The best concealer

• Finding your ideal concealer shade is tricky, so we tested a bunch to find the best concealer you can buy.
• Laura Mercier’s Secret Camouflage is our top pick because each compact comes with two colors you can mix and match to suit your skin tone and use all over your face if you want to.

Finding the ideal concealer is a challenge, in part because everyone’s definition of “the ideal concealer” is different. Some want full-coverage, others want something natural and undetectable. Or, maybe you want both in your collection to use for different occasions.

To make matters worse, it’s also really difficult to tell what a concealer is going to be like before you actually try it out in your routine. Even if you apply it in the store, you won’t know how it plays with your other products or wears throughout the day until you take it home. Some concealers work beautifully applied with the fingers, while some don’t blend properly unless you use a damp makeup sponge.

Even a great concealer is going to take some trial and error. And that’s not even getting into the issue of choosing the right shade for your skin tone.

I’m extremely picky about complexion products because I can’t stand when you can see them sitting on my face. It’s one reason why I hardly ever wear foundation. Concealer, on the other hand, is a daily staple of my routine. The best formulas can make you look airbrushed with very little product required. I put a bunch of highly rated concealers to the test over several weeks. This list features my top five favorites.

Here are the best concealers to buy in 2019:

• Best concealer overall: Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage
• Best dewy concealer: Glossier Stretch Concealer
• Best drugstore brand concealer: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Concealer
• Best full coverage concealer: Milk Makeup Flex Concealer
• Best concealer for blurring: Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Ultra-Longwear Concealer

Updated 10/29/19 by Jada Wong: Updated prices, formatting, and links.

The best concealer overall

Each shade of the popular Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage concealer comes with two colors to ensure you find your own perfect match.

Color matching your concealer to your skin tone is always a challenge. Who hasn't accidentally stepped out wearing a shade too dark or too light? Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage eliminates this issue in the most genius way. Each compact comes with two colors that can be mixed to create your perfect shade.

The color-correcting element makes this a great pick for spot concealing blemishes and covering up dark circles. I find the formula a touch dry for under my eyes, but oilier skin types will love it. It works like a dream on pimples and sun spots due to the high coverage and long-lasting formula.

The thicker consistency also ensures the concealer stays put all day, even on tricky spots like raised blemishes. Apply this with a smaller, flat brush to get the best targeted coverage. Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage appears on just about every list of concealer recommendations and is a popular choice for makeup artists. Recently, it's been featured on Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Refinery29, and Best Products.

I hope the company expands the shade selection, especially on the darker end of the spectrum, but the mix-and-match feature makes it a good pick for a wide range of complexions.

Pros: Two colors per shade for easy customization, non-comedogenic, oil-free, contains aloe & chamomile for soothing

Cons: Not a ton of dark shades

Buy Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage at Sephora for $35

The best dewy concealer

Glossier Stretch Concealer provides dewy, fresh, natural-looking coverage thanks to the micro-waxes and oils in the formula.

Glossier Stretch Concealer is my favorite beauty product of all time, the one I'd bring with me if I were stranded on a desert island but still needed to look awake for some reason. I use it almost every day, and for occasions as varied as grocery stores runs and weddings (including my own).

I didn't list it as my top pick only because this product is not quite as versatile as the Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage. This is a very specific formula - dewy, emollient, and natural-looking, with medium coverage. If you're super oily or looking for full-coverage, this might not be the pick for you.

Glossier Stretch Concealer owes its lightweight, hydrating texture to several ingredients: beeswax and microcrystalline wax, avocado and jojoba oils, cocoa butter, and adaptable mineral pigments. There are currently five shades - Light, Medium, Dark, Deep, and Rich - but I find the product sheer and blendable enough that you should be able to find a close enough color match.

To apply, I warm it up in the pot with my ring finger and tap it onto the skin. I find the warmth of my fingertips helps the concealer sink in. Then I set with a tiny bit of powder to prevent creasing.

This concealer is so lightweight that you can put it all over your face without it feeling heavy - I've heard quite a few people say they basically use this as foundation. The first time I put it on I was amazed at how quickly the product disappeared into my skin, becoming undetectable. It's especially amazing under the eyes for brightening and covering dark circles, and on areas of redness or discoloration.

I'm far from the only person to sing Stretch Concealer's praises on the internet. It's recently been featured by Allure and British Vogue.

