MAKEUP | Mary Kay Perfecting Concealer Review with Swatches

I have to say, I was not expecting this as a summer release from Mary Kay! For the last two years, the collections have been brights and fun colours and this year was actually more on the neutral side with the release of the Natural Essentials Palette (review) as well as a product I was not entirely expecting to like - the Mary Kay Perfecting Concealer (6g/$17.50CDN), a now permanent addition to the Mary Kay makeup family. With a lightweight, long-lasting formula and light-diffusing properties, this concealer hides dark circles, blemishes and even reduces the appearance of fine line without any cakiness.

Available in six shades: Light Ivory*, Deep Ivory*, Light Beige*, Deep Beige*, Light Bronze* and Deep Bronze*, I feel like there should be a shade for every skin tone. I hovered somewhere in the middle and also enjoyed Deep Bronze for the occasional contouring.

The trusty doe foot applicator is still my favourite way to apply concealer though I will bring out my beauty blender for large areas on my face. I still prefer to use my fingers for my undereyes though.

I don't know what I was expecting when it came to the formula. My personal concealer preference is medium coverage as I want imperfections and such hidden, but not at the risk of having my skin look too "heavy". I also don't really like finishes that are bit tacky which is usually the case with a heavy coverage concealer. This concealer was actually delightfully smooth, buildable and could easily be blended with fingers into a seamless finish! As you can see from the swatches, the concealer is quite pigmented and can readily cover or brighten up whatever you need while drying in a few seconds to a smooth primer-like finish. This silicone finish is what blurs those fine lines and gives that oh-so-smooth texture.

Final verdict: For the price and performance, I would give a thumbs-up! I've paid a lot more than $17.50 for a tiny tube of concealer and because I prefer lighter coverage this more than does the job for me. My dark circles are covered and if I have any redness around my nose, that gets neutralized as well. I don't even need to set with powder since there is a primer built right into the concealer so all in all, I'm pretty happy with how this product turned out!

You can purchase the Mary Kay Perfecting Concealer at www.marykay.ca or through a Mary Kay consultant.