MAC Studio Finish Concealer Review

A lightweight, creamy, discreetly opaque concealer. Provides a smooth, long-wearing invisible coverage for all skin blemishes. Water-resistant, fragrance-free and non-acnegenic. This emollient-based, lightweight concealer is so concentrated that a tiny amount can provide opaque coverage of the skin’s imperfections and discolourations. It effectively covers dark circles, blemishes, moles, tattoos and birthmarks. Enriched with antioxidants (derivatives of Vitamin A and Vitamin E), it also contains Silica to help adsorb the skin’s oils. It has an SPF of 35 and is available in a wide range of colours. It can be applied with a medium to firm fiber brush (try the 242 Brush), a latex sponge, or the fingertips.

Price - Rs 920 (India) for 7 gm

Why should you buy MAC Studio Finish Concealer?

The only criteria this time I had for a concealer was SPF. I wanted something that could give me a little coverage and has SPF for protection against the sun.  Since most concealers that I wanted to buy didn’t have any SPF in them, I straight away went to MAC to check this. This one has SPF 35.

Now the biggest problem was the colour selection. I use NC-40 foundation so I wanted to check NC-40 in concealer as well.  I don’t have dark circles per se, but I mainly have problem with under eye circles. So any ways, NC 40 look weird under my eyes.

NC-35- No, no!

NC-30-too light

Finally the MA decided to move on to the NW range. NW-40- too dark.  NW-35 Bingo! worked like a magic. I have no clue why it worked but it looked the best among all the shades that I tried earlier.It blended well with my foundation, my under eyes were mostly concealed and it was all happy-happy stage.

Some pointers about this concealer. This lives upto every single claim it states.

• Light weight you would never feel that you have a concealer on.
• Little goes a long way.
• Waterproof- Apply it in morning and forget about your under eyes or blemishes showing. Do apply some powder on top to set it.
• Super creamy- blends like a dream.
• SPF-35- Protects your delicate under eye area.
• Opaque. On sweep of it and it shows no blemishes, pimple scares etc. on your face.
• Haven’t given me any break outs.
• Does not settle into fine lines.
• It’s so tiny that you would be gald to carry it around.

Why should you NOT buy MAC Studio Finish Concealer?

• The product is less for the price you pay. But honestly, it justifies its price.
• It comes in a pot. I make sure to sanitise my hands before using it. You may also use a clean brush but I like to use my fingers to apply it.
• It might look cakey because it is so heavily pigmented and thick that anything overdone would look like you are wearing a mask.
• You might feel a little dryness under your skin after some time of applying it. So I suggest that you always apply an under eye cream under it, pat the excess cream with the tissue and then apply this concealer. or else it might accentuate your dry areas.

IMBB rating: +.5

MAC Studio Finish Concealer vs Colorbar Concealer : Although it’s not justified to compare the two brands because both are so close to my heart that I don’t want to keep one ahead of the other. But since you insist, here you go:

• Price: MAC- Rs 920, Colorbar: Rs 425 Although both are worth it.
• MAC Studio Finish Concealer is creamier than Colorbar’s.
• MAC Studio finish is completely opaque but Colorbar’s is buildable.  However, MAC SFC might look  heavy sometimes during the day because it would conceal just everything and you would have a perfect face.
• Loads of shades to choose from MAC Studio Finish concealer’s range while Colorbar has only three shades available.
• MAC Studio finish Concealer is crease proof but Colorbar’s might crease sometimes especially during summers.
• Palak complained that Colorbar’s concealer turns ashy on her mom’s eyes as her mom has bluish-purplish under eye circles. But personally I have never faced this problem. If you have very heavy dark circles and you need a full concealing then I guess MAC Studio Finish is a better option.

If you ask me to choose one over the other, I guess I won’t be able to do that. I still use Colorbar’s concealer a lot, especially during the day but if I am going for an evening/ night out, I like to use MAC Studio Finish. 

My only tips would be that you test a lot of shades before purchasing this and definitely set your concealers with some loose or pressed powder.

Which concealer do you use? Any favourites?

UPDATE: I have added “Today’s Pick” section on my blog where I would be adding fashion or makeup related stuff. And yes, as the name says it would be updated daily. Do check it out everyday to find out what’s “Today’s Pick”. If you have any favourites that you want me to include in that section, do let me know.

Also Read :
MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation Review
MAC Studio Careblend Pressed Powder Review
MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation SPF 15 Review
MAC Studio Moisture Fix Lotion Review