Clean Out Your Beauty Cabinet! Part 1. Concealers & Correctors

A new year usually comes with some thoughts around hitting the refresh button and getting rid of clutter and junk (metaphorically or physically!). So I thought I could clean out my makeup, in order to know what I have first and foremost and get rid of the products collecting dust. Sounds simple enough huh? This is my dilemma. I don’t want to get rid of stuff just for the sake of it – that’s also wasteful. My goal isn’t to have a certain number of products for each makeup category or type. Using the products up is best because that’s least wasteful BUT because I love makeup, that’s also unlikely, because I do have a lot. I don’t want to hoard makeup or collect it (there’s only a handful of sentimental pieces that I would keep) so it’s a fine line. If I can find a new home for a product, I will, however if the product is quite old and I think it’s just not up to scratch, it’s got to go. I’m hoping I ca find a balance between the two lines of thought, though I suspect this will be a hard challenge for me! I feel up to it, so let’s give it a go 🙂 First up, I chose concealers and correctors. An easy challenge to begin with 😉

Makeup Up For Ever, Full Cover Extreme Camouflage Cream. This my all time favourite, HG concealer. I use it under the eyes, to conceal my under eye circles which can be anything from blue, to purple and sometimes red (I don’t take it all the way around the eye). It is full coverage, so it works brilliantly! I would be lost without Full Cover <3 It also works wonderfully to cover spots because it ‘sets’ but is quite a thin cream texture. I have the colours 4 (light neutral) and 6 (slightly darker than the 4, and a touch more yellow), which I mix together in the summertime. The shade range is huge, so I suggest checking them out in person if possible. If not, you can see swatches of all the colours if you do a Google 🙂 Status: Must keep!

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Ultimate 16h Wear Concealer (full review here). Lasting Perfection is like the younger cousin of MUF Full Cover. Also quite a thin liquid, that also ‘sets’ and so is very long lasting. It has some pretty decent coverage (medium) but not as good as Full Cover. Because my under eye circles bother me most days and I don’t want to look perpetually tired at work I gravitate to using the Full Cover when I wear makeup. The shade range is very limited as per most drug store concealer lines, but I do own the 3 available shades (check out the full review to see the swatches). Because these guys set and even out your skin tone, they work brilliantly as eyeshadow primers and this is how I plan to use these guys up! Status: Keep and repurpose.

YSL Touche Eclat. Ahhh, the famously loved or loathed concealer slash highlighter. I haven’t used mine in years perhaps. It is a sheer concealer that can act as a brightener and highlighter without the use of shimmer. I believe mine is in the shade 2.0 Luminous Ivory. I haven’t used mine in years just because my skin isn’t as good as it used to be (to use it as a sheer concealer) and when I wear makeup, I want it to kick more of a punch (even at work) but it is good for those ‘no makeup, makeup looks’ so I am determined to use it up and maybe fall in love with it again. One of the major pluses of this concealer/brightener is that it melts onto the skin and gels well with other makeup. Status: Keep and use 😉

DiorSkin Nude Skin Perfecting Hydrating Concealer. This concealer has been discontinued from Dior’s makeup line and boy was I upset when they made this announcement. I loved this medium, hydrating liquid concealer. It is perfect for brightening, covering spots or redness without exacerbating dryness or flaky skin. I’ve been using MUF Full Cover sparingly on any redness lately (using a damp sponge to apply) and this has been working great (no cakiness to be seen). I haven’t needed to use this concealer in a long time, despite living in my handbag cosmetic ‘pouch’. I need to get rid of this concealer I think, because it was bought easily 5 years ago. There’s no writing on the tube anymore, because it’s been used that much and has travelled a lot. I’m emotionally attached to this item because it used to be so important to my routine once upon a time, but ironically, by trying to save the last remnants of this guy, I found other concealers that do the job and it fell by the wayside. Moral of the story: don’t save makeup for ‘special occasions’ or because you are worried about using them up. In Marie Kondo’s line of thinking, they exist to do a job, make you happy and to give you confidence! If they aren’t able to do this anymore, thank them for their service and let them go. Status: Throw away with a smile 🙂

