MAC Pro Longwear NC30 Concealer Review

If you have dark circles there is no doubt in my mind that like me, you have been on a quest to find a concealer that stays on all day without creasing. I’m also pretty sure that like me you’ll know this is virtually impossible to find…or so I thought until I discovered MAC Pro longwear concealer

This for me is my holy grail. I have used it in numerous different ways (and shades!) trialling what works best for me and sometimes I do venture out and try other brands but I always come back to MAC.

The packaging for the concealer is a small glass bottle with a pump. For me, the entire packaging is problematic. First of all the bottle is glass. I mean, if it smashes then you’re whole makeup bag is basically screwed. Touch wood this hasn’t happened to me (yet!) but honestly, it’s just an accident waiting to happen. The second big issue that I have is the pump. It is the worst thing in the world because you can never get a tiny bit out, it’s either a literal drop or half the bottle. It’s so frustrating! I’ve even considered depositing it into another container just so that I’m not wasting so much product but it dries out in other small tubs. Lastly, a slightly smaller but still relevant issue is that the shade names are put on with a little plastic sticker on the bottom. You might be thinking, yeah so what? But trust me, this is an issue when you’re trying different shades out to see what works for you and your sticker falls off and you’re basically back to square 1. Not fun.

I have one other gripe with this product that I just want to get out of the way. I don’t know how to put this really so I’m just going to be frank. The formula smells. I mean when you first buy the product it’s not so bad but as time goes on it develops this damp like (basically kinda pissy) smell. It’s not very pleasant especially when you’re applying it so close to your nose.

Now I know you’re thinking OK Rosie, so you basically hate this product so why on earth is it your “holy grail”? Well honestly, the the packaging (and smell) aside, the actual concealer itself is pretty flipping fantastic.

Let me break it down into the 3 C’s.

It’s priced at £18 which might seem a little bit dear for a small bottle but really it does last a very long time. You can see from the swatch below that just a small amount dabbed onto my arm really does provide great coverage. There is no sign of the blue veins on my arm which are quite prominent. I haven’t altered or edited the image below so that you can see what the actual colour is like too. NC30 is more yellow toned and although it will most likely cover your dark circles when applied correctly and left to dry fully, I do recommend correcting any blue/purple under the eyes first.

I do find colour matching quite difficult in general and I hate getting the shades tested on me by sales assistants so last year I just blindly bought the shade NW30 because I thought it might be a warm salmon colour that would help the blue under my eyes. In the end it was just a little bit too warm and definitely wasn’t the right shade  for me. Not one to be wasteful, I still made it work by mixing it with numerous other concealers and eventually managed to get to the end of the bottle! This time round though I was mentally prepared and I tested numerous shades and let them dry and set before making my decision. I actually took a photo of my hand to send to my friend who insists I’m crazy for not just getting it tested on my face but I thought it might be helpful for you guys to see what some of the shades look like too.

 

The concealer easily stays on for 48 hours without budging. I know this because I tested it (on my hand not my face!). If you have an important event or work long shifts and want makeup that doesn’t shift then honestly this is one of the best concealers I’ve ever tried and would definitely recommend it. Oh and did I mention…it doesn’t crease!! 🙂