I'm
sure many of you can relate to the frustration involved with the - what
seems to be never ending - project of finding the perfect under eye
concealer. I, for one, have been looking for a good match for aaaaages.
Now, I have a few major concerns when it comes to finding an under eye
concealer to cover/brighten my dark circles and they involve finding a product that
a) doesn't crease and settle in my fine lines like crazy,
b) doesn't look cakey and
c) would provide some amount of hydration.
The last one is sort of more of a bonus, since most concealers don't really double as skin care, effectively at least.
Now, the thing with me is I'm VERY expressive. When I smile - which I do a LOT - I don't just smile with my mouth, I smile with my whole face. This of course means that my eyes smile too, which often times leads to more pronounced fine lines. Now, when I apply under eye concealer to conceal my dark circles - and then smile a gazillion times a day - the concealer usually ends up going bananas, settling in my fine lines, making them look not-so-fine, and I mean that in all meanings of the phrase.
So obviously, when I found out about the new "crease control" concealer from Benefit, I just had to give it a go. Before I got the Fake Up, I was using the Erase Paste, also by Benefit, as my daily concealer (I also had some other ones I was using, I will list them at the end). I think I'll do a comparison review of those two later, and maybe for the other concealers as well. But now, onto the review of the Fake Up Hydrating Crease Control Concealer by Benefit. :)
First off, the packaging:
It comes in a cute little package like this:
The package is easy to open, but if you're one of those people who likes to keep their products in their original packaging even when you use them all the time, there will be some problems. I kept my Fake Up in it's package the first few days and when I kept opening and closing it, there really was no closing it, because it would just pop back open. I don't really see this as a problem though, since I usually get rid of the packaging straight away anyhow, I just wanted to hold on to it for a while now so that I could take some pictures of it for this review.
The packaging is the same for all colors, the only difference is of course the indication of color on the top of the flap so you know which color is in the package and also apparently the darkness of the decorative swirls on the package - the darker the concealer, the darker the swirls. I thought that was a pretty clever and subtle touch.
As for the actual container/tube, it is super cute!! It looks kind of like a lipstick package-wise, it's a shiny silver tube with pink swirly decorations. At first I was thinking it was kind of peculiar, but I actually really like the packaging because it doesn't take up a lot of space in your makeup bag, it's so easy to bring along in your purse for touch ups, or you can even put it in your pocket. Also, the tube is easy to open, you don't have to pull very hard at it, but it still stays closed in your makeup bag, so you don't have to worry about it opening on it's own leaving you with dried up product. So the packaging gets my stamp of approval with some bonus points for cuteness! :)
Size:
The concealer is 35 grams, or 0.12 ounces, which may not sound like a lot of product - and to be honest it doesn't look like a lot of product either when you twist it up all the way to the top - but I soon came to realize that it actually is quite a lot, because you really don't use that much at a time. I've been using my light one pretty much daily for a few weeks now, and it barely shows when compared to the untouched medium one.
The color options:
The Fake Up concealer comes in 3 different colors, light (01), medium (02) and deep (03). I have the light (01), which I am using now - as it's spring and I'm pale as no other after a long winter with lots of freezing weather and not much sunlight - and then I also have the medium (02), which I plan on using once the sun decides to grace us with it's presence and I get my tan on :)
Right now, the light (01) is great though, it's a perfect match for me.
I have yet to try the deep (03), so I can't show you any swatches of that. I think it would be too dark for me even when I'm tanned though, but I hear some girls use it for contouring (not sure if that really works for everyone though, especially not if you have oily skin). To give you a better idea of my skin tone, I have light skin with yellowy undertones, I am a rather typical pale Scandinavian in the winter time, but in the summer I tan very easily.
So below are some pictures of the swatches for the light (01) and the medium (02) so you can see the difference.
Coverage/opacity:
I would say this concealer provides a medium coverage. It was a lot more pigmented than I had expected, which was a pleasant surprise, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that it provides full coverage. It's absolutely great for everyday use and days when you want to go for a natural and fresh look, but for the days when you have really bad under eye darkness, you might want to reach fo a concealer with more coverage than this.
