My Top Concealer Picks for Dark Circles, Redness, Blemishes & More
The best concealers work undercover without anyone noticing them. Here you’ll find the top concealers of the year in a variety of formulations: Concealers to cover redness, under-eye circles, pimples, and even body flaws.
Every concealer in this article has passed with high marks the exacting standards of the best makeup artists, beauty editors, and dermatologists in the business.
Because every woman deserves a great concealer in her life.
For years, I never used concealer because frankly, the stuff intimidated me. I was never convinced if it was supposed to be a shade lighter or darker than my skin and I wasn’t clear on how to use it. Plus, I really didn’t need concealer anyway because I was 25 and post pimples. I had great skin.
Fast forward to 40. I’m now a beauty expert, and I know everything there is to know about concealer. I’ve studied how to apply it (see How to apply concealer) and how to choose the right shade, and I’ve researched the very best concealers for under-eye circles, pimples, rosacea, and even spider veins.
In this slideshow, I share with you that top concealer picks from cheap to steep and a few in between. Let’s start with a great basic concealer from Bobbi Brown….
More on concealer:
- How to Cover Up Dark, Under-eye Circles
- How to Cover Up a Pimple
- How to Cover Acne Scars
- What is the Best Makeup to Cover Redness and Rosacea?
Best Drugstore Buy: Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch
This drugstore concealer is a fan favorite. It’s thick, creamy, and covers up blemishes, under-eye circles, and any discoloration. One friend of mine says she loves it so much because it covers her deep purple under-eye sockets. Well then! I have read of other reviewers who like to use this as a highlighting cream, too.
Best Mineral Concealer: L’Oreal True Match Bare Naturale
The mineral formula mimics your skin’s texture, plus it’s super-blendable, practically disappearing onto the skin surface. You’ll love the lightweight, creamy texture. But it does cover up as well.
Best Mineral Makeup: Bare Escentuals bareMinerals Multi-Tasking Minerals
This concealer comes in powder form and can be applied directly to any imperfections including blemishes, red splotches, scars, and undereye circles. This also works wonderfully as a base for eyeshadow.
NARS Concealer: Great Overall Concealer
This one is an excellent overall concealer to cover up zits, redness, blemishes, and any under-eye circles on your skin. The coverage of this concealer is so great and blendable; you may find you don’t need foundation. It comes in several shades.
Best Basic Under-eye Concealer: Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer
A moist formula such as Bobbi Brown’s creamy concealer won’t highlight fine lines and wrinkles, while still providing enough cover for dark circles. Comes in different shades. For more information on how to suitably cover dark circles, see How to Cover Up Dark, Under-eye Circles.
Runner-up: Laura Mercier’s Undercover, $34
Best Highlighter – Laura Mercier’s Secret Brightener
Apply this to conceal dark circles and discolorations. Its wand can be used on the browbone as a highlighter too. It will make eyes look more awake, wider.
Find out how to use this product as a highlighter in How to Use Illuminating Makeup.
Conceal Redness – Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage
Everybody loves this concealer because it comes in two shades so you can blend your perfect match (you may notice you need different tones for various seasons). InStyle magazine made it a “Best Beauty Buy,” just because the pros say its yellow undertones make it one of the best concealers for covering up redness. “It even works on broken veins,” one makeup artist claimed.
Best Concealer for Body – Dermablend Cover Creme
This concealer is specifically formulated to cover sores, cuts, pimples, or veins on the legs and body. When choosing a shade remember that the area below your neck with being a shade or 2 darker.
Runner-up: MAC Face and Body Foundation (buy from Amazon)
World’s Most Popular Brightener: Yves Saint Laurent’s Touche Eclat
One of Yves Saint Laurent’s Touche Eclat concealers is sold almost every 20-seconds around the world. I purchased this wondering if the hype was worth it. At first, I was disappointed because it didn’t do a lot to cover up the blue veins under my eye. And then I went to the local Saks Fifth Avenue shop to ask about it. They told me that the way I wasn’t applying was wrong.
Touche Eclat is more a highlighter than a concealer. This is meant to “illuminate.” As an illuminator. And I find it works great.
I dot just below the brow and also under the eyes, along with the nose and under the lip — anywhere my face has shadows. Amazing.
Find out how to use it as an illuminator in How to Use Illuminating Makeup.
Best Pricey Concealer: Clé de Peau Beauté Concealer
A perennial makeup-artist favorite, Clé de Peau Beauté concealer is a favorite among Women Who Know a Lot About Makeup. It’s constantly on the Top Shelf lists of the women featured on the highly regarded blog Into the Gloss, so much so that they called it out as an item that everyone should have in their makeup bag.
It’s pricey, at about $70, but those who use it say it’s worth it to have a concealer that works so beautifully to cover under-eye circles, skin blemishes, and other flaws.
The concealer is one of those makeup products worth splurging on because you want one of high quality that won’t wear off before the day wears out.
Bonus: It reportedly lasts a long time and comes in 6 shades.
