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- The Ordinary’s $11 Concealer Deserves a Spot in Your Makeup Bag
The Ordinary’s $11 Concealer Deserves a Spot in Your Makeup Bag
Supplied / The Ordinary
When The Ordinary announced it was adding a concealer to its product range, it’s safe to say that I was *pretty* excited. The brand, which launched in 2016, has gained fans across the world thanks to its affordable skincare products that are also extremely effective. So, I had high hopes that this new product would be just as impressive as others in the line-up.
The first thing to note about this new product is the extensive shade range — there are 36 different shades to choose from. While many beauty brands are striving to extend shade ranges, concealer products can often be overlooked in favour of foundations. The Ordinary has delivered a solid number of shades to choose from, making the product much more accessible than many others. The Ordinary also asked followers on Instagram to share any suggested shades that are missing from the range, as the “lab team is hard at work on additional shades to further expand our entire Colours range”.
The shades are divided into four categories — 1 is for lighter tones, 2 for medium tones, 3 for dark/deep tones and 4 for deeper tones. These are then classified further by a second digit from 0 to 4 which indicates depth within each category. Lastly, a letter is also added to the shade code to identify the undertone — P is for pink, R is for red and indicates cool undertones, while N stands for Neutral tone and Y for yellow and indicates a warm undertone.
The second positive of this product is the price. The Ordinary is known for its affordable price points and the concealer is no exception, retailing for $10.80. This puts this product on par, or in some cases, cheaper, than many of the popular drugstore concealers currently on the market. Once again, this allows for greater accessibility.
As for the formula, The Ordinary describes it as having “high-spreadability” and I would agree with that statement. A little bit of the product goes a long way and it does lend itself to spreading and blending easily, but it does begin to dry pretty rapidly after application so you do have to work fairly quickly. As for the coverage, this concealer provides high coverage but is buildable. If you apply with a fluffy brush, you have the ability to create a more subtle finish while a small concealer brush allows you to create strong coverage over blemishes and dark circles. I also tried applying the product with my fingers and was able to blend it in without much trouble.
The finish of the concealer is matte, so if you’re on the drier side (like I am), keep that in mind and try prepping your skin with a dewy primer before going in with the concealer. While the finish of the concealer looked great after application in the morning, I did notice that towards the end of the day, it clung a little to some of the drier parts of my face and appeared slightly creased under my eyes. Those with normal to oily skin probably wouldn’t experience this and setting your makeup with a powder product would also help to prevent this from happening but isn’t something I usually do, thanks to the dry skin.
For those who experience dryness, you could also try adding in a product like The Ordinary’s Amino Acids + B5 product, which helps to provide surface and below-surface hydration, while also aiding skin repair and barrier support.
When it comes to covering blemishes and dark circles, I found this product to be extremely effective — especially on the bags under my eyes which can look quite pronounced at times. As someone who experiences redness due to skin sensitivity, The Ordinary’s Concealer also did a great job of covering redness and it wasn’t peeking through at the end of the day, which can happen with other base products.
Taking into consideration the shade range, the price and the way in which this concealer covers spots, redness and pigmentation, it has definitely earnt a permanent spot in my makeup bag. To combat dryness when using this product going forward, I’ll be prepping my skin with a hydrating, dewy primer to offset the matte finish.
Have you tried The Ordinary’s Concealer?
