Base Makeup

Clé de Peau Beauté Concealer in Beige

September 6, 2011

You’ve all read the hype and raves about Clé de Peau’s Concealer virtually everywhere. If you haven’t tried it yet, believe the hype. It’s the holy grail of concealers. The quality, consistency and finish cannot be beat. It has full pigmented coverage but blends out naturally to even out dark circles under the eyes (which I did not know I had before trying this concealer), tone down red areas on the face and brighten the overall appearance of your skin.

I was gifted Beige courtesy of Neiman Marcus and Clé de Peau about a month ago and have been carefully testing it out with a highly critical eye. Upon opening it I was a bit concerned it might be too light for my skin, but after testing it out I’ve found that it’s actually perfect. I am around a MAC NC30-35, Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in B30, Guerlain Lingerie de Peau on 03, Dolce & Gabbana Powder Foundation in Warm. Upon first swipe it’s clearly lighter than my skin. Blending it out with the fingers makes the product disappear and blend naturally with my skin to even out any areas that need extra help.

A bit of concealer history for me: I’ve neglected concealer in almost a year now. I’ve postponed repurchasing my usual Chanel or Laura Mercier loves thinking any shade I purchased would soon become too light (I’ve been trying to build my summer tan). Still, even though I’ve tested a hefty number of concealers, I have never been fully convinced it was really a necessity (like foundation or powder or good makeup brushes). Most concealers fail to pass the test of having good coverage, having long lasting power, being non-creasing, being non-drying and a having a good color match. There are many that look great upon immediate application but do not work well with the skin as the day progresses. The Clé de Peau Beauté meets all requirements of what a concealer should do. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bad review yet before trying this I was skeptical due to the hefty price tag of $70 a tube. After testing this out for a few weeks I can say this is the best concealer I’ve tried. Whether or not it’s worth a full $70 is another question, but when this is used up I will definitely be repurchasing it.

Application tips: I’ve tested this concealer for several weeks using several methods and found application is key. A huge thanks to Karla Sugar’s in-depth review and also tips from one of my readers Laura R., I’ve found the best method is really to apply over a moisturized face (or if you just use on the eyes, make sure your skin is well moisturized) with the fingers.

I’m going to quote Laura on some of these tips combined with my own thoughts:

  • Prepare face and apply moisturizer, primer, foundation first
  • Next prep the eyes with eye cream by pressing into face, not hard, but not tapping either
  • Apply concealer with your index finger and press lightly and blend 
  • If other areas need concealer to tone down redness or even out the skin, apply with your finger in a press-then-blend method (using the fingers help to warm up the product)
  • Top with a soft dusting of loose or pressed powder (but with a brush)

Things to avoid based on my trials:

  • I don’t recommend applying this over any type of powder, the result will be cakey
  • Skipping moisturizer also results in a cakey looking finish
  • Swiping directly from tube to skin can result with too much product on the face and use up the concealer too fast, if you do this, do with a light hand to avoid too much product to the face which can also result in a cakey look (even after blending)
Clé de Peau’s application tips that come with each concealer:

Plus the ingredients (click to enlarge):

Since first trying this out, I haven’t skipped using it for a day. If I were slightly darker I think Beige would be too light but I haven’t looked at the other shades in the lineup in person but you can see Karla’s swatches here and I found the user comments in the bottom of her post useful. At first glance it would seem better if CdP had a bigger color selection for their concealers – I’m not sure how hard it is to find a color match, I’m glad I found mine, but this is something I highly recommend having an expert try on you in person. They will know which one works best for your skin and show you how to apply as well.
For inquiring minds, other Clé de Peau loves of mine include: La Creme (although I’ve survived off mini samples), Extra Silky Lipsticks and a few of the Lip Glosses.
Have you tried Clé de Peau’s concealer? What shade do you use and what other foundation shades are you?
Many thanks to Neiman Marcus and Clé de Peau for providing this concealer for review.

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