I Tried a No-Powder Concealer Hack: See Photos
This No-Powder Concealer Hack Completely Changed How I Do My Makeup
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I haven't always been a makeup girl. My mom refused to even let me own makeup until I was 15, and it wasn't until I was in my late 20s that I (sort of) started figuring out how things worked. There were a few years when I did a full face of makeup without filling in my eyebrows, and a couple of months where I refused to wear blush altogether because I thought it made me look too "red."
Now, I'm fairly well-versed in the makeup world simply because of my job, but I'm still learning new tips and tricks every day that tend to make my routine simpler and easier. Recently, I've been seeing a hack for setting concealer without powder going viral, and it immediately piqued my interest. I've always set my undereye area with powder, but I've also always found that it quickly gets cakey and doesn't always look the best. Makeup artist Vincent Ford first shared the trick on his Instagram page in June, and since then, it seems like I can't scroll social media without seeing at least one person singing its praises. I decided I need to try it for myself.
This hack required a product that I didn't already own, the Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray (£21), which I wasn't excited about because it's not a category of makeup I usually use. Still, I remained open-minded.
I decided to test out the hack when getting ready for a concert because I knew I would be getting sweaty throughout the night and it was the perfect opportunity to see whether or not it actually worked. Before doing my makeup I always start with prepped skin using vitamin C serum, moisturiser, and a primer. Since this tip focussed heavily on the eye area, I applied the Loops Weekly Reset Rejuvenating Eye Mask while I did my eye makeup to ensure my undereyes were properly moisturised.
Once I removed the eye masks and patted in the extra serum onto skin, I took my concealer brush — I used the Haus Labs Cruelty-Free Foundation Brush (£35) — and spritzed it with the Urban Decay setting spray three times. From there, I dabbed the brush underneath my eyes in the areas where I was planning to later apply product. Then, I took the Make Up For Ever HD Skin Smooth & Blur Concealer (£30) and added a few dots under my eyes. Next I sprayed the concealer brush again with setting spray, and slowly blended out my concealer using the brush after letting it marinate for a few minutes.
Typically I use a Beautyblender (£18) to smooth out my concealer, so this experience was a little different than normal. However, I noticed that because I was using a brush there was a lot more product under my eye area than usual since it wasn't being soaked up by my wet beauty sponge, which was a plus. Normally after blending, I would immediately go in with powder, so skipping that step altogether felt weird, but I left my apartment hopeful that my makeup would last.
By the end of the night when I got home from the concert, I was surprised to see that not only had my concealer stayed in place, but because I didn't have a ton of powder layered on top of it, the creasing was much more minimal. I don't plan on straying from this hack in the future, because it's honestly been a makeup routine game-changer — so much so that I'm not even mad at the fact that I had to spend £30.
