Best Concealers for Dark Spots (Acne Coverage)

Acne scarring or hyper pigmentation are one of the many devastating souvenirs that can ever be left on one’s face. I suffer from a lot of hyper pigmentation on my cheeks which you may not see because I have makeup on many of my pictures. There are a few pictures (and videos) I have without any makeup and you can see some of these annoying blemishes. These blemishes can last for as short as weeks and as long as years (many years sometimes). I am currently using some amazing skincare products that have completely changed my skin and I would be sharing them on here when I am satisfied with my results. I already have a post planned on a detailed step by step tutorial/pictorial on all the products I use from skincare to makeup for a flawless beat. In the meantime, I wanted to share some kick-ass concealers that are perfect for concealing acne scarring or dark spots. These concealers would hide even the darkest of spots and they last all day. The good thing is none of them have broken me out and I think that’s really good especially for people who have acne-prone skin.

 L.A. Girl Pro Concealer// Link // from $2.99 (or £5 in the UK) // Review

This has to be one of my favourite concealers and I have used it on a few occasions like a foundation. It is that good at providing amazing high coverage. I have several colours both for concealing, highlighting, contouring and colour correcting. However, my favourite shade is Fawn (a concealer) which is an absolute match for my complexion. It has a brush tip applicator which may not be everyone’s cup of tea but I have personally grown to love it. It has a thick consistency which is why I never use it as an under eye concealer as I find it really heavy and prone to crease. When I use it on other parts of my face particularly my cheeks, it stays put, blends easily and lasts all day. There is a wide range of shades to choose from and it is super affordable. To say, I am in love with it would be a massive understatement.

MAC Studio Finish Concealer// Link //£15.50 //Review

This has been my Holy Grail for a super long time because it was one of the first concealers I tried. I have repurchased it countless times and it never lets me down. It comes in a little pot/tub complete with a lid and it is very easy to use. I always use my tiny concealer brush to apply this directly to my blemishes and it blends out like a dream. It provides full coverage that lasts all day. The icing on the cake is that it has SPF 35 so you can be rest assured that at least your spots/blemishes are protected (especially if you are not wearing foundation). It does have the tendency to get a little dry sometimes so if you have dry skin, you may want something creamier. I think the other MAC concealers are equally good but I have not tried them yet. I think it is a fantastic product and I would always repurchase it.

Estee Lauder Stay In Place High Coverage Concealer // Link //£22 //Review

The name of this concealer says it all and believe me, it does exactly what it says. It stays in place once it is on the face and it lasts all day without fading until it is time to take it off. It provides a beautiful full coverage that would completely mask any unsightly dark sports. The best part is it comes in a super cute packaging complete with a mirror (and an accompanying high price tag). It would set you back by £22 but it is so worth it. As you can see from the picture, I am on my last legs of this concealer but I cannot bear to throw it away. The only downside is that there are limited shades in this range. The shade 5N Deep is not a perfect match for me; it is slightly darker but it still works out for me.

Becca Dual Coverage Concealer// Link// £9.99 //Review 

This is another of my absolute favourite concealers which has been repurchased at least twice. First off, it lasts for a super long time because you need the littlest amount for each area. I prefer to use this before my foundation as I know I can blend everything out easily. I love that it has two sides- one with medium coverage and one with higher coverage. It means you can customise what coverage you are after and use it for different parts of your face. These days I use it to neaten up my eye brows and I have not even made a significant dent. There was a time it was my only concealer for everything and it lasted really well. Once it is on your face and you set it, it won't move anywhere and it lasts all day. I love everything about it down to the packaging. I always buy mine when it goes on sales because I love to make a saving. This is actually my third pan and that's how obsessed I am.



NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer// Link // £22.50 //Review
I am sure everyone has tried this NARS concealer or at least heard about it. I know many people love to use it as an under eye concealer but I prefer to use it as a blemish or dark spot concealer. It's not my first choice for very dark spots but if you have dry skin and not-very-dark spots, you would love it. It has a doe foot applicator which makes it perfect for pin point concealing. I have two shades- Amande which is perfect for naught dark spots and Caramel which is a better match for my skin tone. They both work really well depending on how my skin is feeling. I don't think they are as long lasting as my thicker pasty concealers but I love to use them on good skin days. I love to use this after I have put my powder on because it lasts longer that way but I know many people may not agree with this method (It really works though). 

