Full Coverage Concealers

What I look for in a concealer is something that does just that; conceals! I find that so many concealers don't actually cover redness or broken skin. So today i'm going to tell you the three concealers I use that have maximum coverage. Preference in terms of texture might change from person to person which is why I'm reviewing my favourite powder concealer, liquid concealer, and stick concealer.

1) Bare Minerals Well Rested Concealer - £19.00

This is my all-time favourite that I use everyday. You wouldn't think that a powder could have so much coverage but this really does. It is actually meant to be an under-eye concealer, which it is also excellent for, but for me it covers everything. I think it's because the powder is so pigmented.

For me, this is absolutely fabulous at covering redness. This is my go-to concealer for covering spots. What I also love about it is that it can conceal scabs well. I always find then when you've picked a spot and it's scabbed over concealer may not really cover it. I don't know whether it's because it's a powder but the concealer is able to get into all the nooks and crannies and cover all the surface area visible.

As I previously mentioned this product is also brilliant at concealing dark circles. What I do is I use a softer slightly larger brush for the eyes so that the powder blends really well, and then I use a smaller, more dense brush on spots so that the product is more concentrated, and it works excellently. The main thing I love about this concealer is how long it lasts. It's like it sticks to spots because as soon as you put it on it doesn't budge! It may seem pricey but I have had this concealer for over a year now and I'm half way through. It lasts SO long. I think it's because it's so pigmented you use the tiniest bit at a time. So I know this is an under-eye concealer but it is absolutely worth investigating as a full facial concealer. It gets 10/10 from me! The only thing I would say is that it only comes in one colour, so you would have to go to a store and try it first as it may not be the colour for everyone.

2) MAC Pro Longwear Concealer - £15.50

I don't actually normally like liquid concealers because I've found that they don't last that long at concealing but this one is pretty good. For me it's fantastic at concealing dark circles or larger areas of redness rather than spots. 

Like the Bare Minerals concealer, the product is really pigmented so you only need a very small amount. What I particularly like about this product is that even with a tiny amount of product you can blend and spread it really well, which is why I think it's better for larger areas. But to try and cover a spot, I find that the product disperses too much so you don't get as much coverage on that concentrated area. 

Anyway when I use this product I find that it does last all day. My dark circles are concealed from morning to evening. Again, the price of this concealer is a little pricey, but like the Bare Minerals it lasts for a very long time. I've had this one six months and I've barely used any of it. So I would absolutely reccomend.


3) Maybelline Cover Stick - £4.09

I've read quite a lot of bad reviews for this product which is odd because I find that it works really well for me. What I've read in the reviews is that it either makes the skin look very dry, or very greasy. I would say for this product that you definitely would not want to use it on dry skin as it'll just make it look flakey. As for making the skin greasy, it definitely doesn't do that to me and my skin is slightly oily. Maybe it's just with people that have very oily skin.

For me this concealer unlike the MAC concealer, is best for covering spots and not for concealing dark circles. The reason for this is because of its chalky texture. If you were wanting to cover a larger area, it probably wouldn't work because it doesn't blend/move that well on the skin. But for small areas like spots, the chalky texture is good because it really masks it, and then it's easy to blend a small amount around the edges etc. For me, this concealer is great at concealing redness.

I wouldn't say that it lasts as long as the other concealers but it's also less than half the price of the other two. For an affordable product I would say that it's excellent quality. I've also had this for a year and it's still going. Anyway if you do buy it and find that it's not for you, you haven't broken the bank! 

Here is a photo of all three, so you get an idea what the actual products look like:

Left to right: Bare Minerals Well Rested, Mac Prolongwear NW20, Maybelling Coverstick in Ivory 

Sibley
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The Liquid Bronzer: Yay or nay?

I'm reviewing and comparing two liquid bronzers today because I think that they can be a great addition to your make up bag for the reason that mixed in with your foundation or on their own, they can give an all-over facial tan that powder bronzer may not give as effectively. I find that sometimes if you don't have anything on your face powder won't sit properly, which i've definitely found with a few bronzers. So the first bronzer I'm reviewing is:

1) Stila One Step Bronze - £24.00  

Ok so the description of this product says that 'This innovative triple-swirled helix serum instantly illuminates, bronzes, primes and nourishes the skin. One Step Bronze immediately improves the skin-tone, evens out your complexion and helps smooth fine lines and wrinkles.' 

I have to say, that I don't really like this product. I found that the colour was more of an orange than a gold/brown so I definitely couldn't wear it on it's own, and even mixed in with foundation the orange still came through. If you like more of an orange tone then this may be for you but if you prefer to look more natural then it probably won't be. The liquid itself is also quite sparkly. I don't mind a little bit of shimmer because it gives a dewy appearance, but the sparkle is too much!

As to what the product claims to do written above, I found that it does illuminate and bronze the skin (not neccesarily in a good way!) but it doesn't nourish, prime or even the skin at all. I used it consecutively for a few weeks, and not only did I not see an immediate improvement which it claims, but I didn't see any improvement over the time which I used it. 

I've added a photo of what the product should look like, and did initially when I bought it. The reason for this is that after a few months the consistency you see here completely changed. It went from being a liquid consistency, easily blendable, to a mousse-like texture. Very weird! With this texture it certainly wasn't easy blending the product and gave a streaky appearance to my face, so had to stop using it all together. I've posted the picture below, so you can see the difference. Tried shaking the bottle but made no difference. It is safe to say that for the amount it costs, I won't be purchasing again.

Anyway now on to a product I love!