If you take a look at the swatches in the picture above, you will see that the concealer didn't quite cover my veins on the inside of my arm. Keep in mind though that I am very pale right now and my veins are shining through like crazy and I also blended it out very thinly.
You can easily add a bit more concealer so it is buildable in that sense and the best thing is that it doesn't cake when you do that. So if/when you touch up on your concealer throughout the day and you feel you need a bit more, with this baby right here, you can easily do that without looking like Cakenstein's bride afterwards. To me, that's a pretty awesome feature :)
Consistency, application and ease of use:
First off, let me tell you this concealer is so silky and creamy (but not in a greasy way), it is absolutely one of the most comfortable concealers to apply! As you can see in the picture here, the concealer consists of two parts, the pigmented centre and the balm-like outer ring. Now, the centre is where you get all the color and the outer ring is where you get the hydration and skin conditioning properties. The balm-like outer ring contains vitamin E and apple seed extract, which help nourish your skin.
I, for one, am all for makeup products that have an extra kick of skin care properties, so I really like this idea. At first I though it was a bit strange that the smaller part of the concealer is the pigmented part, whereas the balm takes up the bigger part. I figured maybe this would mean that it wasn't pigmented enough, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised, the pigmentation is enough - at least for me and for getting a natural kind of look. If you're suffering from really, really dark under eye circles though, this might not be enough for you.
It's instructed that you can just swipe the concealer on your under eye region straight from the container, but I actually prefer putting some on my finger (rubbing my finger on the product), which also warms it up a little and makes application even smoother - and then applying it to my under eye region. Just make sure your hands are clean before you touch the product so that there is no contamination. It glides on SO smoothly and there is no tugging at the delicate skin, which is a big pro. I then pat the product into my skin and finish off with a setting powder. I have tried not setting it with a powder as well, but I feel like it lasts longer and stays in place so much better when you set it.
When you apply it, it feels really nice and smooth and it doesn't feel oily. It does leave a sort of glowy finish though, not super shiny, but definitely not matte either. I don't really mind this, since it sort of works to reflect light as well, hence brightening your under eye region further. Besides, you can always just mattify it a bit using setting powder.
The result when using the Fake Up is very natural, it doesn't look cakey (as long as you don't pile it on like crazy or put too much powder over it).
I really like the finished look, it's perfect for everyday use.
Hydration:
According to the information provided by Benefit, the Fake Up is proven to keep skin hydrated for 6 hours. Now, I'm not sure if it really does that for 6 hours, but it does keep the skin hydrated for a long time, and it feels really confortable on your skin. The fact that it is creamy did stir up some concerns that it might sort of glide around on the skin, but I feel like when I set it with a powder, that wasn't really a big issue, at least for me.
I really do love the hydration it provides, I feel like anything that helps us take care of the delicate under eye skin is worth a try. You can really feel (and see) the difference between using an under eye concealer that really does provide hydration vs using one that just looks and feels dry and cakey. I really like the thought of makeup that helps care for you skin, as opposed to stuff you put on that just sits on your skin, doing nothing but clogging pores and working as a kind of mask. I would rather have something that does the job of helping me look a bit more awake while simultaneously taking care of my skin, so something that is more of a long term beauty enhancer rather than just a quick fix.
Staying power and creasing:
So now then, the creasing.. this is supposed to be a crease control concealer. Sorry to disappoint you ladies (or gentlemen) who thought this would be a magical miracle product that doesn't crease at all, it's not. It did end up settling in my fine lines, HOWEVER, and this is a big however, it was SO easy to deal with this.
