Review: Cover Girl Simply Ageless Eye Concealer

There are so many concealers available at the drugstore these days that it's hard for me to try them all as they're released. Sometimes, my first chance to try something is long after it's considered new, which is the case with Cover Girl Simple Ageless Eye Concealer. I probably wouldn't have tried this product at all due to its hefty price tag (retail: $12.99 at CVS) but I had some coupons that I used during a sale so I ended up getting both the concealer and the blush from this line for a very good price (I'll be posting my blush review soon so please check back if you're interested).

Cover Girl Simply Ageless Eye Concealer in Light (retail: around $12.99)

As we all probably know by now, the Simply Ageless line (concealer, foundation and blush) all come in pots and the product is swirled together with a ribbon of Olay Advanced Regenerist Serum. This promises to help makeup "stay suspended over fine lines and wrinkles." That's a tall order, but if there's any product that most of us NEED to stay suspended over fine lines and wrinkles, it's GOTTA be eye concealer, right?

Whenever I'm using a pot concealer, I absolutely depend on a good concealer brush for application. My current favorite is the ecoTOOLS Bamboo Deluxe Concealer Brush, which is cheap (about $3.99 at Walgreens, Rite Aid, etc.), sturdy, super soft and big enough to apply a lot of concealer in a short amount of time (if you need precision, try using a clean gel liner brush if you don't have a small concealer brush in your collection!).

So for these before/during/after shots, I decided to do this test on a day where I wasn't feeling well and I had even extra darkness under my eyes (not to mention a desperate need for a brow waxing).

My bare skin, after cleansing and moisturizing:

After applying Simply Ageless Eye Concealer with my concealer brush:

After gently blending with my finger (any excess concealer I had left on my finger was applied gently to my eyelid to help even out the color in that area as well):

After foundation and powder application (I used Physician's Formula SPF50 Powder Foundation with a light dusting of Cover Girl Clean Oil Control power on top):

My under-eye darkness is not completely covered, but it's good enough to leave the house and not feel like everyone's staring at my circles!

What I think is MOST important to note here is that this product did what it said it would do. Honestly, when I applied my powder foundation on top of it, it was as if everything just glided over my skin. My powder didn't settle into my fine lines and it didn't exaggerate the look of the concealer. I really do think that this concealer helped immensely to create a barrier between my powder and my skin. It helps "fill" up lines, wrinkles and pores, keeping the rest of my makeup from exaggerating every little flaw on my skin.

It's funny because I had read several horrible reviews of this product before I actually tried it. I think that maybe the people who reviewed this (and hated it) might have young(er) skin. The reason I say this is because, if you do not have dry under-eye skin, fine lines, wrinkles or enlarged pores, this might do absolutely nothing but sit on your skin and make it feel heavy. In my opinion, this product works best if it's got something to seep INTO (wrinkles, pores, etc.). Does that make sense?

As for the concealing properties, this is not what's magical about this product. It definitely evened out my skintone, but as for really concealing my dark circles, it was just enough to get me through the day. The true benefit of Simply Ageless Eye Concealer is that wonderful primer-esque feeling and look it gives to the skin. It makes my foundation look SO much better that I've been actually using it all over my face, as sort of a pre-foundation step (which works quite well if you use powder foundation--I'm not so sure how it would work if you applied this all over your face before using a liquid foundation so experiment a bit if you're a liquid foundation gal).

I think I might have invented a new term! For me, this product works like a TINTED PRIMER. I don't know if I've seen anything else quite like it, but tinted primer works perfectly to describe it. It doesn't have the same coverage as a foundation and it doesn't completely eliminate dark circles, but it does even out my skintone and it preps my skin for my foundation beautifully!

You get a lot of product in this pot (especially if you use a brush to apply it), so you can definitely experiment without feeling like you're wasting product. My suggestion is that, if this doesn't work to conceal any darkness you may have, try using it in a different way before you jump ship. Try it as foundation or try it as a tinted moisturizer (or a tinted primer! hee hee) because you just never know--you might fall in love with it. I sure have.

Oh, and one more thing. Before you go running out to buy this, be warned that the color selection is less than stellar with just four shades to choose from. I am not 100% happy with "Light" for my skin, but I can make it work since my powder foundation is pretty pigmented. If you don't use a pigmented foundation and/or powder on top of this product, you're going to need to pay more attention to the color you select, so be warned that there aren't many choices. I think the lack of shades is really this product's only downfall.

Have you tried anything from Coverl Girl Simple Ageless collection? Please share your thoughts in the comments!