If you got this far, you must have seen something you liked. There’s much more on my site about concealers and covering up blemishes. Don’t miss:
- How to apply concealer
- Pick the correct concealer shade
- Dark, undereye circles: How to fix them
- 20 secrets to gorgeous skin
- Splurge or save on concealer?
Proper Way To Apply Concealer
Quick Fix for Undereye Circles?
If you suffer from undereye circles, you know what a huge pain they are to cover up. A new product that Marie Claire editor-in-chief Lesley Jane Seymour swears by (in the June 2005 issue of the magazine) is Hylexin ($95) which is billed as the first eye cream created to treat & combat undereye circles.
This cream is specially formulated to treat the problem, not cover it up (undereye circles are caused by broken capillaries, not lack of sleep, the makers say). Here’s what their Website touts: ‘Serious dark circles (the kind that makes you look old, tired and exhausted) are about, of all things, the oxidation of hemoglobin (blood) in the capillary matrix of the peri-orbital eye area.’ Huh?
Anyway, don’t want to splurge on this ‘miracle cream? I’ll show you simple, daily fixes with concealer in this article.
4 Makeup Tricks To Eliminate Dark Circles – Concealing Dark Circles For Good
Dark circles can put a damper on your beauty routine, read my 4 tips on how to conceal them perfectly so you always look flawless!
Whether you’re staying up most nights and not getting enough sleep or working on a stressful project at work, the appearance of dark circles can put a serious damper on your beauty routine. While the most common form of under-eye dark circles is those that are inherited, that doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything about them. Keep reading for my tips on how to treat and conceal under-eye circles so you can face the day feeling you’re very best!
1. Invest in Eye Cream
The first step to eliminating dark circles is to use an eye cream that is hydrating, firming, and treats dark circles in the morning and evening. Apply a thin layer with your finger under the eye and lightly tap in the cream until it’s dry. Using the fourth finger to tap the eye cream all underneath the eye area is best as it’s the finger that has the least amount of pressure and won’t hurt the delicate skin under your eyes. After you’ve done this continue with your complete skincare regimen.
Top Product Picks: Fresh Black Tea Age-Delay Concentrate, Caudalie Premier Cru Eye Cream, Clarins Super Restorative Total Eye Concentrate
Makeup Artist Tip: Suffer from dark circles and puffiness too? There are many eye creams that target every concern for under eyes, but if you want to boost your level of treatment try de-puffing under-eye masks a few times a week. When you get up in the morning, apply under the eyes and leave on for however long is recommended before you apply your makeup. This will give you some extra help where you need it most!
Top Product Picks: Peter Thomas Roth 24K Gold Pure Luxury Lift and Firm Hydra-Gel Eye Patches, SKYN Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels, Smyrna Anti-Aging, Anti Wrinkle 24k Gold Collagen Eye Pads Patches, Eye Mask.
How To Hide Dark Circles: How do you hide dark circles under eyes?
2. Use a Color Corrector Before Concealer
You have probably heard before that green, and yellow correcting concealers are good to use on dark circles, but sometimes these tones can cast an ashy hue depending on how dark the circle actually is. It’s best practice to use green to correct red, and yellow to correct darker bruising. Using pink and peach correcting tones on the skin will help color correct dark circles and bruising as well as appear natural. Apply evenly all over the dark circle, blending a small amount as you go along. Your next step is to apply concealer.
Top Product Picks: Giorgio Armani Beauty Master Corrector, MAKE UP FOR EVER 5 Camouflage Cream Palette Color Correct and Concealer, Becca Cosmetics Under Eye Brightening Corrector.
3. Blend Concealer Under the Eyes
The next step to this process is applying concealer on top of where you’ve blended the corrector, and blending it until the dark circle completely disappears. A tiny amount of concealer goes a long way, and you don’t want to apply too much as this can cause creasing or cast a heavy finish. Using a small concealer brush is ideal for this, and you can incorporate your finger to help smooth out any excess product. Blend, blend, blend until everything looks seamless.
If you tend to have dry under eyes, you can mix concealer and your eye cream together and apply it that way for a boost in hydration. This allows a thin, tinted moisturizing veil to hide circles and helps skin appear healthier looking.
Top Product Picks: Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer, IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Illumination Full Coverage Anti-Aging Waterproof Concealer, Giorgio Armani Beauty Compact Cream Concealer.
4. Set With Loose Powder
Set your concealer with a brightening loose translucent powder, and it will help keep creasing from happening. Take a small brush like this one here, and lightly tap it in the loose powder. Apply it under the eyes in a sweeping motion to help fill in any creases, adding a light brightening effect with powder will cause under eyes to appear more rested.
Top Product Picks: Givenchy Prisme Libre Loose Powder in “Taffetas Beige,” Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder, NARS Soft Velvet Loose Powder.
Iskra Banović is our seasoned Editor-in-Chief at Blufashion. She has been steering the website’s content and editorial direction since 2018. With a rich background in fashion design, Iskra’s expertise spans across fashion, interior design, beauty, lifestyle, travel, and culture.
