Hello there and a very warm welcome to the first in what I hope will be a regular series of Pick Or Purge - where I comb through a particular type of product in my makeup stash and decide what to keep and what to discard.
When I first started makeup, I had no idea what to do with concealers. I thought they were only to be used on blemishes, but each time I tried concealing a spot or two it just looked awful (still does). Then I discovered how they could be used on dark circles and... life was never the same again.
I've been trying out several concealers for a while now, all with the sole purpose of covering my dark circles. It's been a quest, almost. And like any quest, I've had ups and downs... and as a result I have a ridiculous stash of concealers.
My concealer criteria is (1) must be a good shade match, (2) must not be drying (my under eye area tends to run drier than the rest of my face), (3) must have minimal creasing and (4) must wear well through the day.
Pretty simple, right?
I'll be honest and say I haven't found my go-to concealer yet, but there are several that I really like.
My current collection of concealers includes:
- ELF Studio HD concealer in Medium
- LA Girl Pro Conceal HD concealer in Medium Beige
- LA Girl Pro Conceal HD concealer in Warm Honey
- Maybelline Fit Me concealer in Medium
- L'Oreal True Match Crayon concealer in W4-5
- L'Oreal True Match Crayon concealer in W6-7-8
- NYX Full Coverage Concealer in a Jar in Medium
- theBalm Time Balm concealer in Mid-Medium
- MAC Prolongwear concealer in NC35
- MAC Prolongwear concealer in NC42
- Bobbi Brown Corrector in Dark Peach
That's a lot of concealer for a gal, especially when I don't use some of them. So let's evaluate them individually and figure out whether to pick or purge!

ELF STUDIO HD CONCEALER (medium)
A liquid concealer with a thin-ish consistency, it's easy to spread, has medium coverage and is one of my go-to concealers. This was a surprising hit, I really like the texture and the coverage, and I've used it on a daily basis. My only gripe is that it doesn't really last long, which bums me out. In any case, my current tube is almost over, but I don't think I'll repurchase - I want something more!
Final verdict - Purge

LA GIRL PRO CONCEAL HD CONCEALER (medium beige and warm honey)
These are a thick liquid concealer, but they're easy to blend out. I really like these, the coverage is perfect for daily use. I dislike the fact that it creases, but I haven't found any product that doesn't crease on me, so I can't really fault it for that. Medium beige is my winter shade, and warm honey is my summer shade.

Final verdict - Pick

MAYBELLINE FIT ME CONCEALER (medium)
This is a really nice concealer. The shade I have is too light for me, so I've been using it as a highlight, but it takes a lot of elbow grease to make it work. It's got a little less coverage than I like, bu it works really well over a corrector which is something that's important to me.
Final verdict - Purge current tube, but pick in a different shade

L'OREAL TRUE MATCH CRAYON CONCEALER (W4-5 and W6-7-8)
It's a... solid?.. concealer. More like a really thick cream, I guess. It's definitely not on the creamy side, but it still manages to blend out. Again, it does crease, but I find it's easier to blend this out post-creasing than the others. It's also super handy to take with my when I travel. However, I'm not sure of the shades. W4-5 is too light for me, while W6-7-8 only works with my summer skintone. I'm not completely sure what I'm going to do with these.
Final verdict - Pick, but probably only for my purse. Or test out the other shades? Unsure.

NYX FULL COVERAGE CONCEALER IN A JAR (medium)
A very creamy, emollient concealer that buffs and blends out easily, has wonderful coverage and can even work without a corrector. It does crease pretty badly, though. But the coverage... and the ease of use... augh, I can't decide.
Final verdict - Undecided

THEBALM TIME BALM CONCEALER (mid-medium)
A very, very creamy concealer, almost on the slippery side. Not a fan. The shade is also too light for me, so I've been using it for highlighting, but the formula is just so greasy! Probably will work really well on drier skins, but it's a crease fest each time I use it.
Final verdict - Purge

MAC PROLONGWEAR CONCEALER (NC35 and NC42)
These are the concealers I use when I want something to really last on me. They have great coverage, but smell like paint? Still, they're fabulous, but I hate the pump (it always over-dispenses concealer). NC42 is a great shade for me. NC35 is a tad too light, but works really well as a highlighting concealer.
Final verdict - Pick

BOBBI BROWN CORRECTOR (dark peach)
This isn't technically a concealer, but I LOVE IT. Can I just say I will never, ever be without this, ever. I use it on its own to cancel out any dark circles on most days, or use it under a concealer to look bright as a bunny.. I'm almost hitting pan on mine and I'll have to get a backup soon! I know NYX makes an orange concealer, so I'll have to pit that against this at some point in the future.
Final verdict - Pick (hell yeah!)




At the end of this, I'm going to stay with:
- Bobbi Brown Corrector
- MAC Prolongwear concealer(s)
- LA Girl Pro Conceal HD concealer(s)
I'm still on the fence about the L'Oreal True Match crayon concealer and the NYX concealer in a jar, but the rest of them I will be discarding. That will bring my concealer to a more manageable amount!
Do you have a favorite concealer, or are you still on the search for 'the one'? Do you have any recommendations? Comment below and let me know!