NYX Conceal, Correct and Contour Kit// Link //£10
This is one of my recent purchases and I am super obsessed with it. I popped into Selfridges last month and was super delighted that they had my shade Dark in there. It looks like a dupe for the MAC Concealer and Corrector Palette and although I have not tried that one, I am sure they work in a similar way. There are 6 products in this palette including an orange corrector (this shade is perfect for my complexion), concealers and a contour. I absolutely love it and it is perfect for travelling because it has everything I would ever need. The concealers are creamy (slightly thick) but they do blend out well. The lasting power is really impressive for a £10 palette and I cannot recommend it enough. It covers my dark spots really well and can be used before or after foundation but I prefer to use it before my foundation. The only down side is that there are only a few shades but I am glad there is one for darker skin. If you are NC42 and above, I think you would love this palette and shade.

Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage// Link // £27.50
Say Hello to one of the best dark spot concealers  I have ever tried- The Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer. I have heard so many good things about this concealer over the past few years. I could not resist any longer when the lovely Laura Mercier MUA tested it out on me a few weeks ago. It worked so amazingly well that I did not even hesitate to bring it home with me. It is expensive but it is so worth it and I do have a full review planned. Laura Mercier products are just amazing and I am yet to try any that I hate. As the name suggests, it completely camouflages any dark spots in the most discrete way. Seriously, you would never guess I have it on even if you came close to my face because it also blurs out pores. I use it mainly for pin point concealing and after my foundation and it has made my makeup routine so much shorter. I cannot sing its praises enough and I know it would last me forever. The texture is a cross between pasty and creamy but I absolutely love it that way. If you have very dry skin, it is essential to moisturise your skin well. The good thing is there is a good selection of shades available and mine is SC 7. The downside is it is slightly expensive and would set you back by £27 but believe me, it would last forever!!




Overall Thoughts
That's pretty much my little round up of my favourite concealers for hiding dark spots. They all work so well and I use them interchangeably depending on my mood and how my face is feeling. If you have any dark spots and you have tried many concealers which do not last long or work well, do check them out. The two budget options- LA Girl and NYX are incredible despite being affordable while the high end ones have amazing quality and packaging. Whichever you choose, they would still work well. That's pretty much it.
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Concealer Collection and Uses

A few years ago I never bothered with concealers because I felt my foundation was enough for everything. You can imagine that sometimes my face looked very cakey. I just thought concealers were too much of a hassle and another unneeded extra step. How wrong was I? I finally got into concealers after a while and I absolutely love using them now. I have quite a collection of concealers and I am forever on the haunt for the best concealer out there. Concealers are mainly used for various purposes including hiding blemishes, highlighting areas of the face, evening out the skin tone, hiding dark circles under the eyes, etc. I mainly use concealers to hide my dark blemishes left behind by acne (very annoying) and I use them for highlighting and concealing my under eye circles. I was a little confused as to how to categorise these concealers but I think the best way will be based on their texture and how I use them.

                                                           Liquid Concealers

I think these kind of concealers have my favourite packaging complete with a doe foot applicator. Liquid concealers are generally easier to use as you can apply them on the spot you need. I really enjoy using them and I find that you can sometimes build the coverage as you please. Of course, they all have different textures ranging from really light to creamy consistencies. I use them for a variety of purposes including:

Highlighting: I am going to be honest; I am not a highlighting pro at all. I try my best but I know I may never have the prowess of Kim’s makeup artists. However, I try to highlight the bridge of my nose and cupid’s bone. One concealer I reach for (although not my favourite) is the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer//Link (review here). I think it’s a good budget concealer but it is very difficult to find a shade that suits me despite it being called Fit Me. The shade I currently use is 35 and it is mainly reserved for highlighting the bridge of my nose. I find that it leans towards the beigey side of things which I don’t like because I end up looking ashy. However, I think it does a decent job.

Under Eye/Dark Circles Concealing: I never used to bother with concealing under my eyes until I started sleeping late and the dark circles became visible. Of course, this took a toll on my eyes and I noticed that under my eyes were looking a little dodgy. One of my favourite (also repurchased a lot) concealer is the Revlon Color Stay Concealer//Link (review here). I cannot even articulate the love I have for this concealer. It is perfect for under my eyes because it has the right texture and coverage and it looks very natural. I also use it to clean out any fall outs from naughty eyeshadows. I particularly rate it because it does not sink into my fine lines or crease at all especially when I set it with a powder.

