I Struggle With Dark Circles, But This Is the One Concealer I Really Rate

It’s time for me to come clean. For years, I have spent my days writing about countless beauty products, from cleansers and moisturisers to mascaras and shampoos. And within my reviews, I am sure you will find many an occasion in which I refer to any particular product as my favourite/most-used/most-loved of the moment. And the truth is, if the product isn’t a concealer, those statements can’t be totally factual. You see, concealer is my absolute ride-or-die beauty product. I use it every single day without fail, and I wouldn’t dream of leaving the house without one in my bag.

While I’m not a big makeup kind of girl, a few dabs of concealer on any spots and smooshed into my under-eye area to disguise dark circles is all it takes for me to feel pulled-together. However, because I put so much importance on my concealer, I’m very particular about the ones I like. They need to be full-coverage and matte (my oily skin means anything dewy just slides right off) but easily blendable and undetectable. They need to melt into my skin seamlessly, leaving behind no signs of creasing or dryness. And most importantly, they need to be brightening. Cue Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer Duo (£28).

Before this double-ended wand of brilliance came my way, Nars Soft Matte Complete Concealer (£24) had been my go-to for years. In fact, I have been so attached to that concealer that I haven’t really felt a need to try anything different. However, in recent months (thanks to cold weather and actually leaving the house), I have noticed that my skin is turning a little drier and have been in the market for something a teensy bit creamier. On top of that, my breakouts and scarring have gotten out of control, leaving me with red blotches all over my chin. And while I have always loved my pot of Nars, the super-matte formula hasn’t been doing me any favours.

In my quest to find a new concealer for the season ahead, I stumbled across the new Secret Camouflage Duo from Laura Mercier. I had heard that the original Secret Camouflage (which comes in a compact) is loved by makeup artists far and wide thanks to its full coverage and easy blendability. However, because I’m the sort of person who throws my concealer into my handbag and reapplies it all day, the bulkiness of the compact never appealed to me. But this new addition comes in a handy wind-up stick with a corrector on one end, perfect for covering up blemishes and redness, and a brightener on the other, suited wonderfully for dark circles. So I thought I’d give it a whirl.

At first, I was surprised by the formula. I was expecting it to be creamy and have a melt-into-the-skin texture, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. This stuff is high-octane. It’s matte and seriously full-coverage and transforms into a putty-like consistency once it has been scribbled on. Once applied and blended with fingers, it almost merges with the skin and acts as, believe it or not, a sort of camouflage. And while the results are matte and long-lasting, it doesn’t seem to cling to areas of dryness like so many others do. Instead, it creates a very convincing second-skin finish.

So without really having to look for it, I seem to have stumbled across a concealer that’s really quite extraordinary. Thanks to this little guy, I’m planning to spend the rest of the year looking fresh-faced and enviably bright-eyed, even when I’m not feeling it.