Best & Worst Concealers for Pale Skin

Just as us pale princesses struggle to find a foundation that is light enough to start with, is our desired level of coverage and doesn't oxidise, we also struggle to find concealers that are light enough. Many people choose a concealer that is a few shades lighter than their skin tone, so they can highlight their under-eyes - well that's usually not an option for anyone with pale skin - we're lucky if we find a concealer to match our skin tone! One of my hacks for over-coming this, is using white pressed powder to set my under-eyes so they are slightly lighter than the rest of my face. So here are some of my favourite and least favourite drugstore and high-end concealers for pale skin.

(swatches are numbered 1-8 from left to right) 

Best:

1. Make Up Forever Ultra HD Concealer - Y21 - £20.00
 As you can see from the swatch, this concealer is very pale friendly! It is the lightest concealer I have ever come across. This is great if you are fairer than me or if you just want a concealer that is a bit lighter than your skin tone to highlight under your eyes. When I use my Marc Jacobs Remarcable Foundation (that is very pale!) this is the concealer I reach for because it is light enough to use the two together. It is a slightly thick consistency, but blends out nicely and doesn't crease. This concealer comes in a squeezy tube (which is not my favourite packaging) and you get 7ml of product. In the UK, you can find Make Up Forever products in some Debenhams stores or online.

2.  Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer - Fair Neutral - £19.00
This is a cult favourite on YouTube and amongst beauty bloggers and for good reason! This is one of my absolute favourite concealers - it is one of the lightest out of the bunch I am talking about today, you don't need to use very much to achieve a full coverage and it blends out nicely. The applicator is a lot like the NYX Lip Lingerie (if you've tried that!) in that it is long, flat and thin. This is the only concealer that I don't need to re-dip the applicator into the tube to get enough concealer for under my eyes, on my nose, between my eyebrows and on my chin. You get 5ml of product in the tube and Urban Decay is available on Feel Unique and Debenham's website if you are in the UK.

3. Seventeen Stay Time Concealer - Extra Fair - £4.49

This is a concealer I was drawn to a while back because of the shade name! I hadn't heard anyone talking about it and I still haven't - but I can't understand why! It's a perfect shade match for my skin and it doesn't oxidise at all. It is a beige tone, so not too yellow and not too pink toned. This concealer is quite a thin consistency, so it isn't the fullest of coverage, but for everyday use, I love it. It doesn't crease and when it's set with some powder, it doesn't budge all day. It's a super affordable product and I will continue to repurchase this! You get 7ml of product in the tube, it comes with a doe foot applicator and you can find Seventeen products in Boots stores or online.

4. Collection Lasting Perfection 16h Wear Concealer - 1 Fair - £4.19
This is another cult favourite concealer amongst beauty bloggers and YouTubers, with good reason! It doesn't crease much, it is very full coverage and the Fair shade is actually light enough for pale skin! It's not the lightest concealer I own, but it is just about light enough for me. I use this concealer for both spot concealing and under my eyes - it blends nicely on top of foundation and it sets relatively quickly. This concealer has a doe foot applicator wand and you get 8g of product. The only down side of this product for me is how much it oxidises - I hadn't really noticed this until I swatched it - when I first swatched this concealer, it closely matched the Seventeen Concealer (to the left of this swatch) but it oxidised within seconds to be so much darker!

 5. Revlon Colorstay Concealer - 01 Fair - £6.99
I purchased this recently because I swatched it in store and it looked very light and I'm already a huge fan of the Revlon Colorstay Foundation in 110 Ivory. This is not the palest of concealers that I own, but it is still wearable. The consistency and shade is very similar to the Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer (which is next on the list). It isn't the most full coverage concealer, but it blends nicely and doesn't crease too much. You get 6.2ml of product and it comes with a doe foot applicator.

 6. Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer- 010 Ivory - £5.49
This is one of the darker concealers in this bunch but I still like the product. It claims to be an 'anti-fatigue concealer which contains Vitamin C to brighten the skin. It has quite a thin consistency, but it still gives you relatively good coverage and it doesn't feel heavy on the skin. It is quite a brightening concealer, if the shade was just a bit lighter, it would work well for pale people. You get 7ml of product in this concealer and it comes with a doe foot applicator wand.

  7. LA Girl Pro Conceal - GC969 Porcelain - £5.00
You can find this concealer on Beauty Bay, Amazon or eBay in the UK and it retails for around £5.00. This concealer does also come in a white version (Highlighter) - which I also have and this can be used for lighting other concealers, however! It does have some shimmer in it which you can see in certain lights so bear that in mind if you are interested in purchasing that. This concealer has quite a thick consistency and is full coverage. As you can see, it's not the lightest of the concealers I have swatched, but it is still useable for pale people. You get 8g of product in a squeezy tube which I'm not a fan of because the product tends to get stuck in the brush on the end and clogs it up. It's also easy to apply too much or not enough with this type of applicator.

 8. NYX Above & Beyond Full Coverage Concealer Jar - CJ01 Porcelain - £6.00
I've spoken about this product before, in my Top 10 NYX Products blog post - I've included it again in this blog post because I love it for carving out my eyebrows and spot concealing. It is a very thick formula so I don't use it under my eyes. It is slightly darker than the other concealers I am mentioning, but it works well underneath foundation and doesn't look orange when applied. You get 7g of product in the pot and you can find NYX in larger Boots stores and online at Feel Unique and many other websites now.

Now for the worst concealers - I don't actually think that any of these concealers are bad concealers in terms of their formula, but the shades are just not right for pale skin and as usual, they call them "Light" and "Ivory" when really, they mean orange (excuse the bumps on my arm, I was cold!)

Worst: 
  1. Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer - Light - £8.99
This concealer is a lot of people's favourite concealer, and I can see why! It's a great, full coverage concealer that feels super soft to apply and it blends out nicely without creasing. However, as you can see from the swatch, it's super yellow and too dark for pale skin. I've nearly used all of this up now but I would not repurchase because of the shade. In America, I believe you can get one shade lighter than this which would be perfect, but I don't understand why it is not available in the UK. The shade range itself is shocking in the UK - there is 'light' or 'nude' so it doesn't cater for anyone of a porcelain skin tone or darker than a slight tan. You get 6.8ml of product in this concealer and you twist the top to get product onto the sponge - I'm indifferent about this method of application - a lot of people hate it and a lot of people like it, I don't really mind it!

  2. - Rimmel Match Perfection 2 in 1 Concealer & Highlight - 010 Ivory - £5.99
 This product confuses me, because it is the exact same shade and brand as the Wake Me Up concealer, yet this one is much darker, as you can see from the swatch. This concealer comes in a squeezy tube which has the same applicator as the LA Girl Pro Conceal. It claims to be a highlighter and concealer in one - I can't say I could ever highlight with this as it's much too dark. It also claims to 'adapt to your skin tone'. Does the swatch look like it has adapted to my skin tone? I would not repurchase this product. You get 7ml of product in this concealer and it is available in most Boots and Superdrug stores or online.

 3. Bourjois Radiance Reveal Concealer - 01 Ivory - £7.99
This concealer looks great in the tube - it looks super pale and not too yellow or pink toned. Even when you first swatch it, it's a great pale colour. Then, if you leave it a few seconds, it will oxidise into a dark orange shade. I like the formula of this product - it's very smooth onto the skin and it has good coverage, but it's just not great because of the shade. It has a doe foot applicator wand and you get 7ml worth of product. Again, you can find this concealer in most Boots and Superdrug stores or online.

I hope this helps any of my fellow pale princesses out there! Let me know in the comments what your favourite concealer is for pale skin.

Sarah (aka. Pale Princess) x