilla or custard being the most suited to most Irish skin tones. I swear Vanilla and find it to be somewhere in-between a Mac NC15 and NC 20.

Coverage: This concealer packs some serious punch when it comes to coverage,  and it does so without looking cakey or heavy on the skin. In fact this concealer has a kind of light reflecting, illuminating finish under the eye. It not only banishes dark circles, but it gives your under eye area a “lit from within glow”. It has a buildable coverage , and works just as well no matter how little or how much you apply.

Wear time: I find that the Nars radiant creamy concealer lasts well throughout the day. Unless it is a really long day when I would require some touch up, most of  the time I don’t have to touch it up. Yes there are days that the wear time is a little less, but that happens with most concealers.

Texture: The texture of the Nars radiant creamy concealer, is as the name suggests, Creamy!!! It has a very luxurious, light weight feel to it that is perfect for under the eyes.It dries beautifully and while I am reluctant to say that it doesn’t crease under the eyes, because as far as I am concerned no matter what you put under your eyes, you are going to get some creasing, this concealer  has minimal creasing.

Good for: Dark circles and brightening under the eyes

Price and availability : At €26 this is on the high end price for a concealer. You can buy it from Brown Thomas for €26 plus delivery or on Look Fantastic for €26.47 but this has free delivery.

Mac Pro long wear concealer

My affair with Mac Pro Long wear has been a long one and it is not hard to see why. In my eyes, this is the ultimate full coverage concealer and if you are a fan of full on coverage, then this is the one for you. You can read a full review here 

Shade Range: Just like with the Mac foundations, this concealer comes in NC and NW shades. I normally wear  NC 25 foundation but as I like my concealer to be a little lighter under my eyes, I went for an NC 20. I use the NC 15 when I want a real highlighted look.There are 7 NC shades and 7 NW shades in the range, so you are bound to find you perfect colour.

Coverage: As I mentioned above, this is a full coverage concealer. This is what I turn to on the mornings that my darks circles are out of control. It gets rid of the rotten blue colour from dark circles and more or less hides them completely

Wear time: While this concealer lasts for most of the day without needed to retouch. I do find that it has a tendency to move and crease, so setting is an absolute must. If it does crease, I just run my ring finger lightly under my eye, it will reset the concealer again.

Texture: This has a little more of a heavier texture than most of the other concealers in the post. I find when I am applying it, I have to apply small amounts and build up to the coverage that I want, as too much applied at once is a little harder to work with and can end up looking cake.

Good for: Darks circles and spots

Price and availability: The Mac pro longwear concealer can be bought on all Mac counters, or if you haven’t got access to Mac you can buy it here for €20

Urban Decay Naked Skin weightless complete coverage concealer

This is my most recent concealer purchases and I have to admit, I am absolutely loving it. I am quite surprised at this, as I am not normally a fan of Urban Decay, but they really have gotten their A game on with this one .You can read a full review here.

Shade Range: There are 8 shades to choose from, and the lightest shade, fair neutral, is quite light so should suit even very pale skinned ladies. I bought, light warm, and while I initially thought it was going to be too dark, this is the perfect shade for both my Mac nc 25 and nc 30 foundations.

Coverage: The Urban Decay Naked Skin weightless complete coverage concealer  is a medium to full coverage concealer, with a seriously lightweight feeling to it. Often with more full coverage concealers, they can feel heavy under the eye area. Well not with this baby. The coverage of this concealer is fantastic. Not only does it cover my dark circles, but it also adds a brightness to the under eye area. Like hello!!! A real highlight of this concealer for me, is that the coverage is buildable, without looking like you slapped on 5 layers of cement under your eyes. I apply three dots to my under eye area and pat in with my ring finger. For the most part this is enough to cover my dark circles, but on days when they are very dark, I let the first layer set and then repeat the three dots again.

Wear time: Some people say you don’t need a powder to set this, but if I am honest, no matter what the concealer, I always need to set it. If even just for peace of mind to know that it won’t budge throughout the day. Once the Naked Skin concealer is set, it genuinely did not budge on me. There was no settling into fine lines, or wearing off. It really stayed put all day long.

Texture: The consistency is very fluid, and you really only need the tinniest amount to get good coverage. It also sets pretty quickly and dries to a smooth matte finish.

Good for: Darks circles, brightening under the eyes and spots

Price and availability: You can buy Urban Decay Naked Skin weightless complete coverage concealer  on any Urban decay counter for €22, or online here.

Maybelline Instant age rewind Eraser concealer

Out of all the concealers that I have included it this post, the Maybelline Instant age rewind Eraser concealer is one that you absolutely need. If you don’t have very bad dark circles then this on it’s own is great for coverage and brightening under the eye, but my favourite way to wear it is, by placing it in a triangle underneath the eye and then placing other concealer on top of it. You can read a full review here.

Shade Range: The Instant age rewind concealer comes in two shades,  nude and light, but if you are in America there is a whole heap more shades to choose from. It actually baffles me why more shades aren’t in Ireland, as this concealer would not suit olive or black skin tones at all.

Coverage:The coverage itself is somewhere around medium coverage. When I use this concealer, I absolutely see a great reduction in my dark circles under my eyes. It is also really good for highlighting and brightening underneath the eyes.

Wear time: It lasts well throughout the day, but when I wear this on it’s own, I would always carry it with me to top up with throughout the day.

Texture: The consistency of the Eraser concealer is light and thin on the skin. It is very lightweight and you don’t feel like you have added more product onto your face. It easily blendable and dries really well, without settling in the fine lines. In saying that, it sets pretty quickly, so you do need to blend it into the skin once applied or it can look a little powdery.

Good for: Dark circles, brightening under the eyes and highlighting.