IT Concealer Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer (full review here). A high coverage cream concealer designed for under the eyes. This concealer is thick and tacky. If you apply just a little to much, it will go patchy and cake. It’s temperamental, however I used it for a time before I found MUF Full Cover. The two colours I own (light and neutral medium) have been used a lot (the writing on the black tubes has rubbed off as a result). There’s no incentive for me to use these concealers now that I own the MUF Full Cover concealers (the same old story, I know!). They are also a little old, so I will be getting rid of them. Status: Throw away.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer. This is a newbie for me and I haven’t had much time to play with it yet. This is the new revamped Healthy Mix formula and while I have heard mixed reviews, I will give it a fair go! The formula includes mother of pearl, which is where some of it’s brightening and reflective benefits come from. I can’t find what kind of coverage this concealer is meant to have, but it would definitely be in-between sheer to medium. If it’s not great for me, I will pass it on to my mum perhaps who likes sheer hydrating formulas. Status: Test it out and if not great, pass it onto someone else since it is new.

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles. I love that the packaging of this concealer has the word ‘new’ on it, when it’s been around for years haha! It’s still a relatively new product for me, but so far I really like it! I can see why it’s a drugstore favourite. Super hydrating and creamy, with decent medium coverage (both of these qualities are hard to find in a drugstore concealer). I use this concealer under the eyes on ‘days off’ when I still want some decent coverage to look polished (without crusty, dry skin, which around the eyes is so so ageing) or all around the eye where I haven’t used MUF Full Cover (which could be drying if to much is applied all around the eye – who needs that kind of full coverage all around the eye, except for Youtube ‘gurus’ lol!). It sits really well under Full Cover, which is very surprising and impressive. Status: Keep!

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer. My hope was that this concealer would be similar to Dior’s Perfecting Hydrating Concealer. So far, it looks promising! Again, this is a ‘newish’ product for me, which I still need to test out, but so well it sits well on foundations and is indeed hydrating and creamy. It has some decent coverage too (medium). Status: Keep.

Laura Mercier Secret Concealer. A peachy potted corrector (despite it being called a ‘concealer’) to be used underneath concealer. I’m really torn about this product. I haven’t used it in years but it is a ‘classic’. I can probably get away with using this corrector in summer, so I’m determined to try it out a few more times and hopefully use it up! Status: Keep.

Becca Under Eye Brightening Corrector. I loooove this corrector! Again, it’s to be used under concealers and it works so well because it is sort of translucent, whilst imparting a slight peachy correcting tone to skin under the eyes. The problem I have with a lot of correctors is that they are just to dark for my skin tone, so any concealer on top of the corrector looks darker and much darker than my foundations or natural skin. This corrector is also illuminating and helps skin look a little brighter around the eyes. It is also hydrating and works very well under MUF Full Cover. Full Cover wasn’t originally designed to be used under the eyes, but using a rich eye cream and this corrector underneath the concealer, creates protective hydrating barrier for the delicate under eye area. It stops concealers from looking ‘creepy’ 🙂 Status: Keep!

Becca Backlight Targeted Colour Corrector in Papaya (full review here). I can’t use this corrector, because the red is just to deep and bright. I had high hopes for it, because it should theoretically cancel out any blue and purple dark circles (which I have) but alas. It changes the colour of my concealer into a deep peach shade and I just end up looking ridiculous (as mentioned above). It won’t work for light to medium skin tones. Status: I need to try and sell this guy or get rid of it.

Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Under Eye Primer. A very old product I found deep in the depths of my makeup drawer. A primer for concealer that illuminates the skin slightly and hydrates. It does what it says, but from memory it didn’t work with every concealer out there. Status: Throw out.

Summary: I am getting rid of 4 products definitely (maybe 5 or 6 depending on how some go) out of 12 products. I’m pretty happy with that!

Did you find this post useful Beauties? Will you be doing a clear out like this to? I just hope I can keep this momentum going!

Catch ya next time Beauties!

Beauty Bee~

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