The Glueless Scr4pbook.: concealer review

If I Could Only Have 1 Item of Make Up

If I could only have one item of make up it would without a doubt definitely be CONCEALER. It is my most used, most loved, most tried and tested item of make up and definitely my most collected too. Any time I go to Boots or any department store concessions I always find myself heading straight to the foundation/Concealer section.

I am an extreme fan of MAC make up in general, but when it comes to concealer they are high up on that pedestal. I haven't ventured too deep into many other high end concealers but in my early teens I survived on drugstore concealers, mainly the stick form one from Rimmel, later on I started getting into MAC and my first purchase was the Select Cover Up concealer.

Since then I have fallen in love with the perfect all rounder from MAC the Pro Longwear Concealer which I will forever love, it's great for any problems... Spots, healing spots with dry patches, dark circles and redness. I still use other concealers and try out new ones all the time, I can't help myself.

A few budget ones that I found to be pretty great are the Elf Maximum Coverage Concealer, the Collection Lasting Perfection, the Body Shop Concealer Pencil and the Maybelline Fit Me.

My mother swears by YSL Touché Éclat for her dark circles, I however find it way too thin, no matter how reflective it's supposed to be it doesn't make up for the coverage, but a great replacement from the drugstore is the L'oreal Lumi Magique, which I only bought because it was on a half price offer, but I will definitely be repurchasing when it runs out.

I fell for the hype and got the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer last month, I have been using it on and off ever since, it is really good, definitely a 'does-what-it-says-on-the-tin' product, but sadly I got the palest shade so at the moment I can't rely on this solely and have to mix and match with other concealers, a great dupe for this I think though is the Maybelline Fit Me that I mentioned earlier, not only the packaging but the texture and coverage are extremely similar too.

For redness I used to use the MAC Studio Finish because they used to sell the green shade which I loved and it was great until they discontinued it (sigh), I have looked into the NYX green Concealer Jar and that's on my wanted list but for now I use the Natural Collection stick version, I prefer jars because I get really dry spots and sticks tend to cake, but the coverage is great. I have also tried the corrector palette from Elf which I don't really recommend, it's very gloopy, it is useable and I still do use it on occasion but I won't be buying it again.

I really want to try the Benefit Fake Up, the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in the right shade (lol), the Soap & Glory Kick Ass Concealer and the By Terry Touché Veloutee concealer too.

Have you tried any? Do you recommend any?

13:05
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My top concealers of all time, so far

acne cover up

Since I'm having such a bad time with my skin lately, it's not dreadful. It's just a lot worse than my skin has been in recent months, I though I would do a collective concealer review. Just so we are clear about my skin type, I have combination skin, generally oily, but with dry patches, blemish prone, and very pale in colour, more yellow toned than pink.

My favourite solid concealers of all time, so far, are MAC Studio Finish concealer (NW20, I actually used NC15 now) £15, the Witch concealer pen in 01 Natural available at Boots £4.99, and The Body Shop Concealer Pencil in 01 £9.

Swatches from top, the Body Shop Concealer Pencil, Witch concealer pen and MAC studio finish concealer. The Witch stick I use for spots, I put my foundation on first and then any spots that are showing through, I just draw over them with this and blend slightly, it's very pigmented and creamy so easy to blend. The Studio finish I use for under my eyes as it is a pigmented matte finish and doesn't require much setting, this is for a more natural look, for a highlighted look see below, and lastly the Body Shop Pencil concealer I spouse on redness, it's very yellow toned, creamy and matte so it's perfect for any bits of red showing through the foundation.

My favourite liquid concealers are MAC Select Cover Up in NW20, I also need to be re shaded in this, £15, the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 1 Fair, available at Boots £4.19 and MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NW20, again need to go for NC15/20 in this next time, £15.50.

Swatches from top, Select Cover Up, Pro Longwear, Collection Lasting Perfection. The Select Cover Up is one I keep in my handbag make up bag for touch ups because it is light but still offers high coverage, it has a matte but dewy finish, very natural, this is one I use when I'm not using a foundation, I just dab this on where I need to and blend it in. Next the Collection Concealer that everyone loves, I only got mine last year, but it's almost all gone, when I first got it I used it for everything as the coverage is amazing, but now I use it for under my eyes as a more highlighting finish and under my nose to make that annoying shadow go away, I have heard a lot of people saying they think they break out from this, and I have found a suitable alternative, I didn't include it in this review as I get along perfectly well with the Collection one, but alas, it is Elf Maximum Coverage concealer, it's only available online as far as I know but it's only £3.75 so :) it comes in a squeeze tube rather than with an applicator but don't be fooled, it's still nice and thick and creamy, almost as pigmented and doesn't crease, so if you can't get on with the Collection, give it a try. And last but definitely not least is the Pro Longwear from MAC, which as you can tell from the name is designed for the Pros and is designed to last, the only problem with this is the packaging, because the pump shoots out too much product and the glass bottle means you can never finish an entire tube, coverage is amazing, it blends beautifully and the finish is dewy and natural, not oily or greasy.

Just a note.

I read a lot of young bloggers who are reluctant to try MAC products under the impression that they are 'too expensive', and I do understand that obviously you may have less money, but I just wanted to say an honest truthful opinion of mine is that, yes as much as the Lipsticks are raved about and they are my favourite too, you can get good lipsticks on the high street, same with the MAC powders, of course they are amazing, but so is the Rimmel Stay Matte for a tenth of the price, but a place I really don't advise you to scrimp is on bases, foundations and concealers, really, you will save yourself so much money, one bottle from MAC (or another high end brand) for £25 will last you 6 months +, you could buy 6 bottles from Boots at £8 each and they still wouldn't be as good or last as long. For example, I love and adore the Collection Concealer I have just spoken about but I got that at the beginning of December and its already gone, all my MAC concealers last me at least 5 months, even when I use them every day. I just think it should be calculated as a price per wear, just as you do when you buy an expensive jacket or bag.

