Sunday, March 22, 2015

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.

28 comments:

  1. Lovely post, thank you for comparing the shade against other concealers! I really wanted to give this concealer a go but even the lightest shade looks too orange/dark for me. Shame! Hope they expand the shade range.

    alice x | beautybyalicee | bloglovin'

    ReplyDelete
  2. Been there, done that many a time. Once at my high school formal, no less. The fact that concealer has to be spot on is so annoying but so so relieving when you do find 'the One'. I reckon you found your concealer 'One' in Nars Custard? I'm buying that for myself for my birthday.
    Might you have been able to go back the next day with the receipt and asked to swap shades?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I contemplated that but meh. Especially since 01 seems to be out of stock at quite a few places. I did experience quite major buyer's remorse after purchasing 02 and wished I'd gotten 01 instead, but really, neither are ideal.

      Delete
  3. Where did you get the Collection concealer from in Australia!
    I have heard so many good things about it but have no idea where to get it down here :(

    http://milkshakekingdom.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Christy, I bought mine from the UK when I was on holidays. As far as I'm aware they don't have any physical stockists in Australia but you might have better luck online!

      Delete
  4. If this was just for the under eye area, it would probably work...
    but as a "all face concealer" it's just wrong. It would be like trying to place erase past all over the face.
    Personally, I'm more into concealers like the Nars Radiant Creamy concealer. I recently ordered a really famous dupe of it - the 3CE full cover concealer - and I can't wait to test it.

    it's such a shame that the tone of this one isn't the right one...
    Take care*

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have this in light and use it solely for brightening, love! But I have a more pink undertone. Hopefully Clarins expanded their shade range on this concealer because it really is a beautiful product.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have been hunting this concealer in shade 01 since before christmas but they always seem to be out of stock :c I completely agree about the color selection though, I was so shocked when I found out there were only 3 shades - hardly universal.
    Sorry to hear that medium was the wrong color for you, the formula sounds so perfect. I wonder if shade 01 would work okay as an undereye concealer for my skin tone now...

    ChloĆ©⎪ status.chlo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think 01 would be fine if your main use is brightening under the eyes. I prefer concealers to fix up my skin - like a lazy day foundation - so 02 was my pick.

      Delete
  7. I love this concealer but agree, it's such a shame about the limited shade range!
    Maddy, xo // UNSTITCHEDD

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is a concealer I really want to try as it sounds like everything you want in a concealer! The shade range sounds like a deal breaker, though. I definitely have to check them out for myself.

    nueyork.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ugh, hate that. I know what you mean though, any product that's even remotely pink always looks TERRIBLE on me, which is a shame because I have so many foundations with the wrong undertone! So unfortunate because this really sounds like a lovely concealer!

    Tasha // shiwashiful.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is a bit random, but I've noticed lately that I am having the hardest time reading your posts. What I mean by that is that like, 90% of the text on the page will be gone except for product names and even then, they're cut up a bit. I've tried looking at your blog a variety of ways and nothing seems to work. I am on a PC, so that might be an issue? And as I'm typing this, the comment directly above the comment box keeps flickering in and out, although I can only see the name, date and time, not the actual comment itself. If you want screencaps, I can send them to you. Otherwise, well, I really enjoyed the photography!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sarah,

      That's so strange! I haven't changed anything in my layout or formatting, so I wonder why you're experiencing this problem and whether anyone else is too. What screen resolution and web browser are you using? Do you know approximately when you started having issues? It's pretty concerning but thanks for letting me know!

      Delete
    2. If all else fails, I'm not sure if reading my blog via Feedburner helps. I think they remove the formatting and just take the texts/pics in a standardised feed. http://feeds.feedburner.com/sleepandwater

      Delete
    3. I'm using chrome version 41.0.2272.101 m and my screen res is 1600x900. The weird thing is that I clicked the post comment link from the email notification which brought me directly to your page and I can see everything just fine, whereas I can't from my Bloglovin' feed. Maybe that has something to do with it?

      Delete
    4. Hmmm...possibly! Seems like Bloglovin' might be the culprit here. I usually don't read my blogs via BL but I logged in just then to check if everything works for me and it seems to be displaying fine on the computer I'm using. I'm a bit stumped why you're having issues...hopefully it's a temporary thing! Do you have the same problems viewing other blogs via Bloglovin'?

      Delete
    5. I don't. I've only noticed it with this one, and it's happened with at least the past few entries. I just tried checking your specific blog on BL both with and without adblock on, though, and now it's showing up just fine, so maybe it is a temporary thing. IT'S A MYSTERY. XD

      Delete
  11. Really want to try this! I've heard so many great things about it! x

    http://abeautyromancee.blogspot.co.uk/
    http://abeautyromancee.blogspot.co.uk/

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ahhh too bad the shade doesn't match :/ Shade match is very important for base products so I can understand your disappointment..
    Have you tried to mix it with other concealer? Maybe it could work?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've thought about that - might try mixing it with my Collection one or Rimmel. But kind of defeats the purpose really! Shame to pollute a really good formula, but I guess that's the only way to get around colour match issues.

      Delete
  13. Uuuu I need less yellow undertones for my face! :) And pretty happy about the fact that they're so light :)

    passingfancyy.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sounds interesting and I just love concealers and this sounds it would be great for me.

    Jackie | fashionxfairytale | bloglovin' |

    ReplyDelete
  15. I wanted to try out this concealer too, but I'm definitely yellow toned. Too bad the shade range is so bad! I feel like I have such a hard time finding a good concealer, and I don't have many either - but I can't seem to get the texture or colour match I want :\

    ReplyDelete
  16. I have the same issue with foundations and concealers, because I need an olive undertone. Anything pink or peach while great under the eyes makes me look sick if I apply it to my face. I hope to try this concealer, but I'm nervous about the shades.
    RachelShuchatMakeup

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ugh that is so frustrating! I cannot for the life of me get a perfect skin match with the NARS creamy concealer (have to mix vanilla and custard), I'm super lucky that 001 Instant unclear works for me when I'm as light as I am now coming out of winter.
    Great post with the comparison.

    Dar | www.holylipstick.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. I totally get what you mean! It's too bad the color really is off as it sounds like a decent concealer! I always go for yellow tones now, I realize from the past that even a beige/neutral tone doesn't look as natural on me throughout the day!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Ohh this does look lovely, but I need more shades. My little pale face can't handle any colour really!

    Annabel ♥
    Mascara & Maltesers

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...