October 18, 2008

Guest Review: Bobbi Brown Concealer & Corrector

Just in time to save us, is the amazing Eli and her wonderful reviews! Just to give you a bit of an update, Syen and I have been so swamped by work it's not funny. We're both taking medical leave soon (and not voluntarily) if something doesn't let up. Fortunately, we have a guest reviewer discussing a topic of intense interest to both of us with our shadowed eyes.

My best friend and I tend to go cosmetics shopping together because (a) its fun to go shopping in pairs, and (b) we get an extra body part to try stuff on. So when I was on a hunt for a good undereye concealer during my last visit home, I dragged her out to accompany me.

Our first stop was MAC but the concealer was so drying, it left a crack akin to dried riverbeds under my bestie’s eyes. We headed over to Bobbi Brown instead.

(If you are ever at the Bobbi Brown counter in Jusco, Midvalley, look out for Winnie. She’s one of the nicest MAs I have met – very sweet, nice, not pushy and generous with samples. She gave me samples of undereye cream, face moisturiser with SPF 15 and a wee bottle of oil-free foundation. There’s another MA there who is a bit of a grouch. Don’t go to her. Hop over to the stand-alone shop outside instead)

According to Winnie, my best friend didn’t need to get the corrector as her eye circles weren’t too dark. Mine on the other hand – she paused for a moment.

“I look like a panda,” I sighed.

For very dark eye circles, the peach-based corrector is applied first to “correct” the eye circles, which helps give extra coverage before the yellowish concealer is layered on top. The corrector is also supposed to help the concealer look a lot more natural. I have tried using the concealer on its own and it doesn’t work so well without the corrector underneath. If you think that you don’t need the corrector, test out the concealer on its own. A different MA once tried talking my best into getting the corrector as well.

The corrector and concealer both have the same thick creamy consistency so a little goes a long way. A dab into the tiny pot is enough for both eyes. As the formula is rather thick, I usually alternate between spreading it with a brush and then patting it with my finger. The warmth helps melt the concealer and lets me blend it in better with the brush. Set it with some loose powder and I am good for up to 10 hours.

There are only three things I dislike with this product. The first is that I have to use a good concealer brush with this. Since I use both the concealer and corrector, I need two concealer brushes. The second is that I have to use a good undereye cream; gels don’t work with this. If I don’t moisturise my eye area well before application, the concealer settles into my fine lines after a few hours. The last would be that it takes time for me to layer everything on properly. But then again, maybe I am a bit slow.

Bobbi Brown’s creamy concealer and corrector retails for RM 80 each in Malaysia. The price might have gone up to RM 85 though. There is also a cream concealer kit for RM 140 which comes with a container of loose powder underneath. But as the oh-so-nice MA whispered to me, “You don’t really need it. Save your RM 60 and buy something else instead.”

Before I forget, someone once told me that the stand-alone Bobbi Brown shop in Midvalley only sells the concealor kit and doesn’t stock the cream concealor by itself. I don’t know if that is still the case but if you don’t want the powder, just go over to their counters in Jusco or Isetan.

3 comments:

AskMeWhats said...

Looking for concealer is as hard as looking for a foundation that match, come to think of it,I never thought of giving Bobbi Brown a try, it is quite expensive though...but if it works, its worth it..have to check the testers soon!

Kahani said...

The worst part about m'sia is no one seems to want to market concealers here in the first place. So finding a good one that isn't high-end is sooo hard.

Bobbi Brown isn't oily-skin friendly, or I'd have been on her like a flash.

Anonymous said...

I forgot to mention that this is industrial strength concealer. Covers up nearly everything.

Kahani: Think the biggest problem in M'sia is first finding a good colour match for concealer, and then the fine-tuning.

BB foundation gives bad coverage, btw.