10 Best Concealers to Disguise Blemishes, Under-Eye Circles, and Dark Spots in 2021

The right concealer can be your secret beauty weapon, helping you look wide-awake on less than eight hours of sleep or helpfully obscuring that massive hormonal zit that takes up residence on your chin every month. But it can be difficult to find the right one that won't settle into fine lines or slide off after a few hours of wear.

The Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab tests thousands of beauty products every year to find the ones that are actually worth it. To find the best concealers, we rounded up over 150 products and whittled down the field to a final 26 products based on their claims, price, and availability.

We then disseminated a range of products to a panel of professional makeup artists, who evaluated each product's performance, from ease of use to coverage to smoothness. All concealers were blinded to remove brand bias. After tallying up and ranking data from over 540 questions, we were able to find the best concealers to hide everything from blemishes to under eye circles to acne scarring.

No matter what skin issue you're trying to blend away, these are the best concealers you can buy for every skin type and gripe:


1

BEST OVERALL CONCEALER

Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer




IT COSMETICS

IT COSMETICSsephora.com

$27.00


In our latest test, this earned a perfect score for coverage, and beat out the competition to snag the highest ratings for performance, satisfaction, and smoothest coverage. Our testers raved that it's "great for dark spots, blemishes, and severe undereye discoloration," and with a massive shade range, there's a perfect match for every skin tone. The only con is that the product can be difficult to squeeze out of the tube. 

• 48 shades available

• Perfect coverage scores

• Highest ratings for performance and satisfaction

• Tube can be difficult to squeeze



2

BEST VALUE CONCEALER

HD Photogenic Concealer Wand



NYX PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP

NYX PROFESSIONAL MAKEUPamazon.com

$4.72



Among the most affordable concealers out there, this drugstore formula impressed testers with its coverage. They rated it easy to use, easy to dispense, apply, and spread. The thicker formula is great for disguising redness and discoloration, but heads up that it may be too heavy for the undereye area or mature skin. 

• 23 shades available

• Affordable

• Thick formula is easy to apply and blend

• May be too heavy for mature skin



3

BEST ANTI-AGING CONCEALER

Instant Age Rewind Eraser Concealer



MAYBELLINE NEW YORK

MAYBELLINE NEW YORKamazon.com

$9.99

$5.40 (46% off)


It's astounding that this drugstore concealer is only $5. The GH Beauty Lab was wowed by the formula that offers excellent coverage and superb blendability at a great price point. Formulated with goji berry and Haloxyl, this concealer won't cake or settle into fine lines. The easy-to-use "sponge tip is perfect for blending evenly," raved one tester, and while it can be used for all areas of the face, our testers favored it for blemishes.  

• 15 shades available

• Great coverage; blends easily and won't cake

• Works on under-eyes and blemishes


4

MOST POPULAR CONCEALER

Radiant Creamy Concealer









NARS

NARSnordstrom.com

$22.50



This NARS coverup can do it all: It applies and blends well to even out redness and conceal blemishes, undereye circles, and dark spots alike. Beauty Lab tests found that it offers excellent coverage for any need, especially blemishes, and that the long-lasting formula won’t settle into fine lines or cake. One tester called it "the best one" she had ever used, and it's a reviewer favorite, too. One of more than 4,000 Sephora reviewers says, "It blends well into the skin, does not crease, and is still fully intact after at least 12 hours of regular wear." 

• 21 shades available

• Works for all areas of the face, especially blemishes

• Long-lasting, non-cakey wear



5

BEST CONCEALER FOR DARK CIRCLES

Double Wear Stay-in-Place Flawless Wear Concealer

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ESTEE LAUDER

ESTÉE LAUDERnordstrom.com

$29.00



In our tests, this silky-textured formula earned top scores for ease of use and spreadability, and got a perfect score for texture. Our Beauty Lab says it's a "magic wand" for evening your skin tone, and while the "touch of peachiness [does] well to cancel darkness under eyes," our testers say you can use the do-it-all formula for any discoloration on the face, from dark spots to the undereye area.  

• 21 shades available

• Perfect score for texture

• Peachy undertones cancel discoloration



6

BEST CONCEALER FOR REDNESS

Boi-ing Airbrush Concealer

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BENEFIT

BENEFIT COSMETICSsephora.com

$22.00



If you have a problem with redness, look no further than this concealer. It earned high marks for blending into the skin and  having smooth coverage, and testers said this concealer pot has "pigmentation [that's] good for color correcting ... basically anything" from undereyes to redness. 

• High scores for blending into the skin for smooth coverage

• High pigmentation for color correcting

• Only 6 shades available



7

BEST CONCEALER FOR BLEMISHES

Beauty High Precision Retouch

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GIORGIO ARMANI

GIORGIO ARMANIsephora.com

$21.00



Even the smallest spots are no match for this concealer, which is particularly powerful against acne, blood vessels, and pigmentation. This formula earned the highest score for blending well into the skin, and also excelled in spreading well and providing smooth coverage on the skin. The super-fine brush is ideal for small blemishes and tight corners around the nose and eyes, but on the flip side, our testers don't advise using it on larger areas. 

• High scores for blending and providing smooth, even coverage

• Fine brush targets small spots and blemishes

• Only 6 shades available



8

BEST FIRMING UNDEREYE CONCEALER

Ceramide Lift and Firm Concealer

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ELIZABETH ARDEN

ELIZABETH ARDENamazon.com



If you struggle with undereye puffiness and signs of aging, this ultra-creamy concealer will smooth fine lines and target wrinkles, all while covering dark circles. Its CPT technology tightens undereye skin. While we haven't put this formula to the test in the Beauty Lab, reviewers swear it "goes on smoothly and doesn't settle into lines," though some warn it doesn't have longwear capabilities. "I will use it because of the ingredient benefit and just add another concealer," said one. 

• Anti-aging formula smooths under-eye lines and wrinkles

• Applies smoothly and evenly

• Only 4 shades available

• Some reviewers say it's not long-wearing



9

BEST CONCEALER STICK

Hydro Boost Hydrating Concealer

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NEUTROGENA

NEUTROGENAamazon.com

$13.15

$10.92 (17% off)



Formulated with thirst-quenching hyaluronic acid and a hydrating core, this affordable concealer is great for those who have skin that skews dry. The foolproof design of this stick concealer is great for beginners, but our testers found that since this formula is sheer to medium coverage, if you have major discoloration, you may need to layer it with a higher coverage formula.  

• Hyaluronic acid core hydrates dry, flaky skin

• Stick formula is easy to apply

• Sheer to medium coverage might not be strong enough for some

• Only 5 shades available



10

BEST CONCEALER FOR DARK SPOTS

Shape Tape Contour Concealer



TARTE

TARTEulta.com

$27.00



Tarte claims that a tube of Shape Tape is sold every 12 seconds, and with over 11,000 reviews and an average 4.5 star rating, it doesn't seem unlikely. Reviewers say the full coverage liquid formula won't crease into fine lines, even on dry skin. In Beauty Lab tests, Shape Tape scored in the middle of the pack: Our testers thought it excelled in pigmentation coverage and spreadability, but didn't offer the smoothest coverage, which is why this formula is best for "problem areas [like] scars, blemishes, rosacea."  

• 30 shades available

• Full-coverage, highly-pigmented formula

Thanks for reading.



Written by
NAGHMA NASIR