Starting Off: Concealer

Hello again!
Tonight's post is my second installment as part of #theSOproject! (For more information on this, check out my previous post here.)

This week's topic of discussion is concealer. Concealer is essentially make-up that helps to conceal problem areas such as dark under-eye circles, spots, scars or discolouring of the skin. It is similar to foundation, but tends to be slightly thicker in consistency, in order to effectively hide these imperfections.

Considering how much make-up I own, it seems surprising that I have actually only ever used one concealer-not the same tube obviously! If you enjoy reading make-up blogs or watching beauty gurus on YouTube, you'll probably have heard of it before, because it really has become a bit of a cult beauty product and with good reason. The Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Concealer from Collection, (formerly known as Collection 2000), is an ideal first concealer if you're just getting started in make-up or if you're simply looking for a brilliant budget concealer, with an RRP of just £4.19. It has a standard doe-foot applicator, which makes it handy for travelling as you can just pop it in your bag and touch up on the go.

Personally I don't suffer with blemishes on a regular basis and so I primarily use concealer to try and combat my hellish under-eye circles and redness around my nose, which this concealer does perfectly. However, if I do get any spots this concealer works equally well on those and definitely helps to hide them.

When it comes to application of concealer, it really does depend on what kind of concealer you are using. For example, thicker, potted concealers tend to be applied best with the fingers, whilst concealers with a more liquid-based consistency can be applied with a brush. I tend to use my fingers to blend in concealer under my eyes, as it is such a sensitive area and I just find it blends more effectively with my fingers. For particular problem areas however, the detailer brush from the Real Techniques core collection is really great at precisely covering up blemishes.

Sorry this post isn't particularly long, but i'm really pretty clueless when it comes to other concealers as I'm so loyal to this one! Do you have any recommendations for concealers? I'd love to try out some new ones!

Real Techniques Core Collection Review

My lovely boyfriend recently bought me the Real Techniques core collection, so I thought i'd do a little review of my thoughts so far.

The set comes with four brushes; a detailer brush, a pointed foundation brush, a buffing brush and a contour brush, as well as a lovely protective case for the brushes that also doubles as a stand. All of the brushes are extremely soft and seem very well made given the price (in boots it retails for £21.99).

The detailer brush really is absolutely tiny, which makes it great for concealing particular areas, or for neatly applying lip products. However, personally I have been using it to apply a highlight (i'm currently using 'virgin' from the original Naked palette) to my brow bone and the inner corner of my eyes.

The pointed foundation brush is a bit of a hit and miss really. I already have the regular Real Techniques foundation brush, which can be found here and I think it is absolutely perfect, so I don't really have any need for this smaller, pointed version. I've tried using it to apply concealer under my eyes, but I don't find it blends as well as using my fingers.

The buffing brush is great with powder, as it enables you to actually build up quite a full coverage as the bristles are so densely packed together. Normally, I use my Mac Mineralize Skinfinish natural (found here) simply to set my foundation, but when used in conjunction with this brush it builds up, providing a much higher, yet not cakey, coverage.

The contour brush is brilliant, i've been using it to apply my bronzer and its great at defining the cheekbones without picking up too much product and making it look unnatural. Though i've only used this brush with bronzer so far, due to its size I think it could also work really well at applying a highlight to the tops of the cheekbones and down the nose.

I hope you liked my review! Sorry there aren't more photos, but my brushes are covered in makeup at the moment and I fear that wouldn't do them justice ;)
Have any of you tried any real techniques brushes?