Cle De Peau Beaute Concealer (beige) - before & after, swatches, review --- Is it worth $70?

Hello, Beautiful!

For years I've always wanted to try the Cle De Peau Concealer but I could never bring myself to pay $70 for a concealer. Over the years I've read and watched many reviews; most were very positive and a few that said it wasn't worth the price tag. Yet, even after all these years, I still lust after this concealer. I don't think I would have ever stopped if I didn't just try it for myself.

Is it worth the hype? Read below to find out all my thoughts on this concealer!

Cle De Peau Concealer Info & Review

Cost: $70.00 (0.17 oz / 5 g  full size)
Availability: Available on the Cle De Peau Beaute website, at Nordstrom, and everywhere else Cle De Peau Beaute is sold.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Kisses

PRODUCT DETAILS & CLAIMS...

A perennial makeup artist favorite, Cle De Peau Beaute concealer is highly editorialized and continues to win major awards year-after-year. Covers spots, freckles and dark circles to create a beautiful, even-toned complexion.

Enhanced with Revitalizing Moisture Complex to lock in moisture and smooth out texture. Blends sublimely to expertly conceal dark circles, spots and imperfections. High-performance powders ensure flawless skin in any light, providing maximum coverage with a smooth, even finish that does not crease.

Cle De Peau Concealer
Shade: Beige

I must of handled this concealer like a new born baby for the first few days of owning it. To me, this was my magical unicorn that I finally owned.

Let's start with looks.... here is what the box looks like.

As you can see from the above pic, I chose the shade Beige.

The actual concealer tube doesn't look very fancy or special; at least not compared to some pretty packaging that is out there on the market. For $70 you kind of expect a bit more, but I really can't complain. It's sleek, simple and classic. Your standard concealer in a lipstick tube packaging.

Aside from the small logo on the front, the only other markings on the outside is a sticker that has the shade name, size, shelf life, etc. You'd think for $70 the sticker would be placed on there straight... but it doesn't bother me; it's just something I find a bit funny.

The outside doesn't get very fancy except for the top that is a clear deep blue circle; I don't want to call it a gem, because it's not, but I don't know how else to describe it.

Here is what the concealer looks like fresh out the tube....

And here are swatches of the shade Beige.

As you can see below, it blends out beautifully.

One common complaint in almost every review I've read or watched was the lack of product for the price. Below is a pic of the concealer all the way twisted up. Keep in mind after you use it all up you can scoop out a good amount from the bottom of the tube; and you better believe for $70 I'm using every last possible ounce of this concealer!

Now let's move on to my before and after pics....

For the before, I simply removed the makeup I already had worn from the entire day and allowed my skin to fully dry. I forgot to add any moisturizer or eye cream, so my skin was pretty dry. As you can see by my skin texture, it's been pretty dehydrated thanks to being sick. Those dark circles though are a common issue for me, so concealer really has to perform to impress me. 

I took the before and afters from two different angles, which is why my under eye circles look much lighter in the bottom before picture. 

I didn't apply very much product, and I was so excited to use this that I didn't even bother to get a Beauty Blender or brush. Instead, I used my finger to blend the concealer - and I really hate to blend concealer with my finger, but this concealer did an excellent job at blending into my skin. You can click on the photo to see it even larger, to get a better idea on skin texture and coverage.

As you can see, I also had a pretty noticeable blemish - which I didn't even realize when I was applying this concealer under my eyes. If I had realized it was there I would have tried to cover it properly with concealer; I was just so focused on covering under my eyes. However, you can see a little concealer did get on the blemish and it did an okay job at covering it.

I was really impressed with the coverage on this concealer based on how little product I used. I was even more impressed on the blendability because of how dry my skin was.

The before and after pics were taken as a first impression, and pretty late at night. I only applied the concealer to that one eye too - just to take the pics. The real testing began the next morning, when I did my makeup for the day. I felt it applied even better (probably because my skin was properly moisturized and primed) and it left my under eye area flawless.

FINAL THOUGHTS...

Do I think this concealer is worth the hype? YES! This concealer is absolutely hyped for a reason. It works really well.... HOWEVER, I simply can't justify the price tag. In fact, I think this is pretty comparable to some other concealers already in my collection.

Don't get me wrong, this is an awesome concealer with full coverage, but I don't see why this is $70 other than you're paying for a name and maybe a few better ingredients.

First let's address the price; the $70 price tag alone makes it feel/seem out of reach for most of our beauty budgets - my own included (thank you Nordstrom credit card). It's a luxury item and using a luxury item can make you feel a certain way - not just about yourself but also about how you view the product. You almost go into it thinking it has to be amazing because of the price tag. It's also hard when you've heard so many amazing things over the years; seeing this concealer pop up into many top concealer lists time and time again. I tried hard not to let those points cloud my vision when doing my review.

