From The Straits Times    |

NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer review singapore herworldplus

When it comes to concealers, I’m a big fan of Nars. Their Radiant Creamy Concealer was a staple in the beauty world for a long time, and still is a trusty favourite for many. It has pretty high coverage, is non-creasing (for the most part), and blends like a dream.

So naturally, when I heard the brand was launching a soft matte concealer, and that it might be something like the Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer of my youth, I got pretty darn excited.

First off, let me talk about the shade range. Nars’ concealer shade range far outstrips most brands. While you can expect about three shades with your average drugstore brand, and maybe five to nine shades with more mid-to-high end brands, there are very few that come close without delving into professional makeup brands that produce concealer palettes.

The Soft Matte Complete Concealer ($45, available from February 2017) comes in a sleek little plastic jar (always make sure your hands are clean before dipping in), with a screw on cap that has the signature Nars soft touch material. You get 6ml of product, same as the Radiant Creamy Concealer, which retails at the same price.

NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer macadamia review singapore herworldplus

Image: The Nars Soft Matte Complete Concealer in my perfect shade, Medium 1.5 Macadamia

The concealer feels creamy at first touch, but it blends out quickly into a smooth velvety matte finish. It sets quite fast so you should work quickly and tackle one area at a time instead of dotting it all over and going back to blend.

Coverage-wise, I would say it’s more of a medium coverage concealer, because the soft matte texture makes it harder to build up without getting cakey. For me, this worked better when I used a hydrating eye cream beforehand to make blending it out as smooth as possible. That said, once it’s in place and blended, the final effect is really nice.

I will say that if you’ve got dry under eyes, you might not love this concealer as much as I do. That said, it does have collagen-boosting peptides and hyaluronic acid that keep it from looking dry and crepe-like under the eyes, so it’s worth a shot with the help of an eye cream.

Now, the surprising soft-focus blurring effect is a result of the Optimal Diffusion Powder in the formula, which technically speaking is a result of spherical surface powders designed to absorb and refract light. It does blur pores a little and doesn’t settle into fine lines. I wore it for an entire day and didn’t notice any creasing in the lines under my eyes, which is impressive.

At the end of the day, I really enjoyed this concealer for underneath my eyes and evening out my skin, but found myself especially loving it as an all-over eye base. In fact, it’s about to retain a permanent spot in my everyday no makeup-makeup routine. If you don’t want to wear eyeshadow but want to conceal any discolouration or veins on your eyelids while making it look like you aren’t wearing any makeup, the Soft Matte Complete Concealer is amazing for that purpose.

 

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