tarte Shape Tape Blur Concealer Stick, Full Size, 12N

Angie's honest notes

This is my other concealer, and it earns its place for a different reason than my Clinique one.

It comes in a stick, like a lipstick. You twist it up and use it straight on the skin. No wand, no sponge, nothing to dip into.

The tip is the whole thing. It is a diamond-shaped precision tip, made for an instant eye-lift effect, and that shape lets me lay it exactly along the under-eye and stop right where I want to stop. I do not go lower than I mean to, so the product sits only where the dark circle is and nowhere it should not be. That tip also gets into the inner corner, which is the spot nothing else reaches well. It is ergonomic, and I mean that literally: the diamond shape follows the curve under the eye, it fits into the corner of the eye, and from there I just glide it outward. It sits under there like it was made for that exact spot. That control is what sold me on it.

I do not have to prep the skin as much. With other concealers you have to hydrate the under-eye first or the product goes on cracked and the fine lines end up showing more than before. With this one I do not need to do all of that. It goes on smooth. It makes sense, because the formula itself has hyaluronic acid in it.

You feel the difference the moment it is on. The dark circles are gone, the lines do not show, nothing looks creased. One pass and the area looks even.

What Tarte says about it. It is a waterproof concealer and foundation in one stick, with 24-hour crease-proof wear, buildable to full coverage with a natural blurring finish, vegan and cruelty free.

My shade. 12N, full size. Tarte codes the shade by undertone: N is neutral, B is beige, S is sand, G is golden. On Amazon all the shades share one listing, so check the code on your own stick before you order. This link is set to 12N.

How I choose between my two concealers. I love them both and I use both. This Tarte stick is what I reach for when I want precision and coverage right now, because that pointed tip places it perfectly and it needs almost no prep. My Clinique Even Better is the one I use as a treatment, because that one also works on the dark circles over time. One is the fast, flawless finish. The other is the long game.

What you should know. It is not a cheap concealer, and the finish is natural and blurring, not shiny.

Skip it if you want something sheer and dewy, or something that treats your skin while it covers. This one is makeup, and it is very good makeup.