I've used both, and I'm telling you, the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer does just as good a job. I use the yellow shade - the one at right is too pink for me - and I don't see any reason to look for another brightener.
You can get the Maybelline for under $4, though I got mine for one damn dollar at a dollar store. Touche Éclat retails for up to $40. Seems like a no-brainer to me.
I'd heard a lot of raves about Australian line BECCA (those shouty all-caps do grate, don't they?), so when the company's PR offered me some free products to try, I jumped at the chance. My conclusion: Great packaging, shame about the overpriced contents.
Here's a rundown:
I was disappointed by the mascara. I have naturally long, dark lashes, but even so, I would have expected a $19 product to do something for me. You couldn't even tell I had any mascara on - there was no discernible difference between my lashes before and after I applied a whole lot of product.
The tinted moisturizer is suitably sheer and provides SPF 25 protection, but is nothing to blog home about - especially not when it's priced in the $40 range.
I found the stick foundation quite drying and chalky. I like that it has SPF 30, but again, the price point is way too high for such a flawed product.
While it wouldn't be accurate to say that the compact concealer won me over, it was the best of the lot. I cannot get it to blend well, at least not easily. I would not pay $35 for this, even if it were twice the size.
Bottom line: If you're going to splash the cash on a department store line, go for one with more solid products or at least more fun packaging. Otherwise, you're better off opting for a more reasonably priced range.
Tarte Smooth Operator SPF 20 gives excellent coverage, lightweight and non-cakey but not so sheer that you can't see the point of wearing it. You don't need much of this product to even out your skin tone and prepare your canvas for the rest of your make-up. I've tried Veil, a light beige with pink undertones for medium complexions, and Disguise, a light beige with yellow undertones for medium complexions, and have found each of them to be suitable for my skin. (I'd normally steer well clear of anything with pink undertones for my face.)
Plus, its SPF 20 makes it a godsend when I've completely blanked out and forgotten to apply sunblock; having to wash off a layer of foundation is not only annoying and time-consuming, but chafes my anti-waste sensibilities.
Tarte Smooth Operator has replaced MAC Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 for me most days, and I pair it with Stila Eye Concealer or DuWop Surface under the eyes.
I'm heading to the south of France for a few days this week, and I will be in the High Alps of Provence where it is windy and very warm. I'm not going to feel like wearing much makeup at all, though I will want to look as good as I can.
I'll be taking DuWop Surface with me as part of my stripped down, high heat beauty kit. It's an incredibly smooth, sheer concealer which can be layered to function as more of a foundation if you want more all-over coverage. I wouldn't necessarily rely on it for big, bad undereye circles, but it does nicely on my average shadows. I've been pairing this with Tarte Smooth Operator SPF 20 for running around in the sun that's decided to rear its ugly head in London again, and am very pleased with the coverage I get from them, without the full-on face coating of my usual foundation (MAC Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15).
I was annoyed earlier this week when I found out that the useless stick foundation that my boyfriend's mother was bemoaning to me as a disappointing waste of money was Shiseido The Makeup Stick Foundation. "Claire!" I exclaimed. "I could have told you not to buy that!" Well, she asked, why didn't you?
Fair point: I can't claim it's impossible to blog every product recommendation and product pan when I'm not exactly writing here night and day.
Suffice to say, I'm not a fan of Shiseido's stick foundation. I found it dry and chalky and aging. Shiseido The Makeup Concealer isn't any great shakes, either. Their corrector pencil is okay, but for $16, I need a little more than that.
As you may have guessed, I bought all three of these products in one big Shiseido binge a few years ago. This came after a friend gifted me with a Shiseido matte lipstick (shade M8) that I liked; the packaging, I loved. Sadly, curvaceous packaging doesn't make up for a lack of value in other areas. Is there a Shiseido product I should try, though? I want to love the line, but so far haven't found a reason.