Next, let's address application. It doesn't glide on like butter, but it's also not stiff as a board. It has a good amount of glide that allow you deposit the right amount of product. You can also choose to take a brush to the stick and apply from the brush if you don't want the concealer to touch your face. Since I'm only using this concealer on myself (and always on clean skin), I don't mind applying directly to my face.

The blendability of this concealer is really good! It melts into your skin and becomes one with it. I have no issues with blending, at all!

Let's take a second to talk about shade selection. I think this is the one thing (aside from price) that is truly lacking with this concealer. There are just 6 shades; which means not everyone will find their ideal match for their skintone. They say if you are a lighter skintone you can use the shade Honey underneath your concealer as a color corrector for truly dark areas.

Available in shades: Ivory, Almond, Beige, Ocher, Honey, Mocha.

The shade I chose, Beige, does have a slight pink undertone to it - which I can only notice because I have a yellow/olive undertone. Although according to the swatches I saw on the Cle De Peau website, it looked as though Almond was the more pink toned version - which is why I chose Beige. To be honest, Almond looks like the best undertone concealer from other swatches I've seen, and if I had money to blow, I'd pick that shade up as well. The way Cle De Peau puts their swatches in order, they have Almond before Beige, meaning Almond is lighter. But in some swatches I've seen online, Almond looks like the darker shade - which is why I also ordered Beige because I thought I'd rather have an under eye concealer be too light (and have a brightening/highlighting effect) than to be too dark.

Beige matches my skintone almost identically with the undertone being the only off thing about it. I think for a $70 concealer, this is one of those situations where I should have swatched and purchased in person, rather than online. I'd highly suggest if you can go in person to swatch this, you should. $70 is a lot to gamble; even with great return policies.

Now let's talk about wear... this concealer does NOT crease on me. I usually do struggle with some creasing if I don't set certain concealers fast enough (mainly liquid ones), but I could let this concealer sit for an hour or more without setting it and it won't crease. I'm not a spring chicken anymore... my skin is definitely feeling almost 32, especially under my under eyes. Over the past year I've noticed that my lack of eye cream application has really made a noticeable (bad) difference in the skin around my eyes. It's not that I don't ever apply eye cream, it's that I have been really lazy with skincare and that's one product I can easily skip/forget to do -- yet every time I do apply it I see/feel noticeable results almost right away and try to remind myself what a good thing it truly can be.

Anyway, this post isn't about eye cream... the point I was trying to make is that the skin under my eyes has changed a lot, and for this concealer not to crease is a dream.

While it says it locks in moisture, I don't find this to be a very moisturizing concealer at all. Like I mentioned, it doesn't glide on super buttery but it's not stiff either. I have read that some people with very dry under eyes do not like this concealer - so do keep that in mind and try to find reviews of this concealer from people in your age category if dry under eyes are a worry of yours. My under eyes are on the drier side, but not overly dry.

Do I think this is the ultimate concealer? No. Not really... I don't think I've even found that yet. But I do think all the hype is true. It's a great concealer. High coverage with little product, amazing blendability, and the fact it doesn't crease it a huge bonus.

If you've always wanted to try it, and have $70 to spare, I say go for it! You may be pleasantly surprised and love it. But if you're just looking for the ultimate concealer, I don't think this is the end all in concealers.

Now let me know what you think...

What do you think of this concealer? Have you tried this, or would you consider adding this to your beauty wish list? Discuss in the comments below!

xoxo with love & beauty,
Crystal Valentine

PUR Cameo Contour - all five - swatches, review

Hello, Beautiful!

PUR has made an easy way to highlight and contour with their Cameo Contour sticks. This cream product duo has a lighter shade to highlight and a darker shade to contour. Can use alone as your only foundation product, or in combination with your actual foundation base.

I've been testing these out for a few weeks now, gathering my thoughts and favorite ways to use them. Read my full review below, but first check out the swatches, pics and some info along with them.

PUR Cameo Contour Info & Review

Cost: $39.50
Availability: Available on the PUR website, at Ulta, and everywhere else PUR is sold.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Kisses

PRODUCT DETAILS & CLAIMS...

Meet the final word in flawless contouring. PUR's dual-ended contour stick adds closeup-worthy depth and dimension to your natural features with a creamy formula that sets to a picture-perfect powder finish. With use of the natural, light-reflective ingredients that resemble microspheres, this 2-in-1 complexion innovation emphasizes your face's natural highlights and shadows while simultaneously blurring the look of imperfections, such as dark spots and fine lines.

As you apply and blend one or both shades with the Contour Blending Sponge, your skin also absorbs the skin-perfecting benefits of PUR's own Ceretin Complex - a proprietary blend of hydrating ceramides and age-defying vitamin A!

