Favourite Affordable Concealer Ever

I guess the title should really read 'Favourite Affordable Concealer Ever (when purchased with a £5 free No7 Voucher)!

The No7 Quick Cover Blemish Stick normally retails at £8.00 so I always make sure I buy it on offer. Making it a total steal at £3! 

I've been using the Quick Cover Blemish Stick from No7 in shade Fair 03 for many months now, so much so that I finally run out of it and discovered they do an Extra Fair shade in 02. 

I should point out that throughout using the Blemish Stick I've tried various other concealers high and low end from Topshop, YSL, Bobbi Brown, Benefit, 17, Mememe etc. But still love and use this daily. 

Bugbears

 Now even though I adore this product (which I will get to) there are afew things I don't like about it. Firstly the name bugs me, obviously it's such a small point. 

But this is a concealer that conceals blemishes, redness and the under eye area, so calling it a Blemish Stick really does make people think it's just for spots and scarring. Though on the other hand the formula does soak up excess oil which tends to be around the area blemishes do appear so I do get why it's called a Blemish Stick...really I'm just being fussy and think they should call it a Concealer stick for Oily/Combination skin then also come out with one for Normal to Dry skin in a slightly different more suitable formulation. 

Which leads me onto the fact that it doesn't cater for every ones skintype - if you have normal, oily or combination skin then this will work fine but as it's a cream to powder formulation it's not that suitable for drier skintypes. I could suggest moisturizing really well before application but it still wouldn't be ideal and would eventually look flaky by the end of the day. 

 So it's great for any skintype other than anyone with dry skin as the formula just isn't suitable.

Why I love this concealer so much

  Firstly it is geared around concealing spots so the coverage is quite full (and stays that way through most of the day) and does remove any excess oil from the spot and leaves a matt finish - so instantly the concealer is multi-purpose. I also love that it's a cream to powder finish as it applies nicely as a cream but becomes more powder like when blended, which leaves it feeling weightless and it definitely gives it more staying power over alot of cream concealers especially if you have oily skin and concealer tends to slide throughout the day. 

Also I do love the shade range that it comes in, it may not cater for a whole range of skin tones as it only comes in a choice of 7 shades but the shades it does offer are quite neutral - not too pink and not too yellow. Though once blended they do seem to just merge into your own natural shade. Which is why I could use 03 for months and months even though 02 is probably my ideal shade.

Application 

As for application I don't tend to use it straight from the bullet (though for the under eyes it doesn't really matter) as it's quite large and it's not that hygienic especially if you are using it on spots. So I use a tiny precession concealer brush on small blemishes or for larger areas I use a square lip brush as I like the shape and size.

I highly recommend these especially when the No7 £5 Voucher offer is on (which it currently is!) as they work out at only£3 and will lasts you months.

I'm actually considering re-purchasing shade Fair 03 plus 04 and 05 (for summer) and placing all 4 shades into a palette so that I have a good range of shades plus I can also mix them that way. 

Which would only work out at £12 with the vouchers!