Make Up For Ever just launched a new product to their Ultra HD range called the Ultra HD Concealer ($27 each for 7 ml/0.23 oz). These are designed to conceal the under eye area described as “invisible, luminous and comfortable” and are made to correct and conceal dark circles while blurring fine lines and wrinkles. Make Up For Ever kindly sent over the shades for me to test out. They do not disappoint. According to Make Up For Ever these contain:
- Lamellar structure pigments that reflect and diffuse light, erasing under eye shadows and blurring imperfections
- An anti-dark circle complex comprised of green algae and amino acids to help conceal and correct cobined with a radiance booster comprised of an Asian berry extract that helps stimulate collagen production to brighten and smooth skin
- A 3D elastomer gel to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines
There are 10 colors in total that are split into two color families R (peach) and Y (yellow):
Color Correct: neutralize dark circles with a peach shade:
R20: Light Skintones
R22: Light to Medium Skintones
R30: Medium Skintones
R32: Medium to Tan Skintones
R40: Tan Skintones
Conceal: brighten and awaken undereye area:
Y21: Light Skintones
Y23: Light to Medium Skintones
Y31: Medium Skintones
Y33: Medium to Tan Skintones
Y41: Tan Skintones
Onto my testing and thoughts. These come in a thin squeeze tube without any sponge tip applicator. They are really easy to apply on the face, you can use a brush or sponge to blend, but I like to dab two tiny dots of product under each eye straight from the tube and then blend with the fingers.
On the nails, Louboutin Miss Loubi
On colors, I’m yellow and olive in undertone and in general often have a hard time finding a good match for under eye concealers. Most are either too pink, too light, or too dark. I know many like to go one shade lighter for under the eye to brighten and counter dark circles, but often times that “1 shade lighter” is just too light. An exact match is ideal, but many tend to warm up and oxidize slightly making colors too dark for me. I’m not one who likes to mix colors. Last year I was lucky to discover quite a few new formulas and color matches. Concealer roundup from last fall in this post here (with lots of swatches from Surratt, Urban Decay, YSL, Charlotte Tilbury and more).
For the under eye area I have been using the Charlotte Tilbury Retoucher #3, Bare Minerals Bareskin Concealer in Medium Golden and Urban Decay Naked Skin in Medium Neutral. My other favorite NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Ginger is still too light for me at the moment but I adore the formula.
The Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Concealer has made the cut to join my top picks. It’s an incredible concealer for under eyes. It’s described as invisible because once you blend it into the skin it doesn’t look like you have makeup on, but at the same time it really does conceal and cover up dark circles. My initial thoughts were that I would find a match in the Y family. Y33 is a pretty good match, but I actually like the ones with peach tones because it brightens the face and neutralizes dark circles better. I can get away with either R30 or R32. These add just the right amount of brightness under the eye without too much contrast. They do warm up but don’t oxidize as much as the ones from Urban Decay.
I don’t have under eye wrinkles yet but some full coverage foundations or cream concealers can emphasize fine lines. The Ultra HD concealer blends in with the skin for a smooth looking blurred skin look. Lasting power is quite good – it lasts all day without budging, creasing, or fading. I do set with a powder though (some favorites in this post here).
I’ve been a fan of the Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealers as well, alternating between colors 7 and 8. These are a lot thicker in texture – many find it too thick for under the eye (I found it was ok, but yes it can feel a little thick). The Ultra HD Concealer is thinner in texture but still very creamy and very concentrated. You get less than half the product with the new Ultra HD formula but a tiny bit goes a long long way.
Swatches plus two sets of comparisons:
My best matches in the Ultra HD Invisible Cover Concealer range are Y33, R30 and R32. Swatch comparisons to some other concealer shades I use (or have used when I have been lighter) and a few foundation swatches to help. As you can see below there is a lot less product with the Ultra HD Line (7 ml/0.23 fl oz) compared to the Full Cover Concealer (15 ml/0.5 fl oz). The Ultra HD is more concentrated though so a little bit goes a longer way compared to the Full Cover formula.
Two sets of swatches comparison below with prices and product sizing included for reference to save you time from having to look it all up (prices as of 1/10/2016):
- NARS Radiant Creamy Concealers in Custard and Ginger ($29 for 0.22 oz/6 ml)
- Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer in 7 and 8 ($32 for 0.5 oz/15 ml)
The entire Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Concealer ($27 each for 7 ml/0.23 oz) lineup compared to:
- NARS Radiant Creamy Concealers in Custard and Ginger ($29 for 0.22 oz/6 ml)
- Bare Minerals Bare Skin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer in Medium Golden (all shades swatched here, $20 for 0.20 fl oz/6 ml)
- Chanel Correcteur Perfection in 30 (all shades swatched here $42 for 0.26 oz/7.5 g)
- Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer in Medium Neutral (all shades swatched here $28 for 0.16 oz/5 ml)
- Charlotte Tilbury The Retoucher in #3 (all shades swatched here $35 for 0.12 oz/3.5 ml)
- Cle de Peau Beaute Concealer in Almond (all shades swatched here $70 for 0.17 oz/5 g)
- Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Foundation in Y315, Y345 (my match) and Y375 ($43 for 1.01 oz/30 ml)
Bottom line, definitely worth checking out if you’re searching for an under eye concealer. The colors do seem to be limited but what impressed me was the fact that they included several that I think will work for super fair skintones. I know a few of my fellow beauty lovers have fair skin and find it challenging to find something light enough for their skintones. For tan to deep skin tones, you might be able to try either of the two darkest colors, but for now I suspect Charlotte Tilbury, MAC and NARS will still be the best bet for having a wider color selection available for those with deeper skintones. I feel lucky to have found 3 that work for my under eye area. I give this a huge thumbs up.
The Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Concealers ($27 each) are available now at Sephora and Make Up For Ever. Have you checked these out yet? If yes, please share what color(s) you picked out and your foundation or concealer shades in other lines to help others who can’t swatch in person to find their match 🙂
The Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Concealers and Foundation were provided as courtesy press samples for review. All opinions my own.
