This past year, concealer has come into its own. Unlike a liquid foundation, it covers skin only where needed, allowing masked areas to stay clean and bare, and giving skin a fighting chance against maskne. And when breakouts do strike, concealer is on hand to camouflage.
I’ve been enjoying Clinique’s new Even Better (£23 for 6ml), as it has the light consistency and moderate coverage sought by someone living mostly in trackies and slippers. The hyaluronic acid keeps under-eyes nice and moist, while caffeine and vitamin C at least appear to awaken them. It’s a great all-rounder in a respectable 30-strong shade range, for any skin type.
The Ordinary has launched its new High Coverage Concealer (in 36 shades, £4.90 for 8ml) and, while it is impressively priced and perfect for a very specific skin (bear with me), I recommend it with my usual The Ordinary caveat: this brand with silicone is like a toddler with ketchup – it drowns almost everything in the stuff and frequently spoils what would be perfectly lovely without it. But the impulse has for once paid off, in that the nine (nine!) types of dimethicone are what give this concealer superior staying power – ideal in the on-off, hokey-cokey dance of mask wearing, or on oily skin prone to seeing off makeup at speed (this stays matte).
It’s also good for concealing blemishes on visibly porous skin, as all that gloop acts as a sort of Polyfilla (dab, don’t rub). But what that silicone also does is flatten any glow, so if you’re dry, mature or dull of skin, this won’t be your weapon of choice.
Conversely, Lancôme’s Teint Idole Ultra Wear Camouflage Concealer (£24 for 12ml), is exactly right if you want similarly full coverage in a thick, creamy, dewy base. I bought this on a whim on Black Friday (the limited range of 12 shades has to do a lot of heavy lifting, but I correctly picked 215) and it had me at first squeeze. You need such a minuscule amount – a mere dot of cream buffed out with a brush – to cover a whole lot of facial real estate that the tiny tube should last a year. (My first choice of brush is Zoeva’s 142 concealer buffer, £10.) This concealer doesn’t have the pore-filling effect of The Ordinary’s, but if you’re looking for enough coverage to hide any spot, discoloration or even minor scar, without robbing drier skin of vitality, this is outstanding.
