Ah, concealer. One of my "island" products. If I was stranded on an island and can only have 3 makeup products, they would be concealer, mascara, and tinted brow gel. Not because these are the most exciting products to me but they are truly the bare minimum I would need to look like a human being.
Sometimes I have trouble explaining the difference between foundation and concealer because they are very close to being the same thing. The way I see it, concealer is a more potent version of foundation. It gives you high doses of coverage in tiny amounts of product. It definitely depends on which formula you use because concealers range from super sheer to super full coverage. You can technically put concealer all over your face and use it as foundation, but you would go through the product awfully fast. They are used mainly to cover dark circles under the eyes and blemishes on the face. I, like many millennial makeup junkies, also use concealer around my brows when I want to make them look more sharply defined after filling them in.
I also like using a concealer that is a shade lighter than my foundation in order to brighten up my undereye area. This is a personal preference and is by no means necessary, but if you do want to brighten up with a lighter concealer, apply it after applying your foundation. If you like your concealer to be the same shade as your foundation, you can apply it before or after foundation. I personally do not apply my foundation under my eyes at all, just concealer and corrector. I find that it covers my dark circles enough and putting a layer of foundation there too might just look too heavy.
Color correctors cancel out any unwanted color in the face. Orange concealer cancels out the bluish tones of the dark circles under our eyes or dark spots on our faces. Green concealer neutralizes redness. This works for any color as long as you choose its opposite on the color wheel to neutralize it. These are applied before your regular concealer or foundation in order to disguise the unusual colors and make it look like your skin tone again.
via HGTV.com
Now let's get into some reviews. Keep in mind I always set my concealer with powder when I refer to them creasing or not. I will include pictures if I have them but I don't own most of these anymore:
Coastal Scents Eclipse palette ($16.95): The formula was a little too thick so it creased under the eyes but it would work on the face or for cream contouring. Overall, not worth it for me.
Colourpop No Filter Concealer ($6): I wasn't impressed by these the way I wanted to be. It could be because I ordered my shades too light but I just feel that they lose a lot of coverage as you blend them out. Also, when I blend it out with my beauty sponge, I feel like it just moves the product around instead of blending it into my skin. It doesn't crease though, so it's not bad, just not my favorite.
LA Girl Pro Conceal ($4.99): This is a good concealer, especially for the price. I don't like the brush applicator though so I haven't repurchased
Classic Ivory & Nude
MAC Pro Longwear ($23): Full coverage, doesn't crease, blends nicely
Nars Vanilla & MAC NW20
Makeup Revolution Conceal & Define Full Coverage Conceal & Contour ($7): This was said to be a dupe for Tarte Shape Tape and while I think it's a great affordable concealer with a lot of coverage, I think I still prefer Shape Tape. It's not as matte as Shape Tape (which I don't mind) but has a little less coverage. It is quickly becoming my go-to drugstore concealer though!
Maybelline Age Rewind ($8.99): Beautiful lightweight formula with good coverage
Maybelline Better Skin ($8.99): Another good formula. A little thinner and slightly less coverage than Fit Me (see below).
Maybelline Cover Stick Corrector (Yellow): ($5.99) Tried using this for highlighting under the eye but it was too thick and I didn't like it
Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch ($7.99): The formula was nice but the color I had was very pink and I prefer yellow tones
Maybelline Fit Me ($6.99): This was my go-to concealer for such a long time. Blends out beautifully with medium coverage and no creasing
Maybelline Master Camo (Peach) ($9.99): a good corrector, definitely helps dark circles and blends out nice and thin
Maybelline Master Conceal ($8.99): A good concealer, a little more coverage than Fit Me and most of Maybelline's other formulas but blended out nicely and didn't look thick. I used it mostly for blemishes but it worked well under the eye too
Milani Conceal + Perfect Longwear Concealer ($8.99): I've been liking this concealer a lot! I get a natural finish out of it- not matte but not dewy and it doesn't crease more than any other concealer does on me. It wears well and covers well.
Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer ($30): This is a really nice concealer that looks nice on the skin but I have a lot of affordable concealers I like so I wouldn't repurchase based on the price.
Nars Vanilla & MAC NW20
NYX Above and Beyond Full Coverage Concealer Jar ($5): Thicker than liquid formulas but has more coverage. My favorite to use for my carving out my eyebrows.
NYX Can't Stop Won't Stop Contour Concealer ($8.50): Such a great full coverage, blendable, long-wearing concealer and for such a good price! They can also be used to contour, as the name suggests.
NYX Conceal Correct Contour palette ($12): I prefer thin concealer formulas for under my eyes, but these are good for the face, around the brows, and the darker shades are actually really good for cream contour. If you mix in a drop or 2 of oil, they blend out thinner under the eye.
NYX Dark Circle Concealer ($6): My favorite corrector! Instead of the typical harsh, orange corrector, it comes in 4 skin tones with a peachy orange undertone to cancel out dark circles. Blends out nice and isn't too thick to put under concealer. I've repurchased this many times!
NYX Gotcha Covered ($6): I haven't used this much because it's very thick and has a dewy finish so you definitely need to set it with powder. Even so, it creased more under my eyes than most concealers do. I just wasn't a fan of how it looked
NYX HD Photogenic ($5): Blends out nicely and has good coverage but they oxidize a bit so get a lighter shade if you're not sure which to get.
Physicians Formula Conceal RX ($9.99): I didn't like this one because it was a little too thick for me.
Physicians Formula #InstaReady ($10.95): This had good coverage but I prefer it only for blemishes rather than under the eye. It also has SPF which is good for daily use.
Rimmel Match Perfection ($4.99): Decent coverage and a nice, highlighting effect. Skin looks a little more luminous and dewy but I don't like the brush tip applicator
Tarte Shape Tape Contour Concealer ($27): Probably my favorite concealer. A little bit goes such a long way because it is so full coverage but it blends out nicely and is fairly thin so it doesn't look cakey.
Urban Decay Naked Skin ($29): A great, thin, natural-looking formula that still gives medium coverage
W3LL PEOPLE Bio Correct Multi-Action Concealer ($22.99): I only tried this sample but I'm interested in brands with cleaner ingredients. It's a little thicker than most concealers I'm used to but it wasn't bad. It only creased a tiny bit, better than expected. I didn't mind it and thought it was worth it if you want to switch to a clean formula.
Wet n Wild Come Correct ($4.99): Too thick for my taste, creased a little too much under the eyes.
Wet n Wild Photofocus ($3.99): I'm not super impressed by this. It gives medium coverage at best but at least it blends out nicely.
Here are comparison photos of some concealer shades:
