by Carol Shaw-Sutton

Created on: January 27, 2009

The best under eye concealer is Vincent Long Creme Concealer. It comes in several different shades: light, medium, dark, and amber. By the way, it is recommended that one choose a colour that is one shade lighter than your own. I'm not sure where this leaves people who are extremely fair, but I think I read that Bobbi Brown advised using a white-toned concealer if you're very pale, so perhaps this concealer wouldn't work for you if you are that fair-skinned.

The texture of this concealer is very creamy, smooth, and easy to blend without tugging around the eyes. Unless your skin is extremely dry or dehydrated, it won't be a problem. If your skin is too dry, make sure you apply a moisturizer first. The concealer is best applied with a small concealer brush. I like the one made by Urban Decay, it's great. I brush over the inside of the pot to obtain a medium amount of concealer onto the brush's tip, then blend and pat with fingertips.

Longo advises to mix a little with foundation and follow up with powder, but this isn't necessary for casual makeup. If you're going for a heavy, full-blown glamourous look, then by all means, go wild and crazy. For everyday, too much concealer will actually look noticeable, so it's much better to play it subtle when going casual.

Vincent Longo Creme Concealer is highly pigmented and covers dark shadows as well as spots from acne or any other discoloration. It blends well into the skin and foundation. Now, Longo suggests putting on foundation first, but I think that's all wrong. I prefer to apply concealer first, then foundation. He also says that if you follow up with powder that this will set the concealer and it will last all day and not build-up in fine lines or creases. Personally, I think if one uses too much powder, any wrinkle or crease will appear much more evident, so go figure.

But I can honestly say that after many years of experimenting, and even using Paula's Choice (she is a famous makeup critic) that I like Vincent Longo's concealer the best. It's just so easy to use that it's a "no brainer" as they say. Also, the price isn't too bad (28.00) because it lasts forever, and this is no exaggeration. I still have mine from almost a year ago and I use it almost every single day so believe you me, this is something that I am counting as a big plus in these uncertain economic times. In addition, it's cruelty-free and I only support companies that don't test on animals.

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