Blemish Concealing: My all time favourite liquid concealer for blemish busting is the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer//Link  (review here). I love how versatile this concealer is because it can be used to hide blemishes, conceal dark under eye circles and highlight depending on what shade you buy. It’s an absolute all rounder although it is ridiculously expensive. I use mine mainly for concealing blemishes and it does an amazing job. The texture is creamy so it is super easy to apply and the lasting power is impressive. I ensure I let it set a little bit before going over with a powder. Another all rounder concealer is the L.A. Girl Pro HD Concealer (review here) which is super affordable. I love these concealers because they can be used in many ways; just like the NARS radiant concealers. You can actually buy a dark shade and contour away. The only downside is the applicator which has a strange tip (like a paint brush) and I am not a fan at all. I find that the product sometimes gets stuck and when I force it, it just pumps out very unexpectedly. If you have any tips to remedy this please let me know as it is super frustrating. The L'Oreal True Match Concealer //Link is one of my all time favourites but it's also very hard to find my exact shade match in-store here in the UK and I often have to resort to buying it from Ebay. It gives a nice coverage and blurrs out blemishes really well. I really like it because it has an impressive longevity.

                                                        Creamy Concealers

I love creamy concealers because they seem to offer more coverage. I also think they last much longer than liquid concealers. Many creamy concealers set really well and some even set to a powder finish. I really don’t mind either ways because I always set my concealer with a powder. I read somewhere that creamy concealers may not be the best for combination oily skin because some of them may end up clogging the pores. It sounds correct in theory but I honestly have not had any issues at all because I have a strict skincare routine. I also prefer creamy concealers for blemishes because most of them offer really good coverage with a few swipes. Although I mainly use my creamy concealers for hiding blemishes, they can be used for concealing under eye circles and highlighting. I also use my creamy concealers to clean my eyebrows after I have filled them in and it just makes my brows look neat.

Light-Medium Coverage

I am using the term light coverage very loosely because I already mentioned that most creamy concealers offer amazing coverage. However, there is a hierarchy and some concealers work harder than others. My NYX Above and Beyond Coverage Concealer//Link (review here) is a good example of a light/medium coverage concealer. I won’t say it is my favourite but I find that it is really easy to use. I know it says full coverage on the lid but I wouldn't classify this as full coverage at all. The best description will be medium coverage but that's as far as it would go. It has a lovely light texture which is why I still reach for it. The longevity is not the best and I find that it sometimes emphasises my pores but all in all it is pretty good. I use this mainly on my blemishes and also to do some colour correcting because it leans towards the peachy spectrum

Medium/Full coverage

These are my favourite kinds of concealers because they require very little manipulating. They cover my blemishes really well including dark spots and hyper pigmentation. I find that some textures are definitely better than the others but one thing they have in common is the coverage they offer. The first concealer I purchased in this category is the MAC Studio Finish Concealer //Link (review here). I loved this concealer for a long time and repurchased it more than a few times. It offers such good coverage and it completely hides my blemishes. I am not sure what may have happened to this particular one but I noticed that it has become a little dry. This means it is a little difficult to apply although it is relatively easy to blend once it warms up on my skin. My holy grail concealer in this category is my Becca Dual Coverage Concealer//Link (review here) which I have been using for more than a year now. I used this for a long time to neaten up my brows and also highlight my brow bone. I recently started using it on my blemishes and it is seriously amazing!! I It offers the best full coverage I have ever tried and it is easy to apply/blend with an impressive lasting power. I rarely have to more than a pump (and a half) of my foundation because this does all the work. The best part is it has two sections (medium coverage and extra coverage) so you can customise what coverage you are after. 

The last concealer in this category is my Estee Lauder Stay-in-Place High Cover Concealer //Link (review here) (why does Estee Lauder use such long names?). I feel this is very similar to the MAC Studio Finish Concealer which is not surprising as they are owned by the same company. However, the Estee Lauder concealer feels creamier and easier to apply/blend. I love the packaging as it’s very easy to touch and it comes with a mirror. It is already on its last legs but I can’t bear to throw it away especially as it was a little expensive.

Overall Thoughts/ My Favourites

I think my favourite Liquid concealers are definitely my Revlon Color Stay Concealer, NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer and L.A. Girl Pro Concealer. I love all the creamy concealers but the one that completely stands out for me is the Becca Dual Coverage Concealer. There are also other concealers worth mentioning including the Maybelline Age Rewind Concealer, Urban Decay Concealer and Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer but I don’t own them (yet!!). I hope you have enjoyed this post although it is ridiculously long. I just found myself typing away. Now, it’s your turn, What’s your favourite concealer?

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