Pros: Weightless, medium coverage, dewy finish, hypoallergenic, fragrance-free, cruelty-free

Cons: Pills up when used over some thicker foundations, jar packaging

Buy Stretch Concealer at Glossier for $18

The best drugstore brand concealer

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Concealer has a unique hydrating core that provides creaseless coverage without the cakiness.

Concealer is often susceptible to caking up and looking awkwardly visible on the skin. Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Concealer is infused with a hyaluronic acid core that prevents this phenomenon by moisturizing the skin while providing medium coverage.

This is another concealer that looks nearly undetectable once you blend it out. It's a touch more matte than Glossier Stretch Concealer, so if you want natural coverage without the shine, you'll probably love this stuff. I apply it straight from the tube onto my skin, then tap it in with my fingertips, going back in with a small brush for any tough-to-blend spots.

Despite the unique hydrating core, this product is oil-free and non-comedogenic. It creases under the eyes so minimally that you probably don't need to set it with powder, though I usually do just for the extra sealing-in step. The packaging is very sleek - about the size of a slim lipstick bullet - so you can bring it on the go for touch-ups.

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Concealer is a popular drugstore recommendation, with recent mentions in Allure and Cosmopolitan.

Pros: Hydrating, lightweight, oil-free, easily portable

Cons: Only comes in 5 shades

Buy Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Concealer at Target for $12.99

The best full coverage concealer

Milk Makeup Flex Concealer delivers the impossible - full-coverage that doesn't feel heavy or look cakey on the skin.

It should be obvious by now that I'm not really a full-coverage kinda gal. I just hate when I can feel the makeup sitting on my skin, you know? But a lot of people look for high coverage in their concealers, so I'd be remiss not to recommend one here.

Luckily, Milk Makeup Flex Concealer is as comfortable to wear as my light- to medium-coverage faves, while delivering significantly more coverage. Because it's a touch thicker than other concealers I use, Flex Concealer takes a little more work to blend. I find this one is best blended with a damp makeup sponge so it sinks in properly.

The small, precise doe foot applicator allows you to dot the concealer exactly where you want it - on the inner corners of the under eye area, on small blemishes and areas of discoloration. You only need the tiniest bit of product in each area, so use a light hand.

Flex Concealer also has the best shade range of all the ones featured: 16 colors ranging from Porcelain to Espresso. The shades also take differing undertones into account for a truly perfect match.

Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, and InStyle all recommend the Flex Concealer, and it has a 4.1 Sephora rating based on 270+ reviews.

Pros: Full coverage, lightweight, applicator makes it easy to apply on spots

Cons: Needs a tool to blend out

Buy Milk Makeup Flex Concealer at Sephora for $28

The best concealer for blurring

Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Ultra-Longwear Concealer has blurring properties that minimize the appearance of imperfections, giving you that flawless finish.

If blurring imperfections is a top concern for you, you'll love Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Ultra-Longwear Concealer. It's a buildable medium- to full-coverage concealer containing the brand's Blurring Powder Blend to minimize the appearance of fine lines under the eyes and discoloration.

This concealer is long-wearing and resistant to water, sweat, and humidity. It comes in 12 shades with different undertones. While I think the company could improve the range on the darker end of the spectrum, it's a decent start.

Thickness wise this concealer is lighter than the Milk Makeup Flex Concealer but heavier than Glossier Stretch. I prefer to blend it out using a concealer brush or a sponge rather than fingertips. The finish is almost a bit powdery, but not in a cakey way. This concealer really does last forever on the skin and hardly creases at all, even without additional powder.

British Vogue and Harper's Bazaar have both featured Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion and it has a 4.5 Sephora rating based on over 1,000 reviews.

Pros: Flexible doe-foot applicator, long-lasting, blurring effect, oil-free, shades have different undertones

Cons: Could use more dark shades

Buy Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Ultra-Longwear Concealer at Sephora for $29 (originally $28)

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The best blush you can buy

Blush can add some color to your cheeks no matter your skin tone. These are the best blushes we've tried.

The right blush can help bring an entire makeup look together, wake up your face on tired mornings, or reinstate some life on your cheeks after you've blotted out your natural color with foundation.

Here are the best blushes you can buy:

• Best overall: Glossier Cloud Paint, $18
• Best powder blush: BECCA Mineral Blush, $32
• Best multitasking blush: Bite Multistick, $24
• Best glowy blush: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush, $38
• Best drugstore blush: Catrice Strobing Blush, $6.99