copy and paste!

ok readers, i know i promised you part two of Tool Time today but it's getting postponed because i am soooooo incredibly amped about this product! sunday i made a special voyage to the mall just to check out Benefit's new concealer, Erase Paste, $26, because of the amazingly positive reviews it's been getting on MUA, and i was not disappointed!

i guess i should do some background info on why i'm so thrilled by this find: since birth (not exaggerating), i have had horribly dark circles under my eyes. now i'm not talking about the 'i didn't get enough sleep last night so i have a slight darkness' circles, i'm talking about 'hey Kitten, did you get punched in the face, TWICE, last night?' circles. these are inherited (thanks Dad!), genetic circles, possibly exacerbated by allergies, that don't respond to sleep, change of diet or vitamin-intake. they go the whole way around my eyes and even darken the skintone on my eyelids. not fun! so i've been concealer searching since the age of 13 and when i find one that really performs, i tend to get overly excited.

there are a lot of good concealer options out there, some of my favorites being Bobbi Brown Correctors (what i have been currently using), which actually neutralize the color of your circles so they blend in with your skin, and then there's the Bobbi Brown Concealer, which you're supposed to use over top of the Corrector (but i just use the corrector and it works wonderfully). Laura Mercier Secret Concealer was one i used for a few years faithfully, and it is good, but i think the Bobbi Brown is better. Amazing Cosmetics makes an AMAZING concealer that is really heavy duty coverage and i like to use it on the very darkest bits of my circles that peak through even after using my regular concealer, etc etc etc. so yes, there are many good concealers out there, but usually if a concealer works really well for concealing dark undereye circles, it doesn't work for red spots, blemishes, discolorations, and other common face ailments. here's where Erase Paste is different! Benefit claims...

"Signs of stress & fatigue are a thing of the past with this innovative formula. This concentrated, creamy, blendable concealer instantly brightens & camouflages all-in-one. The three brightening neutral shades give every gal correction perfection."

to really test out this concealer and see if it was worth it's hefty price tag, i went to the mall completely bare-faced except for my eye makeup (eye shadow and mascara)! yes girls, this is what i will sacrifice in order to bring you the real 411 on new products! so when i got to the Benefit display and snatched up the Erase Paste in #1 (Fair), i had very dark circles PLUS several red spots and splotches to conceal. all i used to apply this concealer were my fingers and i was literally shocked by how well it covered everything i had to hide! it completely concealed my dark circles without looking cakey or mask-like and managed to brighten up the whole eye area, too. for the red spots on my face, only the tiniest dab was needed to even them out and make them pretty much invisible, plus the areas i had covered didn't stand out against the rest of my bare skin. it didn't look too shiny or moist like some concealers can, so in my opinion powder is not needed over the top to set the product. without the help of a powder, it managed to last until late that night when i washed my face and it still looked pretty good. the jar that it comes in contains a TON of product and since it's very concentrated, you only need the teensiest bit, making the price actually pretty reasonable. they also include a tiny spatula so that you don't have to stick your fingers into the jar if you don't want to. i am wow-ed by this concealer, and it is #1 on my Next To Buy list!

have you tried Erase Paste? if so, let me know in the comments and tell me what you thought of it! if not, what's your go-to concealer? i'm all ears!

Erase Paste is available in 3 colors and retails for $26. you can find it at Macy's, Sephora, or the Benefit website.