- sylviajast
Review: theBalm’s Time Balm Concealer
If there was one skin care concern that I could magically ZAP away, never to be seen again, for me it would be dark under eye circles *sigh. I get them quite badly if I haven’t slept well or if I’ve had a series of headaches (unfortunately I get quite a few of them, quite often, as I suffer from migraines). So puffy, blue toned under eye circles is what I end up with.
The best way to hide them is to use an under eye ‘corrector’ (a more pigmented and heavy duty concealer) which works against the blue or purple tones of under eye circles. Correctors are usually thicker in texture and drier, so they are more difficult to work with. Because the under eye area is drier then the rest of your skin to begin with, I do prefer more hydrating and light concealers for the area. A pet peeve of mine is heavy, dry and caked on concealer (it’s just so unflattering and makes you look older if anything), so I’m really hesitant to try new concealers. My standard go to concealer is Dior Skin Perfecting Hydrating Concealer. It’s a great everyday concealer, but on days when I need extra help, it doesn’t always come to the rescue. I have the quite famous Laura Mercier Secret Concealer (in number 1) which I would define as a corrector. It’s very peach toned and thick, so if you apply to much it can go cakey if you are not careful. Most of the time I’m just not bothered with using it. I wanted to try something new and had heard really good things about theBalm’s version of an under eye corrector – Time Balm. So I finally ordered it!
When you unscrew the lid, there’s a little sponge on top of the concealer. I’m not sure if you are mean to throw this away, but I don’t mind it – maybe it stops the concealer from drying out to quickly? *shrugs* I bought the colour ‘light‘. I think light used to be their lightest shade, but now they also have an even lighter shade called lighter than light – I like that name lol
Below is a picture of theBlam’s Time Balm Concealer (on the left) and e Laura Mercier’s Secret Concealer (on the right). And some swatches for comparison.
The texture of theBalm’s concealer/corrector is lighter than Laura Mercier’s Secret Concealer. It’s still thick compared to other ‘hydrating’ concealers, but I find it easier to use. I also find the Laura Mercier Secret Concealer to be a tad to dark for me, so the peachy-ness seems to stand out more when I do wear it. Time Balm on the other hand is also slightly peachy but also has a good dose of yellow in it, which lightens up my dark circles and blends into my skin tone better. I find that with either, you have to make sure that your eye cream (and yes, you should always always use one morning and night! If you want to know more about eye creams and when to use them, check out my post here) has sunk in (and you have to use eye cream as otherwise the formula sticks to dry skin) and that you haven’t piled to much eye cream on, otherwise it is more likely to cake. So you do have to play around with the concealer a little and get your under eye cream ratio right.
How do I apply mine? I get a little product out of the pot and onto the back to my hand to warm it up. Then I use a brush to apply it to the under eye area and pat it in using my finger. I then set the concealer using Laura Mercier’s pressed translucent powder (I’ve had mine for ages!) which is great – super finely milled, and almost undetectable on the skin.
I wasn’t sure whether or not to show you a comparison before and after concealer (using Time Balm of course) because in the photos it’s not a drastic difference (and they also happen to be very unattractive photos lol) – but I can tell you, that before concealer my under eye circles are worse than what they appear in the ‘before’ photo. Depressing or what!
I do like this concealer a lot. I would say it reduces my under eye circles by 70% – that’s pretty good! And that’s without caking or settling into fine lines. I should add that I only apply concealer to the inner half of my eye – where the shadows actually are. I don’t take the concealer all the way to the outer corner as I don’t see the point of doing that. Do I like it more than the Laura Mercier concealer? Yes. Time Balm has a more natural tone (for my skin tone) while still correcting a lot of that purple/blue darkness under the eye. It’s easier to use because it’s lighter and a little really goes a long way. Oh – and its cheaper, yay! 😀
I bought mine from Adore Beauty (an Australian online beauty shop) for $26.95. It’s also where I purchased my Laure Mercier concealer from (here) and it’s on sale at the moment if you are interested in it (it’s usually somewhere around $40 Aus gold coins).
Oh and I almost forgot to mention, not only is shipping free Australia wide on Adore Beauty, if you sign up to their emails they actually do email you special member only offers. With my order (I also ordered Dermalogica’s Age Reversal Eye Complex eye cream) I was able to receive a free deluxe sample pack (or goodies bag as they call them 😉 )! Bonus! Here’s a peak at what that included 🙂 Isn’t the mini Essie nail polish the cutest thing ever?!
And a close up:
You always receive two regular samples with every order regardless if you are a member or not, and this time I received these two Aesop samples 🙂
Adore Beauty have the best customer service, so I am always happy to recommend them to friends 🙂
Remember to not sweat the small stuff beauty bees, even if they are dark circles sometimes 😉
Beauty bees – my giveaway ends tonight, so if you haven’t entered yet, do so quick sticks! Check out the competition details here and to see what you might win 😉
Do you have any tips or tricks for under eye circles? What are your favourite concealers?
Catch ya next time!
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