Beauty review: The Ordinary High Coverage Formula Concealer

Considering the success of its insanely well-priced – and efficacious – skincare line, it made perfect sense for The Ordinary to branch out into makeup. They did this with the arrival over a year ago of The Ordinary Colours line, which kicked off with The Serum Foundation (super lightweight, breathable and a great summer option) and Coverage Foundation (which has a more seamless finish). I fell hard for the Serum formula in particular, and watched avidly for news of any new products to be added to line. In particular there was one essential item missing: a concealer. Until now, that is.
The Ordinary has now added the High Coverage Formula Concealer to the Colours family, and it’s already a runaway hit the world over. Priced locally at an incredible $12.60, the concealer boasts 36 shades which correspond to the foundation collection, making it easier to find your match, with 15 additional shades rumoured to be coming later this year.

As the name suggests, the product is highly pigmented, so it's perfect for covering everything from acne scars to dark circles, hyperpigmentation, and other concerns. It's designed as a highly moveable, flexible formula with a good amount of slip, so very versatile and suitable for using on all parts of the face.
Like with any good concealer formulation, there's a big focus on undertone too. This ensures that shades do not look “flat” on the skin. The Ordinary shades are divided into four categories: 1 for fair to lighter tones; 2 for medium tones; 3 for dark/deep tones; and 4 for deeper tones. A letter is also added to the shade code to identify the undertone: P (pink) and R (red) indicate cool undertones, whilst N indicates a neutral undertone and Y (yellow) indicates a warm undertone.
After playing with a few shades over the past couple of weeks I have to say that I have fallen hard for the High Coverage Formula Concealer, which is also non-comedogenic (so less likely to clog pores) and has a lovely creamy, velvety texture. It blends easily with fingers, beauty blender or a brush, and really does feel like nothing on the skin. I’ve found that it does sit into the fine lines around my eyes after a full day’s wear, but so do many other concealers that come with a price point up to ten times that of this great little number. I just dab on a little eye cream or oil to freshen it up, making it a problem definitely easy fixed.
An absolute beauty steal, you really do need to try this next time you’re in the market for a high performing, versatile and super affordable new concealer – it comes highly recommended.

Main image by Soroush Karimi on Unsplash