Two Budget Concealers …..Review

 

First of all, may I say that I realise that my idea of a  ‘budget‘  item may not, necessarily, be everyone’s opinion.  One person’s  ‘cheap product’  is often another’s  ‘luxury item’.

Also, my reviews of various products are  ALL MY OWN OPINION …..I have been neither asked nor paid to post a review …..and if ever I am, I will tell you …

But it will always be my personal and very honest assessment.

 

As I have said before, I generally believe that  ‘you get what you pay for‘ …but following on from my lovely ‘ budget find’ … the super ‘ Waitrose Face Oil’ ….I decided to let you know my thoughts on some concealer/illuminators.

I have very fair skin so, consequently, dark shadows really show up. Add to that my tendency to suffer from insomnia and, as you can imagine, I do have a bit of a problem with dark areas around my eyes.

I have long been a fan of the marvellous  TOUCHE ECLAT by YSL …. I do adore it. And I love the Clinique concealers, too.

However, I like to try new things and so I was tempted, a few months ago, to purchase the

 NO 7 INSTANT RADIANCE CONCEALER ………£13.50

This comes in a smart silver tube ….reminiscent of the gold Touche Eclat packaging.

It has the familiar ‘push-button‘ dispenser, which delivers a perfect measure of creamy, fairly thick liquid to the soft brush applicator.   And though it is called a  ‘concealer’  it has highlighting properties too.

There are eight different shades available and a kind assistant helped choose the one that she considered to be my correct shade, in my case Number 10.   I wasn’t totally convinced by this, however.  I felt that I possibly needed a slightly lighter shade …… though I’m not sure one was available.

I liked the creamy consistency and the ease of application.  My under-eye area felt hydrated and fine lines seemed to be diffused. However, although dark shadows were lightened and I certainly looked more awake,  the result didn’t last as long as I had hoped.  I found that I had to  ‘top-up’ throughout the day….which, I suppose is fair enough for a budget concealer.

All in all, I quite liked this product.  It did ….more or less….what it promised.

                                               *****

Now we turn to

AVON MAGIX MULTI-BENEFIT ILLUMINATOR………. £8.50

The friend of a neighbour recently became an  ‘Avon Lady’ and was eager to make a good start on her new career with a bumper order.  So, of course,  family and friends were all  roped in.

I must say that I haven’t really had much success with Avon make-up in the past.  I have found their eye products and face creams either irritate or, in the case of eye-shadows and such, don’t have enough pigment so lack staying-power.  But it has been years since I tried anything so I thought I would order one of their concealer/illuminators.

This is from their, apparently, very successful  MAGIX range and promised a wide number of benefits……….. I half expected it to do the ironing too !! …………

Well, it comes in a black tube, highlighted with silver and, at first, I was rather perplexed. Then I realised that you have to twist the bottom section to get the liquid to flow to the brush applicator.  This took some time and I twisted it for ages before it all sort of flooded out ….not a good start.  To be frank, I really dislike this method of delivery as its difficult to gauge how much to twist the darn thing each time I want to use it.  One minute the brush is dry and the next ….whoosh…. I have concealer all over my hands.

Now, I have noticed some very favourable comments about this product…..one of the reasons I bought it …….. but I guess they may very well be from younger users, because I found this illuminator VERY drying on my skin.  In fact, unless I smeared on  a huge amount, it seemed to be drying as I was applying it.  I also found it quite difficult to blend.  However, it certainly DID cover my dark circles and lasted for a reasonable time.

But, I am more concerned about my skin and so, as I have fine, aged and very delicate skin, I think the ‘ dry’  effect …….. it feels like I’m pulling at my skin when I apply it, which is not good around the eyes …….cancels out any concealing and illuminating benefits.

Sorry AVON, but its a big  “NO THANK YOU”  from me.

*****

So, in conclusion, I wouldn’t buy the AVON product again,  but I would buy the No7 item ………  However,  Touche Eclat is still my hero !