Usually, when my under eye concealer settles in my fine lines and I try to fix it throughout the day when I touch up my makeup, it ends up looking so much worse. Either I try to blend it in better and it just rubs around and makes my under eye region look patchy, or I try to apply a bit more product to even it out and it ends up looking ridiculously cakey - neither of which are good looks to be sporting. So when I looked in the mirror a few hours after having applied the Fake Up and saw that it had settled in my fine lines, I was thinking "here we go again, another under eye concealer disappointment", BUT when I went to try to fix it, I was so pleasantly surprised! At first I just sort of automatically swiped my finger across the under eye area and when I looked in the mirror to starts fixing it, the problem was almost gone already! I just needed to gently swipe across the area I had put concealer on and tap it in place again and that was it. No tugging or pulling at the skin, no "Cakeville - population one"-situation either. Sometimes I would add a tiny bit more product when smoothing it out, sometimes I would just gently massage the already existing product back in place. Very simple and very easy. So even though there was some settling, I felt it was so easy to fix that it didn't really put me off the product.
Price:
The product costs $24.00 + shipping charges on Benefit's US website and £18.50 + shipping charges on Benefit UK (but I believe they don't ship outside the UK). Another site that sells Fake Up is www.feelunique.com, where the price is also £18.50 and the best thing is that shipping is free! This is really awesome if you live somewhere where you're forced to order the stuff you want online just because none of the beauty stores in your area carry the items you're looking for. Often times, shipping costs can be so steep that it makes you reconsider ordering something you really like. So when the shipping is free, it kind of makes you want to do a little happy dance :)
I have bought other products from feelunique.com before as well and I have been very satisfied with their service and shipping, the products have always arrived in less than a week or so and they have always been carefully wrapped and in great condition. I personally bought my Fake Ups from a seller on eBay (US seller) though, because Feelunique didn't carry the Fake Up yet when I bought it, and I didn't want to wait for them to get it, I just couldn't wait :)
Conclusion:
All in all, I must say I was pretty darn impressed by this product. Does it have the absolute best staying powder? No.
Does it crease/settle in fine lines a little? Yes, but honestly you guys, what concealer doesn't (none of the ones I've tried at least) and in this case, it was a problem that was rather minor and also SO easily fixed.
It gives you a very natural and fresh look, it feels fantastic and it has skin care properties in addition to being make up.
Would I recommend this product and would I repurchase it? YES and YES! As soon as I start running out of the ones I have now, I'm ordering more. I'm so happy to have found this concealer and I hope you guys like it as much as I did.
Just to give you some idea my under eye concealer experimenting, the last few concealers I've been using - in the past year or so - have been (in no particular order):
Erase Paste by Benefit
Bye Bye Under Eye by IT Cosmetics
All About Eyes Concealer by Clinique
Nude Magique BB Concealer by L'oreal
True Match Touche Magique Anti-Fatigue and Illuminating Concealer - Smoothing Effect by L'oreal
Lumi Magique Highlighting Pen by L'oreal
Touche Eclat Radiant Touch by Yves Saint Laurent.
Let me know if you would like reviews or comparisons of any of these.
That's all for this time, if you have any additional questions regarding this product or comments or requests for reviews on other products, please post them in the comment bar below. :)
I hope you guys have a great day and remember to smile, laugh, love and stay positive. I hope you all have a great day! :)
xoxo,
Tanja
a) doesn't crease and settle in my fine lines like crazy,
b) doesn't look cakey and
c) would provide some amount of hydration.
The last one is sort of more of a bonus, since most concealers don't really double as skin care, effectively at least.
Now, the thing with me is I'm VERY expressive. When I smile - which I do a LOT - I don't just smile with my mouth, I smile with my whole face. This of course means that my eyes smile too, which often times leads to more pronounced fine lines. Now, when I apply under eye concealer to conceal my dark circles - and then smile a gazillion times a day - the concealer usually ends up going bananas, settling in my fine lines, making them look not-so-fine, and I mean that in all meanings of the phrase.
