Tried and Tested: Highlighting concealers, eye creams and cream cleansers
This is a medium-coverage concealer that comes in four shades. ‘Radiant rose’ and ‘light boost’ are the most brightening. The liquid’s texture is silky, lightweight and easy to blend. The matte finish, as well as the lack of emollients in the formula, makes this one of the few highlighting products suited to oily skin. On the flip side, areas with fine lines will need to be prepped with moisturiser or primer for a smooth application.
*****
This is one of Kevyn Aucoin’s hero products, and seems overpriced until you learn it can also be used as a luminous foundation. The jar is small but you need such a tiny amount for full coverage that it lasts for months. The formula is hydrating and extremely highly-pigmented, making it perfect for those suffering from eczema or pigmentation issues. It reminds me very much of CoverFX Cream Concealer. Finding your exact colour match is key to creating a natural look.
*****
This is an excellent highlighter that imparts a subtle, natural radiance. Skinflash has a skin-coloured tint which gives it the appearance of a concealer, but it is not much in the camouflage department. It can tone down redness and undereye circles, for sure, but this is more about good lighting than coverage. The formula is sheer. Maximise the glow by choosing a shade on the fair side of your natural skin-tone.
****
This is a good concealer, but somewhat undermined by Rimmel’s claim that the formula adapts to your skin-tone. Of course it doesn’t, if you buy a dark shade for fair skin it won’t change colour. If you buy your colour-match however, you’ll be quite pleased. The formula is liquid but not so emollient that it slips during the day. It is dispensed neatly through a brush, which also helps with blending.
****
This lightweight treatment has a nude tint that acts as a colour corrector, but its strongest weapon in fighting dark undereye pigmentation is the broad-spectrum SPF30. The active sunscreens won’t irritate sensitive eyes and actually improve the efficacy of the reparative extracts in the formula. Beneficial skincare ingredients are undermined if the skin has to contend with UV rays. Those with very dry eyes will need to use their regular moisturiser underneath.
*****
This is very expensive for an eye cream and if you’ve already got the moisturiser from the Botanical Kinetics line and are happy, I suggest simply extending it to the eye area. It is otherwise one of my favourite Aveda products. The fragrance-free formula is packed with reparative ingredients and plant-based antioxidants. It best suits normal to dry skin. The texture is quite rich but still makes a great base for eye makeup.
*****
MAC has a very good, rather undersung skincare line. This eye cream is a comforting blend of emollients, antioxidants and anti-irritants. The formula is lightweight and non-greasy, so works well under make-up. It brightens the skin instantly with light-reflective pigments and over time with vitamin C. The pump-topped bottle dispenses the product neatly and protects the ingredients from destabilising light and oxidation.
*****
Trilogy’s super-rich eye cream boasts a long list of antioxidant fruit oils, vegetable fats, soothing plant extracts and other moisturisers. There is a tiny amount of fragrance in the mix, far too little to bother even very sensitive skin. This is an excellent dry skin-cream for anywhere on the face.
This has a similar texture to Pond’s Cold Cream and is a nice budget option for dry skin. It contains a potentially irritating amount of fragrance, so the sensitive should steer clear. However, it cleanses well and is easy to remove quickly.
****
Murad has created a luxurious cream cleanser here. Some of this product’s ingredients list makes me wish it were an antioxidant serum, as you wind up rinsing a lot of beneficial extracts away.
****
This is a very gentle water-based cleanser. The formula is loaded with lipids and soothing allantoin, so has a creamy texture.
*****
Trilogy’s cream cleanser is also rich in extracts that it seems a shame to wash away, including rosehip, carrot and evening primrose oil.
They are soothing for the few minutes that you cleanse. This is a minimally-fragranced wash that best suits normal to dry and sensitive skin. It is easily removed and leaves skin feeling soft and refreshed.
*****
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