Benefit Fake Up Concealer Review, Photos & Swatches

Hydrating and crease-proof? I never thought I’d see those two words in the same sentence when referring to concealer. Benefit’s new Fake Up Concealer ($24 USD / $29 CAD) claims to keep skin hydrated for 6 hours, all while covering up dark circles and diffusing light for a bright, refreshed look. For anyone that knows me and my concealer woes, I have super dark circles and have only ever found one concealer to remain crease proof on me (that’s MAC Pro Longwear)… and trust me, I’ve tried them all. This concealer is available now online, and we’ll be seeing them in store soon!

Benefit Fake Up comes in three shades; 01 Light, 02 Medium and 03 Deep, each in a cute silver tube with a fun detailing on the cap. The product looks really interesting; the concealer is in the center with a translucent solid serum surrounding it. While it sounds intriguing, it’s really not that efficient. Having the concealer and serum separated makes for a patchy, uneven application. I’d rather just have one product with the two already combined (I’ve found that using a brush or rubbing a fingertip onto the product, then applying it to the eye area, works best for overcoming this issue).

Benefit Fake Up Concealer Packaging

Benefit Fake Up Concealers in (L-R) 01 Light, 02 Medium & 03 Deep

Note the size

The product does feel super hydrating and blends into the skin nicely. It doesn’t really set though; I find that it stays quite shiny (it looks like I just put on eye cream) unless I set it with a little powder… but I think that is defeating the point. It does look fairly natural, however I would prefer a less shiny finish.

In terms of pigmentation, I think the concealer itself is nicely pigmented… but when combining it with the serum, it really dilutes the opacity of the product. I’d say it’s a medium coverage concealer… so if you’ve got intense dark circles, this isn’t going to pass for you.  It brightens my eye area, for sure, but it doesn’t give me the coverage that I desire. I also think it would have been better to have more of a pink or peach undertone to the products- they are very yellow which isn’t the most flattering for covering dark circles.

Finally, in terms of longevity… I just don’t agree. As I mentioned before, I feel like this concealer doesn’t really set. It sits on my skin and not only did it crease on me (despite being marketed as a crease-controlling concealer), it also faded away after a few hours. I think that those seeking just a little bit of complexion help and those who don’t really experience many problems with concealer creasing would find favour in this product, but unfortunately it didn’t cut it for me.

Concealer surrounded by hydrating solid serum

Swatches (L-R) 01 Light, 02 Medium & 03 Deep

Before (top) / Wearing Benefit Fake Up Concealer in 01 Light (bottom)

Not so crease-proof, unfortunately…