So obviously, when I found out about the new "crease control" concealer from Benefit, I just had to give it a go. Before I got the Fake Up, I was using the Erase Paste, also by Benefit, as my daily concealer (I also had some other ones I was using, I will list them at the end). I think I'll do a comparison review of those two later, and maybe for the other concealers as well. But now, onto the review of the Fake Up Hydrating Crease Control Concealer by Benefit. :)
First off, the packaging:
It comes in a cute little package like this:
 |
| So this is the box it came in, pretty cute, huh? |
The package is easy to open, but if you're one of those people who likes to keep their products in their original packaging even when you use them all the time, there will be some problems. I kept my Fake Up in it's package the first few days and when I kept opening and closing it, there really was no closing it, because it would just pop back open. I don't really see this as a problem though, since I usually get rid of the packaging straight away anyhow, I just wanted to hold on to it for a while now so that I could take some pictures of it for this review.
 |
| As you can see here, the flap thingy doesn't really want to stay closed. |
The packaging is the same for all colors, the only difference is of course the indication of color on the top of the flap so you know which color is in the package and also apparently the darkness of the decorative swirls on the package - the darker the concealer, the darker the swirls. I thought that was a pretty clever and subtle touch.
 |
| Here are the packages for both the light and the medium. I accidentally switched their places when repositioning them, so in the picture to the left the medium in on the left and the light in on the right, whereas in the picture to the left you can see it's the other way around. |
As for the actual container/tube, it is super cute!! It looks kind of like a lipstick package-wise, it's a shiny silver tube with pink swirly decorations. At first I was thinking it was kind of peculiar, but I actually really like the packaging because it doesn't take up a lot of space in your makeup bag, it's so easy to bring along in your purse for touch ups, or you can even put it in your pocket. Also, the tube is easy to open, you don't have to pull very hard at it, but it still stays closed in your makeup bag, so you don't have to worry about it opening on it's own leaving you with dried up product. So the packaging gets my stamp of approval with some bonus points for cuteness! :)
 |
| Isn't this just adorable! :) |
Size:
The concealer is 35 grams, or 0.12 ounces, which may not sound like a lot of product - and to be honest it doesn't look like a lot of product either when you twist it up all the way to the top - but I soon came to realize that it actually is quite a lot, because you really don't use that much at a time. I've been using my light one pretty much daily for a few weeks now, and it barely shows when compared to the untouched medium one.
 |
| That's the medium one that I have twisted all the way to the top. I hadn't used it at all when I took this picture, not even for the swatch yet, so that is truly how much product you get. |
The color options:
The Fake Up concealer comes in 3 different colors, light (01), medium (02) and deep (03). I have the light (01), which I am using now - as it's spring and I'm pale as no other after a long winter with lots of freezing weather and not much sunlight - and then I also have the medium (02), which I plan on using once the sun decides to grace us with it's presence and I get my tan on :)
Right now, the light (01) is great though, it's a perfect match for me.
 |
| Here is a swatch of the light one, this is before blending and I put on quite a thick layer so that it would show in the photo. |
I have yet to try the deep (03), so I can't show you any swatches of that. I think it would be too dark for me even when I'm tanned though, but I hear some girls use it for contouring (not sure if that really works for everyone though, especially not if you have oily skin). To give you a better idea of my skin tone, I have light skin with yellowy undertones, I am a rather typical pale Scandinavian in the winter time, but in the summer I tan very easily.
So below are some pictures of the swatches for the light (01) and the medium (02) so you can see the difference.
 |
| Above is the light, below is the medium. In the picture to the left I have just applied the concealer without blending it at all and in the picture to the right I have blended it in. As you can see, the medium is still a bit too dark fo me, but I think once summer rolls around, it'll be great. As is is now, the light is a perfect match. |
Coverage/opacity:
I would say this concealer provides a medium coverage. It was a lot more pigmented than I had expected, which was a pleasant surprise, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that it provides full coverage. It's absolutely great for everyday use and days when you want to go for a natural and fresh look, but for the days when you have really bad under eye darkness, you might want to reach fo a concealer with more coverage than this.