12:40
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HAUL: New beauty purchases

17 make up

Just a little haul, and a few reviews on some beauty products I have been buying recently.

So I thought it was time to do another haul since I have been buying plenty of beauty products and make up lately, it's basically a lot of stuff that I've been wanting but haven't been able to afford because of Christmas. I have also included a few bits I have bought since Christmas with my vouchers or Christmas money. Enjoy.

I keep hearing about Sleek make up, and so obviously I've been wanting to try a few bits, I have started with this, the Sleek Pout Pot in Bare Minimum (£4.49 www.boots.com) which I have to say I am loving! It smells gorgeous, it's not sticky, it's not really pigmented so its lovely and natural (obviously I picked a natural tone so maybe the others are more pigmented). It's definitely my new favourite handbag beauty product. Other products I want to try include the contouring palette and the brow kit.

Next I bought these, Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter (£7.99 each, www.boots.com), I got the shades 045 Cotton Candy and 047 Pink Lemonade (I had wanted to get the Creme Brulle but it was sold out). I had been seeing these for ages on every single beauty blog, so assuming they must be great I bought two at once, big mistake, I learnt my lesson, I don't even like them, I mean the consistency in nice and smooth, glides on lovely, and they colour choices are great but I find its too thin and kind of comes off ten minutes after its been put on, it's not very pigmented so picking a colour is kind of pointless because they all come out pretty much the same, the packaging it's really cute and the lid clicks closed which I like but the worst thing I found about these were that they seem to cling to every single imperfection on your lip, any creases or dry skin seem to gather excess product. Disappointed.

In the same trip however, I bought this! Which totally made up for the fact that I didn't like the Lip Butters. It's the Limited Bourjois Poudre De Riz De Java (£9.99 www.boots.com), essentially a highlighting powder, I love it, it's ultra fine so it glides on so smoothly and you don't feel cakey adding another layer, it's a really delicate shimmer so it's daytime friendly and it smells lovely. The packaging is so cute and vintage yet amazingly practical, they have added a sliding lid which locks in place over the perforations so that, unlike other powders, it doesn't spill everywhere when you chuck it in your bag.

I finally picked up this Bourjois Delice De Poudre Bronzing Powder (£6.99 www.boots.com) and I love it, I chose the shade 51 as I thought the 52, even though only slightly darker in the packet might be too dark to build with. This bronzer had a slight shimmer which I don't generally like in a bronzer, I only like highlighter where I choose to put it, so I usually go for matte bronzers like Rimmel Natural Bronzer or Benefit Dallas/Hoola, but the shimmer is so slight that even when you have finished building your bronze you still can't see it, so I love that, it smells really nice and blends really well, I can't really fault it.

I've definitely been going a bit concealer mental lately, every time I read about one I'm like "ahhh I have to go buy it NOW", so I got this Phwoarr Paint by Seventeen (£5.49 www.boots.com) which is designed for under eye dark circles, it says heavy duty and to be fair it does seem to cover pretty well, I would say the only fault with this is that it's not particularly buildable is its kind of that rubbery consistency where when you add another layer it kind of strips the under layer, you can do it but its just a gentle operation, it's definitely brightening and it doesn't crease so I'd say its worth the fiver.

I also picked up this Revlon Colourstay Concealer (£6.99 www.boots.com) which I actually got free as part of a 3 for 2 offer with the Lip Butters, I found it had too much orange tone, I picked 02 Light as the shade so I wasn't expecting any orange, I should have gone for 01 Fair. It's quite light coverage, I'd say light to medium, it's nice and it'll be better in summer but I don't think I could use this concealer by itself, I'd have to pair it with something thicker.

I got these lashes because I found them in Tesco on offer for like £3, and I thought they would be more practical for me that the strips since I usually have eyelash extensions but my friend who does them is actually due to give birth any day now so I'm having to deal with whats left at the moment, I think I should be able to fill them in with these. I haven't tried yet after my sister informed me that they are fiddley so I'll save that for a more patient time.

I actually got this one for Christmas but I've snuck it in, it's the MUA eyeshadow palette in Heaven & Earth, I think these are like £3.99 or & £4.99 and they are available at Superdrug. I have used this everyday since I got it, the colours are so easy to wear and blendable and it's so worth the money, I wasn't really an eyeshadow girl until I saw this on my mums dressings table, but I've got to say its great.

A bit late I know, but I have got me some Real Techniques Brushes! They are on offer at Boots at the moment, Buy one get one half price, so I though it was the best time to get them, there are two more that I want aswell, the Face brush and the Powder brush, but so far I have got the Blush brush (£9.99 www.boots.com) and the Setting brush (£8.99 www.boots.com). I'm happy with them so far and I've ordered some new brush cleanser to keep them beautiful.

This was just a repurchase as my other bottle only has like maybe 4 days worth left in it. The wonderful, ever lasting, Benefit High Beam highlighter (£19.50 www.boots.com) I love this highlighter it's the perfect sheen and consistency and is so worth the money, I have had my last bottle for like 3 years and I use it almost every day!

Thank you for ready, if you did, it was really long, sorry, I always end up doing reviews as I go along. Oh and by the way I'm not plugging Boots, it's just I buy as much beauty wise as I can from there because I collect points, I've got like £40 worth of points on my card at the moment.

21:29
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The Glueless Scr4pbook.

If I Could Only Have 1 Item of Make Up

My top concealers of all time, so far

HAUL: New beauty purchases

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