2) Revlon Photoready Skinlights Face Illuminator in 400 Bronze Light - £11.99

This product claims to give 'a healthy glow in any light. Banish dullness and even out skin with light-capturing crystals and photochromatic pigments.'

This product is still a tad orange, but much more of a brown tone unlike the Stila bronzer, so it looks more natural. It has a vey slight shimmer to it which I like, as it gives a radiant complexion. I would say that it definitely does what it says in terms of giving a healthy glow and banishing dullness. 

I think that if you have oily skin like I do, then it would be best to mix it with a matte foundation. I mix it into my Estee Lauder Double Wear, and it works brilliantly. I don't think I would mix it in with my Touche Eclat foundation though, which is much more dewy as I think it would look too shiney. Because I have oily skin when I wear it on its own I have to put powder on my t-zone to mattify it slightly. If you don't have oily then I doubt you would need anything to accompany with it.

As you can see, the consistency is very smooth and light which makes it super easy to blend into a foundation or onto your skin. 

For half the price of the Stila bronzer, and its lovely look on the skin, I would say that this product is absolutely worth buying! I am looking into buying this product in another colour as a highlighter, so see if there's a match for Benefit's Moonbeam!

The Verdict:

If you like a bronzed look like I do, then I think a liquid bronzer is a great way to go. I do think however it's important to find a natural-looking, blendable product like Revlon's. I don't know about any other liquid bronzers on the market however, and would love to hear of any good ones. I think Estee Lauder have one and if you've tried it I would definitely want your opinion!

Sibley

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My Top Three Products

As this is a new blog I thought a good way for me to introduce myself would be to tell you three of my most cherished beauty products and why they are so precious to me. 

1) Dermalogica Dermal Clay Cleanser

To me, beautiful skin is everything. I generally had perfect skin until I reached the age of seventeen. About twice a year I would have two months of forehead acne which consisted of lots of tiny little bumps under the skin. When I was younger La Roche Posay and Vichy products would resolve it however this year has been different. I don't know whether it was down to university stress or hormonal imbalance (coming off then going back on the pill) but nothing would get rid of my bumpy forhead. I had researched and researched, tried countless products including Manuka Doctor and Garnier but no luck. It was red and inflamed and becoming difficult to conceal, and as time went by I became extremely self conscious and genuinely didn't want to leave the flat! Then I came across Dermalogica, an absolute savior in my eyes. 

The first night of using it already made a difference. My forehead was already more refined. After two weeks my forehead was literally completely clear. Three months on, and it is still crystal clear. I recently went on holiday and wasn't able to take it with me and as soon as I stopped using it, the bumps came back. Luckily as it was only a week it didn't get too out of control so as soon as I got back on the clay cleanser it cleared up again. I have read many reviews of this product which say that the cleanser caused them to break out, but it didn't do that to me at all even on the rest of my face which has no blemishes. 

If you look hard enough online you can find the cleanser for about twenty pounds, which is obviously pricey. In my opinion I think it's an amount worth paying for such a fabulous product. I will certainly continue to purchase this cleanser which has done wonders for me. If you don't want to fork out that much initially you could just buy a travel sized bottle which is much cheaper, and see if it works. Because the consistency is quite runny it spreads easily so you don't need to use too much of it. 

2) Maybelline Super Stay 24 Bold Matte

I have found it extremely difficult to find a lip product that lasts all day, but this one truly does. I found that it outshines YSL lipsticks and MAC lipsticks for staying power. I can put it on in the morning and it's still on at night time even with eating and drinking. Because you only have to apply it once rather than having to reapply it time and time again like other lipsticks, it also lasts longer. I've had mine for four months now and I'm not even half way through. 

I would say about this product that you absolutely cannot apply it after having applied lip balm or any kind of lip product even if your lips are dry. If you do, the product doesn't sit properly and it falls off very easily in quite an unattractive manner. But as I said, that's only if there's some sort of barrier between the lips and and the product. That works the same for lip liner. Don't try it because it won't blend, and you'll have an obvious separation of the products. I would also say that after you let the colour dry you HAVE to put the balm on, otherwise the product is very sticky and won't stay on as it should. Basically, if you use the product as you should then you'll have beautiful results. 

I absolutely adore the bold range as the colours are so bright, and they keep intensity as time goes by. My lips are still as bright in the evening as they are in the morning. For £8.99 and often on offer, I just don't think you can go wrong. I have the product in three colours and use them all the time. I haven't tried the simple lipstick version of the product yet, so you'll have to let me know if that's any good or not.

See below in Fire Coral (it really doesn't capture how bright it is):

3) Marks & Spencer Limited Collection Bronzer

This product took me completely by surprise. I popped into M&S with my mum one day and I got this on a whim but it has now become one of my staples. This bronzer is great for me because it's matte with the tiniest bit of shimmer. I have normal to oily skin so when I use a product that has a lot of shimmer in it, it makes my skin look greasy. Another great thing about this product being matte is that you can use it for contouring. They have it in two colours, Light and Dark. Light is perfect for contouring and light bronzing, and dark is perfect for full fledged coverage. I only have it in light but I plan on getting it in dark for a deeper tan. What I really love about the bronzer is that it's not orange at all, and easy to blend. With a lot of bronzers I find that it doesn't look natural and when you use them to contour they give you a line that just doesn't match. This one has more of a golden tone than an orange tone I would say.

I have had it for a year now, and I've still not finished it. It's only £5.00 which is an absolute bargain considering how long it lasts and how well it works. I would highly reccomend!

If you'd like a bronzer that has more deepness and radiance to it, I would reccomend Bare Minerals All Over Face Colour, which i'll do a review of soon. 

I look forward to this Blog journey. 

Sibley x