If you take a look at the swatches in the picture above, you will see that the concealer didn't quite cover my veins on the inside of my arm. Keep in mind though that I am very pale right now and my veins are shining through like crazy and I also blended it out very thinly.
You can easily add a bit more concealer so it is buildable in that sense and the best thing is that it doesn't cake when you do that. So if/when you touch up on your concealer throughout the day and you feel you need a bit more, with this baby right here, you can easily do that without looking like Cakenstein's bride afterwards. To me, that's a pretty awesome feature :)
Consistency, application and ease of use:
First off, let me tell you this concealer is so silky and creamy (but not in a greasy way), it is absolutely one of the most comfortable concealers to apply! As you can see in the picture here, the concealer consists of two parts, the pigmented centre and the balm-like outer ring. Now, the centre is where you get all the color and the outer ring is where you get the hydration and skin conditioning properties. The balm-like outer ring contains vitamin E and apple seed extract, which help nourish your skin.
I, for one, am all for makeup products that have an extra kick of skin care properties, so I really like this idea. At first I though it was a bit strange that the smaller part of the concealer is the pigmented part, whereas the balm takes up the bigger part. I figured maybe this would mean that it wasn't pigmented enough, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised, the pigmentation is enough - at least for me and for getting a natural kind of look. If you're suffering from really, really dark under eye circles though, this might not be enough for you.
 |
| This is the Fake Up concealer in the color light (01). As you can see, the pigmented concealer part is located in the middle, while the outer ring is the hydrating balm. |
It's instructed that you can just swipe the concealer on your under eye region straight from the container, but I actually prefer putting some on my finger (rubbing my finger on the product), which also warms it up a little and makes application even smoother - and then applying it to my under eye region. Just make sure your hands are clean before you touch the product so that there is no contamination. It glides on SO smoothly and there is no tugging at the delicate skin, which is a big pro. I then pat the product into my skin and finish off with a setting powder. I have tried not setting it with a powder as well, but I feel like it lasts longer and stays in place so much better when you set it.
When you apply it, it feels really nice and smooth and it doesn't feel oily. It does leave a sort of glowy finish though, not super shiny, but definitely not matte either. I don't really mind this, since it sort of works to reflect light as well, hence brightening your under eye region further. Besides, you can always just mattify it a bit using setting powder.
The result when using the Fake Up is very natural, it doesn't look cakey (as long as you don't pile it on like crazy or put too much powder over it).
I really like the finished look, it's perfect for everyday use.
Hydration:
According to the information provided by Benefit, the Fake Up is proven to keep skin hydrated for 6 hours. Now, I'm not sure if it really does that for 6 hours, but it does keep the skin hydrated for a long time, and it feels really confortable on your skin. The fact that it is creamy did stir up some concerns that it might sort of glide around on the skin, but I feel like when I set it with a powder, that wasn't really a big issue, at least for me.
I really do love the hydration it provides, I feel like anything that helps us take care of the delicate under eye skin is worth a try. You can really feel (and see) the difference between using an under eye concealer that really does provide hydration vs using one that just looks and feels dry and cakey. I really like the thought of makeup that helps care for you skin, as opposed to stuff you put on that just sits on your skin, doing nothing but clogging pores and working as a kind of mask. I would rather have something that does the job of helping me look a bit more awake while simultaneously taking care of my skin, so something that is more of a long term beauty enhancer rather than just a quick fix.
Staying power and creasing:
So now then, the creasing.. this is supposed to be a crease control concealer. Sorry to disappoint you ladies (or gentlemen) who thought this would be a magical miracle product that doesn't crease at all, it's not. It did end up settling in my fine lines, HOWEVER, and this is a big however, it was SO easy to deal with this.
