Review: Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage

When I look for a concealer, I primarily want something for under the eyes, I'd like it to be moisturizing, not seep into fine lines and apply easily. Laura Mercier's Secret Camouflage is not the traditional concealer that I normally think of. The texture of this product is quite hard and waxy and if not applied correctly, it can be a nightmare and you will hate it. Lots of people have given this negative reviews because they didn't know how to use it correctly. If applied right, it can provide great coverage and be a wonderful concealer. The Sephora website describes this product as "A dual-tone concealer that completely camouflages dark circles, minor imperfections, and discolorations. This versatile concealer contains a unique two-shade system: one to match the skin's depth of color and one to match the skin's undertone, making it possible for every woman to custom-blend her own perfect shade. The high level of pigment requires very little product to achieve perfect coverage."

As you can tell it comes with two shades, the left side is creamy and peach salmon coloured, and the right is the harder yellow (skin tone) concealer. They are meant to be blended in together to achieve the best colour for your skin, and you can adapt it when your skin changes shades with the seasons. I have this in SC-1, which is for very fair skintones. I picked up SC-1 because it was the peach side that interested me the most, and depending on which number you get, you may get a wider lighter side. SC-2 has the reverse (although darker too). The peach side is the clear winner in this compact to me. To look at swatches of all 6 colours that this product comes in click here 1-3, and here 4-6, courtesy of Karlasugar.

The packaging on this is sleek and attractive. It comes in a brown heavy compact with a nice mirror, and it shuts closed well so you can carry it with you in your purse. This retails for $28 US, I picked it up on StrawberryNet.com. This product was sent to me for review purposes.

Swatched here you can see the texture of the product. I use this under my eyes (peach side only) and the two together to any problem areas on my face. The most important part is to warm this up in your fingers before applying it, then it goes on much nicer. The texture is meant to be "hard" so that it grabs on to the skin better, yet looking natural and not moving around. And you only need a small amount, so this compact will last a long time. Laura recommends to use her concealer brush to apply this, but I find fingers work best.

I am still working out how to use this best, like I said, the peach side is very nice, although not as smooth as my Bobbi Brown concealer (but coverage is just as good). Although it like it for under the eyes, I prefer a thinner, creamier concealer for that area. The lighter side is good for redness too, which I enjoy. It can look cakey if I apply too much.

Would I recommend this product? This concealer is better for face concealing, it can be difficult to use under the eyes. I would suggest it for concealing redness or spots. It's best for combination/oily skin in my opinion, since those with dry skin (me) may find this shows dryness on the face easily. The coverage is great and if used properly it's a nice product to have around.