CONCEALING FAVOURITES

Concealers can work wonders for the face, and I tend to rely on them pretty much every day for ensuring a (near) flawless looking complexion. Concealers have the ability to hide the worst of blemishes; if you know how to apply them properly. So, in a collaboration with my friends at Into the Gloss and checking out their Best Concealers post, I am here to share my favourites, tips and tricks.

I know most people seem to prefer high end concealers, but in my opinion if you know where to look you can find some gems among the high street instead (particularly good if you are a student and have a part time wage which is the opposite of generous). Usually, I go for the Collection Lasting Perfection for the skin, and heavy duty concealing. Using your fingers is probably the best option because it can look a bit more caked on with a brush. For quick touching up in the day I wouldn't go for this, I would probably pick the Bourjois Healthy Mix because I don't feel the need to powder this when I reapply.

There's always the old trick of buying a shade lighter for under your eyes, but I don't tend to do this. For me it seems to look a bit odd, but I think nowadays there are far better brightening options. The Rimmel Wake Me Up and the L'Oreal Lumi Magique seem to be pretty luminous and do a better job of brightening than a lighter shade probably will. The best way for me to do this is to apply a triangle sort of shape and use something like the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion makes it smooth to apply and tends to work the product into the skin far better. The key for under the eyes is to set it (very lightly) to avoid creasing, as well as avoiding a whole lot of layers - a  h u g e  mistake I used to make with stick concealers in my early teens and ended up looking like I had reptilian skin under my eyes.

Once you know how to start with concealing, it's pretty self explanatory and you'll find a routine good for you. There's plenty of posts over at Into the Gloss about concealers if you want to broaden your knowledge even further.

NATURAL LOOKING CONCEALERS

Concealing is one of those steps I enjoy in my makeup routine - delicately tapping on precise dots of product really is quite satisfying. But sometimes, the end result isn't as satisfying, especially when you look like a you have caked on your concealer with a paint brush, which is why I have been on the hunt for new additions to my collection that look a little more natural.

For under eyes, on top of something a little more heavy duty, or alone, my favourite offering is the KIKO Natural Concealer in 01. As the name suggests, it is natural, and very fresh looking. It is brightening, a little dewy and has a more pink tone to counteract any more darkness under your peepers. I am almost out of this, which is a shame because I live rather far from London. Maybe an online order...

For both blemishes, under eyes, and a little dewy highlighting, we have the Sheer Cover Conceal & Brighten Trio which offers 2 shades of concealer, and a light cream to highlight, which brings the glow to a new level. The concealers have a fairly light coverage, but can be built up to cover blemishes and banishes some of the under eye darkness you may have.

One which has been gaining more and more use from the Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer. I have recently rediscovered the Serum Foundation from the range too, and the two go hand in hand for a natural base. This is fairly yellow, but once blended just matches seamlessly to the skin. I'd give this one a  medium coverage status, with a satin finish, but not one that looks or feels drying in the slightest. A new love perhaps?

I am a bit of a concealer junkie, I confess. I am predicting that we'll be seeing another concealer-centric post fairly soon...

TWO NEW CONCEALERS

I'm a slight concealer junkie, and although I will always be loyal to the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, I like to try new ones now and again, and I have recently found two which I do really like.

I have been using the Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer for around a month now, and I am really enjoying it. It has the typical Healthy Mix smell, which makes using it 10x better. Scents aside, the actual product is great too. It is quite yellow, but I find that once blended it looks fine, and offers a good coverage. It sets to a satin finish and I have never found it to look cakey whatsoever, which is a big winner. I tend not to use this one under my eyes, purely because I much prefer the next offering for that.

So, they Kiko Natural Concealer in 01 has been getting daily wear under my eyes. It is slightly pink so helps to cancel out darkness. I have ridiculous under-eye puffy bags that runs in my family so I have learnt to live with them but whatever I can do to take the harshness away I will do. I really like the way this wears, as it has never creased on me at all, and I find it to look so natural.

Two new concealers in my collection which I am getting on with so well. I can guess that at some point, I would repurchase these once again if they run out before I find anything even better.

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