Today, we are discussing a product that is very near and dear to my heart.

Concealer!

Oh, concealer – what would I do without you?

For me, concealer is mainly used as an under-eye product. I tend to rely on my foundation to do the heavy lifting in terms of coverage and evening out my skin tone, and I rarely use concealer on my face unless I get a zit or something. This is not to say however, that I do not NEED concealer on my face because one could easily argue that I do. I have freckles and a few serious age/sun spots that could definitely constitute massive concealer use, but pancake-face is a serious offense in my book and one I am not looking to commit. My face is flawed, I have a snaggle tooth and a droopy eyelid, but guess what? It’s okay.

That being said, the hard-core Scandinavian-ness of my pale skin and probs not-so-stellar diet means I have under-eye circles. Not bags. Just dark, purple-ish tones under there, and really, they aren’t horrible. A nice concealer usually does the trick for me, but as I get older, I have found that certain ones settle into-fine lines, crease on me or, horror of horrors – dry out. Thus I have unearthed what I feel to be the best. Or at least, the best for me. And here. They. Are.

DRUGSTORE

Gold Medal: Maybelline Better Skin Concealer

This earns the gold medal for being such a great all-around product. It is brightening, hydrating, provides good coverage and best of all – doesn’t crease. It is like $8 and is probs my favorite concealer right now, even more than the high-end ones. It doesn’t have CRAZY coverage like the Bye Bye Undereye  or the Mac, but it is SO easy to apply (doe-foot wand as opposed to a squeezy tube or pump) and blends out like a dream.

Silver Medal: Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer

This one is such a great concealer. The packaging is truly innovative and pretty fun to use. The consistency of the product is nice and thin and blends out awesome. It doesn’t have the best coverage, but if you don’t have crazy undereye circles, you would absolutely love this one.

Bronze Medal: Sonia Kashuk HIdden Agenda Palette

This little palette from Target is awesome because it has three different shades and then a nice setting powder. The reason I don’t re-purchase this too often is that I tend to only go through one of the shades and it seems a bit pointless to buy the whole thing for only one shade. The formula, however is very nice. They are creamy, rich and provide great coverage.

HIGH-END

Gold Medal: Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer

This is truly an amazing undereye concealer and performs much the same as the Better Skin one mentioned above. It might be a bit more coverage, but I still like the Maybelline one better because it STILL LOOKS GOOD at 5 pm when I get off work. Also, this one is almost $30, which means I can’t rampantly repurchase as I’d like to.

Silver Medal: It Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye

This stuff packs a SERIOUS punch. It has intense coverage and is awesome for the following circumstances: a.) hangovers b.) daylight savings time c.) staying up too late watching Girls. The formula is very thick and takes a bit of work to blend out. I like to use my ring finger especially with this one, because the warmth from my hand heats up the product and makes easier to blend. I really love this concealer, but it can be a bit much for everyday use.

Bronze Medal: Mac Pro-Longwear Concealer

What holds me back from absolutely loving this concealer is the packaging. The formula is super thin but gives CRAZY good coverage. However, I find the tiny little pump to be quite challenging. I either pump out waaaaaay too much or not enough. I tend to use this one in the same situations that I would use Bye Bye Undereye for, or when I am going all-out glam. I love applying this one with a beauty blender and find that a little goes a long way. Again, I just love this stuff but it isn’t super easy to work with.