This is Benefit’s most recent addition to their family of concealers. It claims to be a “hydrating crease-control concealer” which is meant to hydrate and cover dark circles under the eyes. This is the product I keep in my bag for a touch up when I need it. It is definitely hydrating but I find that this has nowhere as much coverage as I need for my hereditary dark circles. I will put this under my eyes during the day if I notice dryness or darkness and will use it to cover any spots that come up during the day. This definitely requires powder afterwards.

 

Pros – Handy tube for travel, easy to apply, hydrating ring around concealer, cute packaging, brightening

 

Cons – Still creases on me, not enough coverage for under my eyes, shade can make my dark circles look ashy and grey if a neutralising concealer hasn’t been used underneath

 

Perfect for – touch ups and undereye concealing for those with minimal circles.

 

2. Thebalm – Time balm Antiwrinkle concealer $27

 

 

This cute little pot of concealer claims to also fight aging around the eye area. This is a lot like the Bobbi Brown corrector except the colours are more limited and lack some of the peach undertones that help hide the purple/grey colours. The formula is creamy and easily blendable but I find it a little chalky looking. It comes with a little application sponge which I find a little confusing because I always either use my fingers or a brush to apply under eye concealer and the sponge looks like it would be a breeding ground for bacteria as it sits directly on the product after you use it. I also think that Thebalm have forgotten to finish the packaging on this product as usually their packaging is amazing.

 

Pros – creamy, good coverage, generous amount of product for price, claims to fight wrinkles.

 

Cons – Packaging looks a little cheap and fragile, icky sponge, shades are on the dark side. The lightest shade (above) is too dark for my skin

 

Perfect for – Those with minor to medium dark circles, covering spots.

 

3. Clinique – Airbrush concealer A$40

 

 

 

This is Clinique’s answer to the demand for illuminating concealers, it leans towards the liquid side rather than crème and the packaging functions a lot like a liquid eyeliner. The thin formula results in a lovely dewey finish to your under eye but does not cover the purple hue under my eyes. You need to pack this on to cover darkness which then means it looks cakey. The brush tip is great to get in the corners of the eye. I use this on top of a corrector.

 

Pros – Packaging is easy to use, Dewey finish, illuminating formula, compact and good for travel.

 

Cons – Hard to estimate how much product is left, doesn’t counteract grey/purple circles, limited shades (3 only)

 

Perfect for – someone with minimal purple tones, brightening inner corner of eye, subtle highlighting around the eyes, people with dry skin

 

4. Benefit – Erase Paste $47

 

 

This is the one that changed my life (face) it introduced me to the idea that instead of buying a concealer in a shade lighter than my foundation, I should be using one with colour correcting properties. This purple little pot seems overpriced but the pot lasts for a long time as you only use the smallest amount. Use too much and you get creases galore and major cake face. They key to this one is to bring the concealer a little further down the cheek to give a seamless effect, it seems to blur the area (computer free photoshop). This product has melon undertones to counteract the colour purple that occurs in those of us with dark circles. I love this product but beware (!) this product barely sets.. ie it stays kind of wet even after powder and if you are exceptionally oily or live in humidity then it will move, the upside is that it is extremely creamy and would be wonderful for those with dry skin. Powdering during the day is essential for all skin types. This is for under the eyes or dark areas only and  not really recommended for pimples or other imperfections as it will slide and move.

 

Pros – Beautiful packaging, great coverage, blurs imperfections, spatula and instructions included, counteracts dark circles, extremely creamy, a little goes a long way

 

Cons – Needs constant powdering, creases quite a bit

 

Perfect for – those with moderate to extreme dark circles. Those who need to brighten the eye area. Those with dryer skin.

 

5. Revlon – Colorstay Under Eye Concealer $27

 

 

 

This concealer is in a handy pen like tube with a felt tip that dispenses product quite quickly. It is thicker than the Clinique concealer and covers more. However as mentioned above this is flesh toned concealer not one that corrects so it is only really going to give you perfect results if youre not that dark under the eyes. Despite this I really like the formula and often use it very sparingly on the inner corner of my eye on top of a corrector if I feel I need a little more coverage.

 

Pros – Portable, good formula, covers well, creamy

 

Cons – a little heavy  and dull looking, one click often dispenses a little too much product, felt tip looks like it will become unhygienic.

 

Perfect for –  Moderate dark circles, someone new to concealer.

