The time to find the perfect skin match for your concealer is now
Growing up as a girl with medium to tan skin, I grew up with mainstream beauty brands that limited their shade ranges; fair to golden beige were all that drugstores had. I became desensitised to the lack of diversity in the beauty scene and accepted the five to seven foundation or concealer shades that were always available. But, as we’ve celebrated before, the world is changing, and that includes the makeup industry too. Game changers like Fenty Beauty have shaken up the scene with enormous shade ranges (finally!) with international brands scrambling to keep up. Friends with deep skin tones, it’s your time to shine. Ahead, we pick the best concealers with wide shade ranges.
Colourpop No Filter Concealer
Yup, no filter is needed when you’ve got this baby. The impressive 30-shade range is available for fair to deep dark skin tones, with colours categorised according to undertones too. At only USD6 a pop, you’re getting major bang for your buck, especially as the hardworking formula delivers a creaseproof, matte finish – all while covering, camouflaging and blurring.
USD6, available from Colourpop online via international delivery
Bobbi Brown Instant Full Cover Concealer
One step is all it takes to fake a good sleep. Dot and blend the highly pigmented concealer onto your eye bags to lighten up any darkness (yes, even the most stubborn ones!) and soften any tired lines in a jiffy. Fifteen shades are available from very fair beige with neutral undertones to dark brown with red or yellow undertones for deeper shades.
$52, available at Bobbi Brown counters and Tangs
Fenty Beauty Custom Match Stix Tone
RiRi’s got the game in the bag when it comes to inclusive beauty. Her game-changing makeup brand made waves with its 40-shade foundation range last year. Likewise, the Custom Match Stix tone is set to impress too, with 20 shades that let you build your concealing, contouring and highlight set. Here’s how it works: first select your skin tone match to conceal blemishes, or go one to two shades lighter to hide your undereye circles. To contour, pick a shade that’s two to three shades darker than your skin tone, and finally, pick a highlighting shade of your choice from iridescent opal to gilded bronze. The three are magnetised for on-the-go sculpting.
$79, available from Sephora
Nars Soft Matte Complete Concealer
A Holy Grail concealer for women of darker skin tones, this oil-free formula evens out your skin tone, blurs imperfections (thanks to light diffusing spheres) and conceals any discolourations. Our only gripe? It’s shade range is limited in local Sephora stores; we’d recommend ordering online from Sephora.com instead for its full gamut of 16 shades
$46, available from Sephora stores
MAC Pro Longwear Concealer
Still a fave amongst makeup artists, this classic gives you a great shade range (from fair to mahogany) with a fluid formula that lasts up to 15 hours. It’s water-and transfer-resistant, and conceals any flaws, spots or discolouration.
$38, Available from MAC stores and Sephora
L.A Girl Pro HD Concealer
The all-time drugstore classic does it all: it covers, corrects and camouflages with its 21 shades of concealers, which runs from porcelain to mahogany. Crease-resistant, it gives you decent, natural-looking coverage. For best results, layer a concealer under a corrector. Orange neutralises dark spots for medium to deeper skin tones, lavender brightens yellow undertones, green hides redness and peach camouflages blue and purple undertones in fair skin.
$7, available from Coma Makeup
Hourglass Hidden Corrective Concealer
I think of Hourglass as one of the most underrated makeup brands. The luxury brand champions “surreal skin” with breakthrough, vegan formulations. The Hidden Corrective concealer is yet another of its winning products. Creamy and weightless, it flawlessly “melts” into skin and doesn’t settle into fine lines. Shades available run from Vanilla (very light, cool undertone) to Sable (medium deep, cool undertone).
$56, available from Sephora
Kat Von D Beauty Lock-It Concealer Creme
Rich, creamy and totally vegan, the lock-it concealer creme works best with adequate skin prep. Moisturise your under eyes before blending this on to prevent any caking. We could rattle off all its benefits – it brightens the under-eye area, covers blemishes, corrects discolouration, contours, and bakes – but we’d rather you try it yourself. There are 21 available, with each easily labelled according to colour and undertone.
$40, available from Sephora
Alima Pure Cream Concealer
Where it lacks a big variety in shades (its 10 colours run from porcelain to a deep cashmere), it makes up for it with its guilt and cruelty-free formulas of pure, synthetic and sulphate-free ingredients as well as refillable compacts to minimise waste.
$49, available from natureLova
Like this story? Check these out:
Our favourite cult concealers
Liquid foundations for all skin tones
Why we love Fenty Beauty
The Singapore-proof beauty guide
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