Sophistication Sundays - MAC Studio Finish Concealer

My sophistication muse, Audrey Hepburn

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Sophistication Sundays will revolve around my favorite beauty finds, techniques, fashion trends and anything else "pretty" that catches my eye. I look forward to sharing these ideas with you and hope to hear your suggestions and feedback as well! I am no expert at beauty or fashion by any means but perhaps that will make my thoughts more relatable. Simply put, I'm just a girly-girl navigating my way through the fabulous finds I come across.

If I had to pick the most important beauty item I could NEVER go without I know exactly what I would say: concealer! Unfortunately I am not one of those ladies who can throw on foundation or powder and leave the house. I inherited horrible, unattractive dark circles... ugh (thanks, Dad!)

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Okay they may not be this bad but seriously that's what I would feel like if I left the house without concealer under my eyes. Yuck!

And of course the other wonderful thing about concealer is how much it comes in handy when you have a blemish. Yes, suffice to say concealer is my best friend. Over the years I have tried many, many different types of concealer. So much of it is thin and has the consistency of foundation. Basically it helped a little bit but it didn't truly cover those dark circles or blemishes.

Concealer Attempt #1:

Covergirl Fresh Complexion Concealer
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This was my favorite kind of concealer in high school because it was cheap. But really, it didn't work well for my dark circles... actually it didn't really cover the blemishes well either :(

Concealer Attempt #2:

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During college I moved onto Neutrogena 3-in-1 Concealer for eyes. This seemed to work a tad better than Covergirl but I still wasn't satisfied. This cost anywhere from $7-$10 a pop and I would go through it very quickly. They just didn't put that much in the little tube and I remember feeling like for the quality of the product I was spending way too much money and constantly running out.

Attempt #3 - The MIRACLE WORKER ((angels singing))

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Enter that fateful day when I happened upon MAC Studio Finish Concealer. We were in Florida for my bestie's wedding and her childhood friend (who's makeup always looks AMAZING) was using it under her eyes. I was very curious and asked her about the concealer. She was happy to let me try it and needless to say I was instantly hooked! I think I asked her about 20 times what color it was so I could be certain to order the right color off the website when I returned home (we don't have a MAC store in SD). This stuff is fantastic! It has just the right consistency so it really covers the dark circles and blemishes and stays put. The cost is a bit higher than what I used to pay - it's $16.50 - but don't get sticker shock because you wouldn't believe how much makeup they pack into that little container! I usually buy one shade for the winter (NW 20) and one for the summer (NW 25) and they typically last me a whole year! When I think about how quickly I would go through this little tubes of sub-par Neutrogena concealer I can easily see I'm getting a better quality, more cost-effective product. I will never go back!

One last note, in order to stop this product from settling into lines under my eyes I make sure to use primer under my eyes. I will still get a few faint lines but they appear within 5 minutes and I usually just take my finger and quickly swipe over them and right before I walk out the door.

So do you have a beauty product you couldn't live without? What is it? Do you have a concealer that you think takes the cake? I'd love to hear your suggestions.

Have a fabulous Sunday... xoxo

~Christi