Concealing (Your) Face Off Pt 3 – Garnier Anti Dark Circles Roll On and Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer

So here we are at the final show down. We return to my favourites, the under eye concealers (though you could use the Maybelline everywhere I suppose). Here are our contenders.



Packaging: These are two very different animals when it comes to packaging. The Garnier is their signature long thin pen style with the cold metal roller ball dispensing the product. They advertise the action on rolling the ball under the eye as having a beneficial effect on bags but I don’t see how this achieves that in the same way as the original eye roll on. You simply wouldn’t want to massage your eyes long enough to have any effect because if you did you’d put too much concealer on! It is a pleasant sensation however. As you can see from the swatch you don’t get an even line of product, it tends to leave patches of it rather than a continuous flow (Garnier is the bottom swatch). The Maybelline is housed in a little glass pot the kind of which I like for things like gel eyeliner AKA things I don’t need to be able to top up on the go. I don’t like blending or applying with my fingers when I’m out of the house, in fact I’d rather use a brush in the house as I don’t like sticking my fingers in products. The design just isn’t practical for me. Round one to Garnier.
Formula: Again these two could not be more different. The Maybelline is soft and creamy and blends very well. Unfortunately when it dries I find it then cakes on my skin creating fine lines which normally aren’t visible. It then goes on to stay put for most of the day which frankly I’d rather it didn’t. The Garnier is not without its problems either. The formula is lighter and more fluid and doesn’t dry into a line creating mess however it dries so quickly that it is a bugger to blend. Once it’s on your skin it isn’t going far without some fairly serious encouragement. Whilst this can irritate a little, no one likes having to rub at the delicate under eye area, the trade off is that this is probably the concealer that lasts best on me. Round two to Garnier as well!
Coverage: Both of these provide enough coverage for me however the Maybelline has the edge here. Its thicker consistency lends itself well to covering dark circles and the wider range of colours (the Garnier has fair or dark and that’s it) means you are more likely to find one to suit you. That said the Garnier does enough for me and the fair colour is a good match. I’m pale but I’m not porcelain. The Maybelline finally claws some points back!
Price: At £5.99 the Maybelline just beats out the Garnier at £6.99. That said the Maybelline is £5.99 wasted, I just don’t use it. I tried to give it to a friend but she had the same problems that I did.
For me the winner is the Garnier roll on. I like the quirky packaging and the staying power is probably the best of the bunch. I’m not sure I’d buy it again, probably yes if I saw it on special offer.