Cover FX Power Play & First Aid Beauty Hello FAB Bendy Avocado Concealers

Top: NYX Gotcha Covered (Light)
Bottom (l-r): Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer Hydrate (Light Golden), Cover FX Power Play (N Light 2), First Aid Beauty Hello FAB Bendy Avocado (Light), IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealing Pot (Medium)

As you can see from the photo above, my tube of NYX Gotcha Covered concealer was on its last legs and rather than pick up another tube at the drugstore (which, let me tell you, is getting kind of hard because no one seems to stock this particular concealer anymore) I decided it was time to try something new.  So in my most recent concealer haul I decided to get:

• Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer Hydrate in Light Golden. This is something I’ve wanted to try for years. I wasn’t impressed with the regular Amazing Cosmetics liquid concealer in the squeeze tube that in my experience had very little coverage but I’d heard good things about the stick concealer which is supposedly more emollient.
• Cover FX Power Play Concealer in N Light 2. A lot of reviewers online seemed to be blown away by the coverage and compared it to Tarte’s Shape Tape. I actually didn’t care for Shape Tape which I found extremely dry and cakey looking on me although the coverage was indeed impressive. However, I’ve tried a handful of Cover FX products, namely their highlighter and concealer in the squeeze tube, and liked them well enough to want to give the brand another go.
• First Aid Beauty Hello FAB Bendy Avocado Concealer in Light. I’m a bit familiar with their skincare line but I believe this is the first actual makeup product I’ve ever purchased from the brand. I tried their much hyped Ultra Repair Cream in the past and really couldn’t see how it was any more moisturizing or better than the CeraVe and Vanicream moisturizers I’d been using from the drugstore. It definitely didn’t work well enough to justify the price tag in my opinion. Needless to say my expectations for their concealer were quite low.
• IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealing Pot in Medium. Now don’t get confused. This isn’t the regular IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer or Bye Bye Under Eye Illumination Concealers in the black, pink or silver squeeze tubes. It’s also not the same as the Bye Bye Under Eye Corrector in the small blue pot. This one is their new under eye concealer that comes in a small black pot. I’ve had amazing luck with almost all of the IT Cosmetics products I’ve ever tried so my hopes were high for this concealer.

As you can see from the swatches, aside from the First Aid Beauty concealer which is very peachy, none of the concealers seem to be too far off in terms of shade or depth from the NYX concealer. I’ve gotta say that came as quite a relief because picking the correct shades was pretty much all guesswork on my part. I purchased all of the concealers online sight unseen and I didn’t have the benefit of swatching them beforehand. For reference, I’m NC15-20.

For the purposes of this particular blog post, I’ll mainly be talking about the Cover FX and First Aid Beauty concealers. I did end up keeping the Amazing Cosmetics concealer but I’m sort of meh about it. I don’t like it more than the Tarte Maracuja Creaseless, IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye or NYX Gotcha covered concealers that come in the squeeze tubes, but I think the stick format is convenient for touch ups on the go and that’s the main reason I decided to hang onto it. I’ll probably do a proper swatch/review for it in the future.

The IT Cosmetics Bye Under Eye Concealing Pot was unfortunately a complete and utter failure that didn’t even merit swatching. The texture was firm and solid and very reminiscent of the It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Corrector. The finish was all right — a bit satin/dewy which I liked — but the coverage was completely nonexistent. I’ve come to expect a lot from IT Cosmetics. They generally release very few products each year but the ones they come out with are usually winners, so it actually made me a bit angry that the company deemed this concealer worthy to be released. It made me so mad I immediately re-boxed it and mailed it back for a refund.

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First Aid Beauty Hello FAB Bendy Avocado Concealer (Light), Cover FX Power Play Concealer (N Light 2)

First Aid Beauty Hello FAB Bendy Avocado Concealer (Light)

First Aid Beauty Hello FAB Bendy Avocado Concealer (Light)

Next up, the First Aid Beauty Hello FAB Bendy Avocado Concealer. Wow, that’s a mouthful.

This is a liquid concealer with a relatively thin and lightweight consistency. The applicator is a paddle shaped doe-foot that’s flatter and wider on the top and bottom than on its sides. The shade I have is Light which I’d describe as a yellow peach. I found the coverage quite sheer/light and the finish was a soft matte on my very dry skin. This concealer also creased a fair bit and settled into my fine lines. Overall, a very mediocre concealer.

Bare eye (left), First Aid Beauty Hello FAB Bendy Avocado Concealer (right)

Bare eye (left), First Aid Beauty Hello FAB Bendy Avocado Concealer (right)

First Aid Beauty Hello FAB Bendy Avocado Concealer (Light)

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Cover FX Power Play Concealer (N Light 2)

Now the Cover FX Power Play Concealer I really didn’t like, from the applicator to the actual product itself. I have the same issue with this applicator as I did with Tarte’s Shape Tape and Physicians Formula’s Healthy Foundation which also come with large, oversized applicators.

The huge, rounded applicator means that not enough product gets scraped off the doe-foot when it’s pulled from the tube. There’s always a huge blob of concealer at the very tip of the wand, so I either have the choice of removing the excess before taking the doe-foot directly to my face or I have to grab a separate concealer brush to apply the concealer. I generally go for option 2 as these jumbo wands are usually way too big to use on very small, specific areas of my face like my under eyes. If you’re someone who likes to paint their under eye concealer on in huge triangles, you might love this jumbo applicator but I’m a “less is more” kind of gal. I prefer to use as little concealer as I can get away with to avoid cakeface.

The texture and coverage of the Cover FX concealer is very reminiscent of Shape Tape so, in my opinion, if you like one you’d probably like the other. They’re both liquids but on the thicker, creamier end of the spectrum and both offer full coverage. Between the two, I think Power Play is a better color match for me and consequently does a better job of concealing but both concealers are way too matte and dry looking on my skin.

Bare eye (left), Cover FX Power Play (N Light 2) (right)

Bare eye (left), Cover FX Power Play (N Light 2) (right)

Cover FX Power Play (N Light 2)