"Conceal, Don't Feel..."

"Your face is glorious." - Rumi

What would we do without concealer? (amIright?) That magical product that whisks away those dark circles replacing them with creamy, glowing skin or that camouflages the glaringly red pimple scar so it disappears. Even guys use it at times! Sometimes foundation just doesn't cut it, so we rely on concealer which is a bit thicker and more durable than the cream, liquid, or powder we're using all over our face. I wanted to introduce you to a few concealer sticks I've tested lately, very different from my usual love of liquid and cream concealers. I can't say that I'm sold on this solid form, but here's what I've discovered regardless:

Left to right: CoverFX Perfect Pencil Concealer in N X-Light, Nudestix Creamy Concealer in Light 2, Bare Minerals Blemish Remedy Concealer in Light

Top to bottom: Bare Minerals Blemish Remedy Concealer in Light, CoverFX Perfect Pencil Concealer in N X-Light, Nudestix Creamy Concealer in Light 2

The beauty of stick concealers is that they're portable and solid - no melting creams or dripping liquids. They are also great for spot-treatment on those unsightly blemishes. When you don't feel like covering the entire face with foundation, you can place the pointed end directly on the discoloration, and voila, it disappears!

Bare Minerals created a stick formulation that contains blemish-diminishing products like "Aspen bark, tea tree oil and a special peptide complex" as well as "Kaolin clay minerals to help reduce shine and absorb excess oil", so their website states. The color I chose , "Light", is the fairest one available of the four options, and as you can see it's very warm-toned. It doesn't match my pale skin-tone at all and is very textured, stiff, and difficult to blend. After repeated use, I did notice that the redness in my blemishes was diminished and because the actual product is so dry and immovable, it is technically reducing "shine" and "excess oil". If you're looking to control acne-prone skin, I would recommend working on the skincare portion of the issue rather then just expecting makeup products to take care of it. Start at the root of the problem and cover with color later. Thumbs down for this one!

Now the CoverFX pencil is just that...a fine-tipped pencil! It's the size of a retractable eyeliner tip, and once again, I chose the lightest shade. This one was too light, so maybe the next shade up would've worked. The pencil is creamy and blendable and dries matte, but instead of a spot concealer, I've found it also works well as a nude tightener on the lower rim to brighten and widen the eyes.

Finally, there's the Nudestix pencil which is the size of fat crayon and must be sharpened to maintain a thinner point. This formula is uber creamy and happened to be the perfect shade! It doesn't have much durability throughout the day, settling into the skin in creased areas (nose edges, undereyes, etc), but for a quick fix, it's not bad. It's very compact and can be blended in larger areas, even used as a foundation in a pinch.

Can you suggest any other stick concealers that you've found beneficial to your makeup routine?