I’ve been working with the Nars Soft Matte Concealer ($30.00) for a while now and I have some pretty positive thoughts on it! The name of the concealer is super accurate because it is very soft, and very matte, which I can appreciate as someone with pretty prominent eye bags. Check out this post on the swatches for dark skin, where I considered Cacao, Cafe, Hazelnut, Amande, and Dark Coffee. Ultimately, I ended up with Cafe, described as dark with warm red undertones.
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| Here I applied the concealer underneath my eyes. The eye bags are still visible but will vanish after I set it with powder. I do love that I don’t need to go too light in order to brighten up the area; the shade is a near perfect match. |
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| Here I concealed the acne scars on my cheeks and chin |
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| Here I concealed the acne scars on my cheeks and chin |
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| Next, I set the concealer with Mac Mineralize Skin Finish Natural and used Ben Nye’s Banana Powder under eyes for additional brightening |
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| Side view |
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| Here is the finished look. I used flash to show the texture of my skin more. Also wearing Mac Extra Dimension Blush in Hard to Get on cheeks and Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow to fill in brows. |
My skin type
I have oily skin and oily eyelids. I also have acne scarring on my cheeks and chin as well as medium-sized bags underneath my eyes.
What it’s supposed to do
The brand describes this concealer as a high-coverage blurring concealer – think face tune in a pot. It’s supposed to be long-lasting and avoids settling into fine lines.
How I use it
I have tried using this concealer in a few different ways:
Underneath my eyes: I like how the concealer works underneath my eyes. I love that it’s matte! I still need to set it with powder after, but for those that can pull of a dewy look and/or has normal to dry skin, the matte works perfectly under the eyes! It applies so smoothly that I can even just swipe it across instead of tapping it underneath my eye. It’s not streaky either, is 100% medium coverage, and doesn’t crease or draw attention to the fine lines around my eyes. I apply it with my fingers when using under my eyes.
As a spot concealer for my acne scars: This shade of the concealer did not conceal my acne scars very well. After setting with powder, they are a lot less noticeable but I typically prefer a full-coverage, thicker concealer like this one to conceal my scars, or this one which I can use under my eyes and over my acne scars.
As an eyeshadow primer: I prefer to use a stickier concealer when using it as an eyeshadow primer. I don’t prefer to use this concealer for that purpose as it’s too soft for such a thing.
As a brow shaper and highlight: This concealer worked well straightening up my brows and highlighting the brow bone. I had to be careful to use a very light hand, though because it’s very easy to grab too much and spend too much time trying to blend it out.
What I like about it
I like how easily the concealer spreads and blends. It’s the easiest concealer to work with and reminds me of the concealers from Fiona Stiles in texture (review forthcoming). I have been using this concealer for a long time and I haven’t even made a dent in it so I know it’s going to last me a long, long time; $30 well spent. I also like that it comes in a pot so I can scrape every little bit out of it. Lastly, I love how fresh and natural I look after I apply it. This concealer is definitely for easy, natural makeup days.
>>MORE CONCEALER REVIEWS HERE<<
What could be better
I do wish it were more full-coverage. People that don’t have issues with acne scars won’t mind it though. I do feel like it will cover dark circles, though.
Joy Factor
On a scale of 1-10, this concealer is a 7.
Where to indulge
Sephora | Ulta | Nordstrom | Neiman Marcus | Nars Cosmetics | Bloomingdale’s
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