MAC Pro Longwear Concealer

MAC Pro Longwear ConcealerMAC Pro Longwear Concealer, $22

The NC15 I bought in my May Haul is too damn light for me. I usually do a fair job of estimating foundation and concealer shades, but I really missed the mark with this one. MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NC15 would probably be appropriate for me at my absolute lightest, but it is definitely too stark for me to wear outside of winter. It isn’t all bad, though – I grabbed a tube in NC20, and now have the ability to mix custom shades as my pigmentation fluctuates throughout the year.

As far as the product itself, I’m generally happy with it and have only one main complaint. Here’s the breakdown.

Coverage

It’s opaque in even the smallest amounts. It can also be somewhat easy to overdo, so blending it with a damp beautyblender or similar sponge would be a good idea – even if beautyblenders aren’t your thing, it’s a good way to start out.

Consistency/Formula

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer is a bit thinner than I expected. It is not a thin fluid, but it is thinner than, say, NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer or Maybelline Fit Me Concealer. A likely consequence of the thin consistency, the formula is fast-drying, so you need to work quickly. I found it best to work one eye at a time rather than apply to both, then blend both.

Longevity

On my face, I get a full 10+ hours out of this concealer if I set it with a powder. If I plan to use my Naked Skin powder, I just use that over top of the concealer; otherwise I usually use the inexpensive Rimmel Stay Matte, or I’ll set with my Hourglass ALP in Dim Light. It stays for days! Not really days, that’s unhygienic. But it does last.

The amount of product in the vial is such that it is almost certainly going to go bad before I could ever get through all of it. That bums me out – I’d rather pay $12 for a half tube that I would use up.

Dispensing

I was so excited about the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer pump. Frankly, I don’t love concealers with wand applicators (in fact, I love them less than the ridiculous flocked applicator on my holy grail Maybelline Instant Age Rewind concealer); I’m not a germophobe, but why create the opportunity to introduce bacteria to a product unnecessarily?

TL;DR: The pump sucks. Oh, it works. I’ve never had a problem with it getting clogged or not dispensing product. The problem is that it dispenses way too much. Like enough for me to use it as foundation if I lost my mind and wanted to. Concealer is meant to be used sparingly, and this stuff is VERY pigmented. You don’t need much!

Researching my woes, I came across a good suggestion – pump a single pump into a clean sample pot (like one you might receive from Sephora), and grab what you need from there with a clean swab or brush. Continue using from that pot until you use it up, then repeat. I tried it with a screw-top pot (not a proper sample pot) and my pump dried up before the 2nd use, so definitely use something airtight like those snap-lid sample pots.

Other considerations

This is a GLASS tube. This doesn’t bother me – I’d prefer it to be stored in glass than plastic, but you may want to exercise additional caution when traveling with this product.

I’ve heard that this can replace an eye primer. Using this as a shadow base is definitely better than bare lids, and it performs in that function better than my holy grail drugstore Instant Age Rewind Concealer, but if you already like to use primer, it isn’t really a replacement. I use primer, but I’m lazy – so it works for me, but if I were wearing pigments or something with a lot of fall-out (damn you, Lorac PRO Palette 3‘s Medallion…) I’d still want a nice sticky base.

The Bottom Line

So far so good with the MAC Pro Longwear concealer – performance, coverage, and shade availability-wise I would wholeheartedly recommend this concealer. In terms of value, I’m still not sure if I love it enough to routinely spend that much on it, BUT if it lasts a good long time before being unusable it will be easier to swallow. I generally buy my MAC products either from MAC’s site to take advantage of MAC Select, but the sites for Nordstrom and Macy’s both carry this.

Discuss

Have you tried MAC Pro Longwear Concealer? Did you like it? Why or why not?