Concealers And Powders I'm Currently In Love With And How I Use Them

February 04, 2020

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If there's one thing I'm obsessed with in my makeup routine, it's concealer. Like most brown girls, I have shadows under my eyes. It's compounded by the fact that my facial bone structure makes my eyes sink in, adding to the shadowy look under my eyes. While I can't change my face's bone structure {and I don't want to get fillers under my eyes}, the best I can do is use concealer.

I love that I can put on concealer any time and it instantly changes my appearance. It makes me look fresher. My under eye shadows always make me look tired. Concealer changes that and makes me look awake and fresh. Which is why I almost never step out of the house without concealer. And in a bid to find the best one, I have tried thousands over the years. Okay, not thousands, but several.

One of my friends asked me to write a post on my favourite concealers, so here we are. Currently, I have a lot of concealers. And honestly, I think it's okay to have a few because again as a brown girl, your skin colour changes from time to time. I go to Thailand and boom! My skin is a few shades darker. Forget Thailand. The Bahrain summer months of July and August never fail to give my face a tan. This is despite religious use of sunscreen.

So it makes sense that I have a few different concealers in different shades. Not just that, but of different consistency and coverage. I have some concealers that are very thick and provide full coverage. I have some that are thinner and are great for when my under eye area feels particularly dry. I have some that I put on when I'm in a rush. Sometimes my shadows are really dark and I just layer on ALL the concealers in a bid to cover up the purple-y grey crescents under my eyes.

Note: this does not work. But does that stop me from doing it? Nooooo.

So enough of my babbling, here are the concealers I'm currently using and in love with:

The Concealers

MAC Cosmetics Pro Conceal And Correct Palette in Medium Deep, BD 15

MAC Cosmetics Pro Conceal And Correct Palette in Medium Deep is my number one favourite concealer palette right now. I can't live without it. I was introduced to it last year when I went to a MAC store in Bahrain. One of the makeup artists, Abeer, showed me how to use this palette and I loved it! What I love the most about this palette is that it has 2 correctors and 4 shades. This makes it very travel-friendly and lets me customize my concealer needs whenever my skin tone changes.

Before this palette, I used to have a separate corrector and many concealers in different shades. Now I don't need to. Everything is in one palette and that's so practical. I had taken this with me when I went on holiday to Thailand and it was the best thing ever! When I got tanned, I simply used the darkest shade in the palette and it was perfect! Such a relief!

The consistency of these concealers is very thick, offering full coverage. A little goes a long way. I hadn't realized that the corrector I needed wasn't orange, it's yellow! The yellow corrector in this palette is perfect to take away the greyness under my eyes. I also realized that if you mix the yellow and orange correctors, you can get any shade of concealer you need.

My MAC concealer shade is NC 42, and this concealer has NC 42 as well as NC 40. I also found it very reasonable at BD 15 for the entire palette since you get 6 shades. And hey, after all, it's MAC.

L.A Girl Pro Conceal HD Concealer in GC 976 Pure Beige, BD 2.800

L.A Girl Pro Conceal HD Concealer in GC 976 Pure Beige is an evergreen {everbeige?} favourite. I don't think I can ever stop buying this. It's a creamy formula and this shade always suits my skin. Because the formula is creamy and light, I use it to cover the darkness around my mouth. It blends really easily into my skin and feels light. Sometimes if I feel the MAC concealer feels too heavy and matte under my eyes, I add a little bit of this concealer on top to make my skin look more dewy and natural.

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark circles Concealer + Treatment in Sand

I love the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark circles Concealer + Treatment because of its texture. It's super hydrating and has good coverage. The consistency is thinner than the LA Girl concealer, but because it's really moisturizing, like the LA Girl concealer, sometimes I put it as the last thing before I set my concealer with powder. The sponge applicator feels great on the skin and it makes the application really easy. I really like that it has goji berry in it.

The Application

I’ve tried a lot of concealer brushes and I have come to this conclusion- my fingers are the best tools. The warmth from my fingers melts the product and makes it easier to apply. It's also really easy for me to get into the tricky corners of my eyes using my fingers. For the Maybelline and LA Girl concealers, I put it on my skin directly then spread or pat it in with my fingers.

The Powders

I like to set my concealers with powder. I wish I could leave this step out because I really like the dewy look of just concealer, but living in a terribly humid country like Bahrain means that your concealer will slip off if you don't set it with powder.

Here are the ones I love the best and am currently using:

MAC Cosmetics Studio Fix Perfecting Powder, BD 15

The MAC Studio Fix Perfecting Powder in Medium Dark was a game-changer for me. Because finally, FINALLY, I found a powder that actually matched my exact skin tone! Before this, I was always recommended powders that were too light for me. Because this powder matches my skin colour so well, even if my concealer isn't the perfect match, a little bit of this powder makes everything look seamless. This is a fine powder that sets concealer beautifully. It doesn't cake and looks very natural on the skin. I like to apply this powder with a wedge-shaped sponge because the thin part of the sponge gets into my sunken under eye area perfectly. A beauty blender never does.

Australis Ready Set Go Finishing Powder in True Translucent, BD 4

The Australis Ready Set Go Finishing Powder in True Translucent is one of my favourite finishing powders. I've tried a lot of finishing powders but I really like this one because 1. it's really translucent, 2. it's super, super fine, and 3. it feels very light on the skin. It doesn't feel like you're wearing any powder on your skin at all. This powder is usually the last step in my makeup routine. I don't wear foundation, only concealer, so I need powder to set the concealer and also mattify my oily face. Under the eyes I use the MAC Studio Fix Perfecting Powder, then I use a big fluffy brush to pick up very little of the Australis Finishing Powder and do a quick sweep of it all over my face.

And that's it! Those are all my favourite concealers and the powders with which I set them. I don't like the result of foundation which can look heavy and cakey, plus I believe in letting the skin breathe. Also, Bahrain with its super humid climate is not really the best place to put too much makeup on your face. Especially foundation. So I just use concealers and powders in places that need concealing.

To end this post I'll say this- it's OKAY to be flawed. It's OKAY to have acne and rosacea and freckles and blemishes. Love the skin you're in. Don't obsess so much about covering it up or about looking a certain way. Don't think that you need to match a certain beauty standard. If you're a positive, kind person, you'll always look beautiful. Wear makeup for yourself, to look fresher and the way YOU want to look. Because it helps you feel better about yourself. And again, don't go crazy trying to completely cover those undereye circles or hyperpigmentation. It's alright if it shows. There are better things in life to obsess about than covering up your perceived flaws.

Until next time,

Feel beautiful.

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