 

6. Bobbi Brown – Creamy Corrector $40

 

 

 

This is a HG product for many a beauty blogger, and for good reason. For me nothing works quite as well as this at eliminating the dark circle. The purple colour does seem to literally disappear as you pat this into your skin. Beware that unless you have used an eye cream it will look dry and patchy and go into every crease. I was initially outraged at the price of this product. At $40 for 1.4gms this is one expensive product.

 

It is essential that you go and get this colour matched at a BB counter as I was really shocked with the dark shade I was recommended. It is way more orange than my foundation but somehow it just works. I wont go into colour theory but basically depending on  the colour of your dark circles a MUA will apply a colour that has strong undertones of a colour opposite. My only criticism of this product is that it tends to show up in close up/macro photography. It is designed as part of a 3 step process of eye cream, corrector and concealer.

 

Pros – Covers dark circles, fairly creamy and blendable, sleek packaging, lots of shades available

 

Cons – Expensive, can be a little dry, not as blendable as Erase Paste, easy to get the wrong shade, small amount of product

 

Perfect for – those with dark to very dark circles

 

7. Benefit – Booing $36

 

 

 

This is my go to concealer for other areas of my face (not under my eyes) With a little warming up it is blendable and melts into the skin. This what I put on pimples, spots and scars and the lightest shade blends perfectly into my foundation. I use my fingers but it also works well with a dense brush. Im going to need to order a new one as ive recently hit pan, but what is left here should still last me a month or two (fingers crossed)

 

Pros – blendable, easy to use, long lasting

 

Cons – Limited shades

 

 

8. Bobbi Brown – Creamy Concealer $40 (or $52 as kit, shown)

 

This baby is the sister of the corrector, I bought it in the concealer and powder kit (an extra $12) which probably wasn’t necessary as the setting powder is very similar (in my opinion) to Ben Nye’s Banana powder. However, this would be good to pop into your purse for midday touch ups. The concealer is a different product to the corrector. I would use this alone if my circles weren’t so dark. This is similar to boiing however doesn’t seem as creamy as the Benefit product. In reality I probably shouldn’t have bought this but I bought it at the same time as the corrector and at that point I was willing to give anything a go. Im going to use this once my boiing runs out, it shouldn’t be hard as it is quite small. I like this product, don’t get me wrong.. but I don’t think it is remarkable like say, the corrector. Love the packaging, as usual with BB its sleek and attractive.

 

Pros – great packaging, large array of colours, available with matching powder

 

Cons – expensive

 

Perfect for – those who like to stick to a particular brand, layering on top of corrector if you so wish.

 

9. Benefit – Lemon-aid $37

 

 

 

Now this is not a concealer as such. It is meant to be soley for the eyelids to conceal redness and make a blank canvas for eyeshadow. But if it conceals redness on the eyelids why couldn’t you use it in small amounts on a red spot on your chin lets say. This is another type of colour corrector. You might remember those cover up sticks in green, yellow or purple that were designed to counteract sallowness, redness etc. Well this can do the same job and seeing that I love a multipurpose product Im including this on my list.  Lemon-aid takes a bit of warming up between the fingers but it works to cover red spots, the formula is quite thick and waxy but it does the job of counteracting some redness before you put your foundation on.

 

Pros – multipurpose product, long wearing, nice packaging

 

Cons – needs a bit of warming up before it blends

 

Perfect for – those who need to cover redness on the eyes

 

10. Bobbi Brown – Face touch up stick $40

 

 

 

This is a product that I no longer own but may repurchase in the future. It is a stick concealer which was so compact and small that I could keep it I my purse for mid day touch ups. These are meant to be a companion for the foundation sticks. I was originally sold these by the BB staff as an under eye concealer, when I got home and checked out MakeUpAlley and the BB website I was disappointed to find that it actually wasn’t for that at all. The product was perfect for covering a spot that might have popped up during the day and for any redness around the nose. Because of the small tip you could get into small areas easily and the formula was super blendable.

 

Pros – Great packaging, super portable, large variety of shades, very blendable

 

Cons – expensive.

 

Perfect for – those with oily skin who might need to reapply during the day, nights out

 

 

 

THE VERDICT

 

My top three products (its hard to separate them as they all serve different purposes) are the Bobbi Brown corrector and  Benefit’s Erase Paste and Boiing