Oil-free, Petrolatum-Free.

PUR Cameo Contour
Shades: Light, Medium, Tan, Dark, Deep
Continue scrolling down to see more pics of each individual shade.

Each duo stick comes boxed and includes a pink blending sponge.

The boxes are very reflective, so that's why they may be hard to read.

Shades listed at the top.

Here is a better view of the front and back of the box with minimum reflection from the lights.

As I mentioned, each stick comes with a pink blending sponge. Here are all five that I received; they're all similar in shape but vary slightly with cut.

Of course you should always use a blending sponge damp by getting it wet first.

Below shows dry vs. wet  -- and in this case, wet means damp (not dripping any water).

Also included is a little guide to help those that may not have tried contour and highlight yet. Keep in mind everyone's face shape and features are different, so while this map is a good guideline, you may find better points to place the highlight and contour shades on your own face.

Remember: highlight is what you want to bring forward and contour is what you want to push back.

For comparison of all shades next to each other, here they are:

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PUR Cameo Contour
Shades: Light
For fair skintones with creamy ivory undertones. Choose if in PUR's 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup you wear shade Porcelain or Light.
This is the lightest of the five shades. I found for myself, this one was too light but if you are fair this would be the one to choose.

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PUR Cameo Contour
Shades: Medium
For medium beige skintone with blush to golden undertones. Choose if in PUR's 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup you wear shade Blush Medium or Golden Medium.
Medium is the one I use the most. It's a good match and looks nice on my skintone.

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PUR Cameo Contour
Shades: Tan
For olive skintone with yellow, honey and caramel undertones. Choose if in PUR's 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup you wear shade Light Tan, Tan, or Medium Tan.
This is great for those with medium to olive complexions. I will use the contour end of this stick if I want a bit warmer contour.

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PUR Cameo Contour
Shades: Dark
For rich bronze skintones with golden undertones. Choose if in PUR's 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup you wear shade Medium Dark or Golden Dark.
Shades Dark and Deep are pretty similar, so if you're not sure which to choose from, you should be okay with either one. The undertones do vary slightly.

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PUR Cameo Contour
Shades: Deep
For warm skintones with golden amber undertones. Choose if in PUR's 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup you wear shade Deep or Deeper.
As I mentioned above, shades Deep and Dark are very similar. Shade Deep is just a bit more red in tone for the contour and a bit more caramel in tone for the highlight.

FINAL THOUGHTS...

I love to highlight and contour, but admittedly not a big cream product fan. I have a lot of flaws on my face to hide and the thought of adding a cream on top (which often removes the layer below, or at the very least moves it around), is just not desirable for me.

However, when my skin is in better condition, I will use cream contour and highlight products - especially if I'm going full glam with my  makeup. It's just that extra step that can take you from wow to wowza!

These creams are especially nice because they dry to a power finish, so there is no additional need to set them. Of course if you want to add additional highlight or contour on top you could go over them with a powder highlight and contour.

You can use these sticks as your only foundation too. You won't get full coverage from a single layer, but you can get light to medium coverage easily, depending on application and blending method.

The way I enjoy using these the most is not as a foundation but instead as an actual cream contour and highlight. I will apply my foundation and allow it to set before applying these on top.

The blending sponge that is included is nice quality and works well when used damp. For those that may be wondering how it compares to the brand name Beauty Blender, aside from the color, these are different in feel. This is soft, but when bouncing off the face you can feel it is a big firmer than the Beauty Blender is. It's a nice sponge, and far better than many knock-offs on the market that are very hard, even when wet. This one is comparable to the Real Techniques sponge more so.

While I do like these sticks, I find that the contour shades are a bit warm in tone. Ideally I'd like to see cooler tone contour shades, as warm tones don't work as contour on everyone. If you're looking for cool tones, these aren't a good choice for you, but if you like warmer to neutral tones then these are a good choice. The highlight shades are fantastic in tone; I especially like the Medium highlight shade.

I like that they're easy to use, blend well and easy to travel with. I took a few of these with me when I recently traveled to PA to visit my family. I used these on my niece for her 16th birthday party and she looked beautiful!

If you've been over whelmed by the palettes that include multiple shades, these duo sticks make it easy for you; just choose the highlight shade that is 1 to 2 shades lighter than your skintone and that's the stick you should get (in my opinion).

If you try these, let me know what you think!

Now let me know what you think...

What do you think of this product? Have you tried this, or would you consider adding this to your beauty wish list? Discuss in the comments below!

xoxo with love & beauty,
Crystal Valentine

Disclaimer: This is NOT a sponsored post. However, these products were sent to me for consideration. I am not being paid to make this post, nor has the company influenced me in any way. I have made this post because I wanted to, not because I had to. These are my honest opinions, thoughts and experiences.