La Prairie Skin Caviar Perfect Concealer is a stellar example of a fusion of luxe skincare and colour-correcting pigment. The brand’s signature caviar extract and caviar water work to smooth lines, hydrate, and brighten the notoriously tricky under eye area both upon application and over time, but even without knowledge of the powerhouses at work one couldn’t help but be impressed at the concealer simply as a makeup product. A little goes a long way, the coverage is buildable, and it never gets cakey or settles in fine lines. Extra points for the pleasingly practical yet thrillingly Bond-esque packaging: a twist-up ring dispenses the ideal amount of product, a cooling metal pen immediately soothes the area as product is applied, and a secret brush pops out for final application touch ups. More of this (useful, elegant) fun in beauty, please.
Milani’s Conceal + Perfect Longwear Concealer has the best coverage I have come across in a concealer in a long time, let alone in one that’s quite affordable. Its opacity and relative thickness means it’s a little less friendly to the under eye area, but if you are someone (like me) who struggles with needing to cover up truly red spots and their residual post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, as well as any brown spots caused by sun damage, you’ll appreciate having this in your arsenal. Concealers designed to be all lovely and creamy and not highlight fine lines in the delicate skin under the eye don’t always cut the mustard as blemish cover ups, so it can be helpful to have a dedicated full coverage product for this task. Also, it contains hydrating and moisturising powerhouses like shea butter, hyaluronic acid, and glycerin, so doesn’t form nasty little dried clumps of product even after a full day’s wear.
Fans of makeup artist Terry de Gunzburg’s iconic creation for YSL Beauty, the Touche Éclat highlighting pen, will know what to expect from the packaging with her new By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra-Concealer: the clever brush with a click pad on the end that dispenses product right into the brush hairs. Easy and convenient, though also a little too easy to go overboard with the amount of product so do go gently with your clicks. It contains hydrating hero hyaluronic acid, as well as Horse chestnut seed extract which stimulates circulation helping to boost and brighten the under eye area. I did find it dries down quickly, so if you have a tendency to drier skin under the eyes, as I do, I would recommend applying a rich eye cream under the eyes a few minutes before you apply this. That way you’ll avoid it settling into creases and making them look more obvious, if that’s a concern. This is full coverage concealer that you only need to use the smallest amount of to notice an excellent difference in under eye circles.
Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Brighten & Correct Duo is the perfect take anywhere product to apply at home and then throw in your bag, especially while on-off-on-off masking while out and about is still in our foreseeable futures. (If anyone else hates arriving to meet friends only to feel like out-of-season Rudolph as soon as you whip your mask off because the fabric ate the makeup on your nose, I am here to tell you, this is your answer!) A dual-ended pen featuring a creamy, highly-pigmented crayon at each end, ‘Correct’ contains lotus flower to calm redness, and is ideal for covering up blemishes and pigmentation, while ‘Brighten’ is a slightly more luminous, forgiving, and creamy option made for under eyes, with murumuru seed butter and squalane for hydration. You can take your time applying and use a brush if you’re at home, or scribble it on and quickly blend out with your fingertip if you’re out and about and feeling an urgent need to de-Rudolph.
