Instant Mismatch

I've never been particularly interested in concealers, yet somehow I've ended up with 6 of them. Recently, I had a 10% off Myer voucher and decided to use it and buy the Clarins Instant Concealer. It's normally $38 so I saved a whopping $3.80 (/sarcasm). With Pixiwoo, Sali Hughes and ViviannaDoesMakeup raving about it, and the fact it's a very generous 15ml (basically half of a standard foundation), I thought it would be a purchase I wouldn't regret. At the store, I tried a bit of Light (01) and Medium (02) and figured I'd get more use out of the darker shade. Light would be ideal to brighten under the eyes and maybe cancel out redness around the nose and corners of the mouth, but would be too pale for the rest of my face. Medium looked like the wrong undertone, but I convinced myself I could make it work.

Believe the hype ... this is an incredible concealer, but with one caveat. The shade range is tragically limited. Medium on my skin tone is just wrong, wrong, wrong. The darkness is about the same as my foundations, but the undertone is completely incorrect. I've complained before about pinky/peachy-toned foundations and powders, and Medium is the exact same story. I need YELLOW. I can't do these warm, browny-peachy colours. My face just looks off.

Here, I've applied a little bit of the concealer on my chin and around my mouth. You can instantly see the stark contrast in undertone between my face and my neck.

Top to bottom: Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 01, NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Custard, Clarins Instant Concealer in 02, Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer in Classic Beige, Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in Sand, L.A. Girl Pro Conceal High Definition Concealer in Creamy Beige

I was very interested to see how the Clarins compared with my other concealers. In the swatch, it looks most similar to Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 01, but that's only because the product weirdly oxidised on my hand. It's actually much lighter in person — without a doubt, the lightest concealer I own. The NARS and Maybelline are more yellow-toned and similar to each other. The Rimmel is lighter and more neutral/beige, L.A. Girl being a little more orange. I can immediately see why NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Custard is my clear favourite of the bunch, given it's the closest match to my complexion.

Clarins Instant Concealer feels weightless, has medium, buildable coverage (you only need a tiny amount each time), is kind on slightly dry skin and gives a blurred, airbrushed effect. The consistency is similar but slightly more liquid and blendable than NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. It's easy to work into the skin with either fingers or a brush like the Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush, and provides natural-looking coverage without being cakey. If I use it sparingly and really press the product into my skin in thin layers (like Karima taught me), I can kind of overlook the fact the colour doesn't match me. If Clarins released a more yellow-toned shade, I'd be inclined to put the Instant Concealer top of my concealer pile. But while we're working with reality, I can't love it as much as I want to.