Starting off: Concealer

Here we are again :) I'ts week 2 of The Starting Off Project. If you didn't see last weeks post on skincare, you can find it here.

So this weeks post is all about concealer. what can I say about concealer, I think for all of us concealer is a must have for covering up those dreaded dark circles that our busy lives bring, as well as blemishes and spots. If you don't need it then, you lucky devil is all I can say. It can be really hard to find a concealer that works for you, and with so many to choose from these days, sometimes you can be overwhelmed.

I typically have clear skin with the occasional spot. I have quite dark circles under my eyes and also a few broken capillaries (if you don't know what these are, they are basically broken veins that look like a little red spot). I have tried lots of different concealers over the years and based on what I have used, I thought today I'd share with you, the concealers I own and what I like and dislike about them, and then conclude with my favorite(s).  

Applicator concealers

These are the concealers with applicators, which generally are used for under eye circles, highlighting and can also be used for skin discoloration. because of the applicators I wouldn't recommend using these on spots because of the bacteria. we definitely don't want to be spreading those spots everywhere.

 Lets start with Rimmel's Match Perfection.

I heard about this concealer through Fleur, also known as FleurDeForce a while ago, so I thought I'd check it out.  I found It does cover some of the darkness, but not half as much as I'd expected. I do have quite dark under eye circle (its my genes) so if yours aren't major then this might be perfect for you. For me however its not great. That said, I do use this concealer when I'm going for a subtle highlight without all the shimmer this is great. down the bridge of the nose, and the top of my cheekbone, perfect. 

Next up is Rimmel Wake Me Up

This concealer is one of my favorites, i'ts great for under eye circles and highlighting. i'ts formula is quite thick so I'd advise not putting to much on to avoid creasing. If you prefer your concealer to be more dramatic and really lighten under your eyes, then I'd recommend applying this over your foundation, for a more dramatic look.

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

The final applicator concealer i'm going to talk about is Lasting Perfection by Collection. This is THE BEST concealer I have come across to date. If you haven't tried it, please go get some. you wont regret it. This is an all rounder. I use this for highlighting, covering dark circles and spots (when covering spots I use my finger to avoid, cross contamination). Not only is this concealer amazing its a Bargain too. You can pick this up for as little as £3.99 which for its quality is amazing!

Corrector's
I hadn't even heard of corrector's until one day, whilst browsing through the Avon catalog I saw the Jillian Dempsey palette. it looked awesome so I bought it and it opened up whole new world of concealing for me. Corrector's are basically concealer, however they are pigmented. mainly used for coverage of under eye circles they are typically pink or peach toned. However you can get corrector pallets with different tones like Yellow/green for covering redness. lets look at the corrector's I own.

Jillian Dempsey Avon Corrector palette (unfortunately I don't think they sell this anymore)

Even though Avon don't sell this product anymore, I thought i should add it in here anyway because it did open up the whole corrector option for me. as you can see there are 4 shades. It has lilac (top left) for brightening complexion, pink (top right) for covering dark circles, peach (bottom left) for highlighting olive tones and yellow for concealing redness. To be brutally honest this wasn't a great product, however the idea of counteracting tones rather than using one concealer was brilliant to me. This product was to sheer for me and didn't really hide much. 

Bobbi Brown Corrector 

So after being so intrigued by the concept of a correcter I did some research (YouTube style :p). lots of people were talking about the bobbi brown correcter so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I went with the shade yellow bisque after long deliberation. honestly this stuff is amazing. If like me you suffer with quite severe under eye issues, this is perfect. I'ts thick consistency means it provides amazing coverage. I like to apply this with my ring finger and just dab it over the darkness, applying like this avoids creasing. This is more on the pricey side, I paid £19 but believe me I'ts an investment, its lasts for ages and has honestly changed my life (how sad. ha) 

YSL Touche Eclat

So with my new found love for corrector's in full swing. When I started to hear about the YSL Touche Eclat, I couldn't help picking it up. The basis of the product is very similar to the Bobbie brown corrector, however it has a liquid based consistency. I'ts lighter than the Bobbi Brown corrector and has an applicator which I actually really like. I tend to use one pump and draw strokes under my eyes, then blend with my finger. In terms of price again this is on the top end, and I don't think it would last as long as the Bobbi brown because of the formula, however if your dark circles aren't that dramatic this is absolutely perfect. 

Stick Concealers

This was the first type of concealer I ever used, back in the day :) stick concealers are a typically of a matte, dry consistency and are mainly advertised as being for spot blemish and under eye circles. lets talk about the one and only stick concealer I own.

Rimmel Hide The Blemish Concealer

Like I said above, stick concealer was the first type I ever tried. over the years I've tried many different ones, and to be honest, having used corrector's and applicator concealers, I'm just not a huge fan (let me know if you know of one that goes against all I'm going to say). personally I think A) with cross contamination using a product like this on spots isn't great, so I always tend to use my finger, therefore going against the point of the product. B) I find that if I have a whopping spot which I've probably, maybe picked at, and its all dry this doesn't really conceal it. It makes it look dry and scabby and gets into all the nooks and cranny's. And finally C) I'm a funny one about my under eyes. I try to be as delicate as possible when applying product and just find i cant really work with this type of concealer. Over all for me I think I'm better suited to liquid formulated concealers. However, for those of you with very oily skin, this would probably work great, primarily because the coverage is actually pretty good! 

Conclusion 

So now that I've gave you the low down on all the concealers and corrector's I own, I'm going to conclude with which of the above are my go to on a daily basis and show you the results :)

Here's a picture of my eyes au naturale arghhh don't judge :)

On a daily basis once I've completed my skincare and left it to all soak in, I apply my YSL Touche Eclat

Blending that in with my ring finger here's the result.

If I'm going on a night out, or I know my makeup needs to last all day, or if I've been sat blogging all hours of the night and look like I've been kicked in the face by a Kangaroo, then I apply my Bobbi Brown Corrector

On a typical day, I'd then apply my Collection Concealer, unless I'm feeling a bit adventurous and reach for another from above (which is rare)

Once I've concealed the evidence of those late nights and nasty genes (thanks Ma and Pa) I'd continue with my foundation routine (and you can look forward to that post this time next week :)

Thanks for reading, if you made it through the whole post then wahoo, cos that was a good ol' ramble wasn't it haha.

Which is your favorite concealer? let me know in the comments below I have plenty of room for more :)

Be sure to check out all the other bloggers who are part of #theSOproject and follow me on bloglovin or GFC to make sure your informed when next weeks post goes live. 

Until next time lovelies :)

xxxx