Usually, when my under eye concealer settles in my fine lines and I try to fix it throughout the day when I touch up my makeup, it ends up looking so much worse. Either I try to blend it in better and it just rubs around and makes my under eye region look patchy, or I try to apply a bit more product to even it out and it ends up looking ridiculously cakey - neither of which are good looks to be sporting. So when I looked in the mirror a few hours after having applied the Fake Up and saw that it had settled in my fine lines, I was thinking "here we go again, another under eye concealer disappointment", BUT when I went to try to fix it, I was so pleasantly surprised! At first I just sort of automatically swiped my finger across the under eye area and when I looked in the mirror to starts fixing it, the problem was almost gone already! I just needed to gently swipe across the area I had put concealer on and tap it in place again and that was it. No tugging or pulling at the skin, no "Cakeville - population one"-situation either. Sometimes I would add a tiny bit more product when smoothing it out, sometimes I would just gently massage the already existing product back in place. Very simple and very easy. So even though there was some settling, I felt it was so easy to fix that it didn't really put me off the product.
Price:
The product costs $24.00 + shipping charges on Benefit's US website and £18.50 + shipping charges on Benefit UK (but I believe they don't ship outside the UK). Another site that sells Fake Up is www.feelunique.com, where the price is also £18.50 and the best thing is that shipping is free! This is really awesome if you live somewhere where you're forced to order the stuff you want online just because none of the beauty stores in your area carry the items you're looking for. Often times, shipping costs can be so steep that it makes you reconsider ordering something you really like. So when the shipping is free, it kind of makes you want to do a little happy dance :)
I have bought other products from feelunique.com before as well and I have been very satisfied with their service and shipping, the products have always arrived in less than a week or so and they have always been carefully wrapped and in great condition. I personally bought my Fake Ups from a seller on eBay (US seller) though, because Feelunique didn't carry the Fake Up yet when I bought it, and I didn't want to wait for them to get it, I just couldn't wait :)
 |
| So there you go, Fake Up Concealer by Benefit, one of my absolute favorite concealers :) |
Conclusion:
All in all, I must say I was pretty darn impressed by this product. Does it have the absolute best staying powder? No.
Does it crease/settle in fine lines a little? Yes, but honestly you guys, what concealer doesn't (none of the ones I've tried at least) and in this case, it was a problem that was rather minor and also SO easily fixed.
It gives you a very natural and fresh look, it feels fantastic and it has skin care properties in addition to being make up.
Would I recommend this product and would I repurchase it? YES and YES! As soon as I start running out of the ones I have now, I'm ordering more. I'm so happy to have found this concealer and I hope you guys like it as much as I did.
Just to give you some idea my under eye concealer experimenting, the last few concealers I've been using - in the past year or so - have been (in no particular order):
Erase Paste by Benefit
Bye Bye Under Eye by IT Cosmetics
All About Eyes Concealer by Clinique
Nude Magique BB Concealer by L'oreal
True Match Touche Magique Anti-Fatigue and Illuminating Concealer - Smoothing Effect by L'oreal
Lumi Magique Highlighting Pen by L'oreal
Touche Eclat Radiant Touch by Yves Saint Laurent.
Let me know if you would like reviews or comparisons of any of these.
 |
| Here are some of the concealers I've been using recently, from left to right: Bye Bye Under Eye by IT Cosmetics (sorry for the roughed up tube, I've had it in my makeup bag), Fake Up by Benefit, All About Eyes Concealer by Clinique, Nude Magique BB Concealer by L'oreal, Erase Paste by Benefit and on the top True Match Magique Anti-Fatigue and Illuminating Concealer by L'oreal. |
That's all for this time, if you have any additional questions regarding this product or comments or requests for reviews on other products, please post them in the comment bar below. :)
I hope you guys have a great day and remember to smile, laugh, love and stay positive. I hope you all have a great day! :)
xoxo,
Tanja
Good review, will take on board I have been looking for a concealer like that for ages, one that does not settle into lines, I have erase paste at the moment that tends to settle in the under eye area. But I find good for the rest of the face.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Hi, thanks for your comment! I'm glad I could be of help. If you're still on the lookout for the perfect non-settling concealer, I have another review coming up soon on my absolute favorite concealer at the moment so stay posted for that :)
Deletexoxo,
Tanja