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| Image from Bobbi Brown website |
Thank goodness for this little miracle.
I have dark circles under my eyes. I mean really dark. It’s
definitely as a result of genetics thanks to my father’s side of the family. I
also have a toddler and am pregnant at the moment which only makes the circles
even darker.
For years I had been concealing them with little effect. No
concealer ever seemed to do the trick of covering the blue and because of my
eye condition anything that goes under my eyes is going to have a longevity
problem.
I would say about 12 months ago I started seeing a lot of
reviews on you tube for the Bobbi Brown Corrector – a product designed to cover
dark under eye circles.
After seeing so many positive reviews I decided to take the
plunge and try it myself.
I haven’t regretted it and I can confidently say that the
Bobbie Brown Corrector has quickly become a holy grail and it is one of the
only products that I can say I use on a daily basis.
Read on for the review.
Read on for the review.
THE CLAIMS
First, what does Bobbi Brown claim that this product does? I
have taken the following from their website.
What is it
A wakeup call for tired eyes—this essential corrector
brightens and covers discolouration under the eyes utilising a pink- or
peach-based formula to neutralise undereye darkness
Who’s it for?
Anyone who has very dark under eye circles or who wants
extra coverage.
Why is it different
Waterproof, sweat and humidity-resistant, this long-wearing
formula boasts a uniquely creamy-smooth texture for perfectly smooth coverage
that’s easy to blend and won’t crease. Infused with skin conditioners to
protect the delicate under eye area and available in 16 skin-tone-correct
correcting shades (so everyone gets a match).
How to use it
For maximum coverage, wear Corrector under Creamy Concealer
(not included). Using the Concealer Brush (sold separately), apply Corrector as
close as possible to the lash line, and also on the innermost corner of the
eye. Gently blend with your fingers. Layer Creamy Concealer directly over the
Corrector.
THE SHADE
Bisque (For more information about my skin type and other
colour matches click here and a new window will open)
16 shades seems pretty impressive to me. That’s one of the
things that I always appreciate with Bobbi Brown in general – the shade range
is always great and you’re very likely to find something to match you.
Depending on the type of discolouration you have under your
eyes – these come with either a peach undertone or a bisque undertone.
I think that it’s probably worth while getting yourself
matched to a shade at a counter if you can, particularly given the extent of
the range that you have to choose from.
THE REVIEW
The strong salmon tones of the Bisque Shade work as the
perfect foil to my heavy under eye discolouration.
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| Note: the lighting in this photo doesn't do the severity of my under eye circles justice |
I apply it to the entire under eye area and also to inside of the bridge of my nose around my eyes, which also has a lot of darkness.
I don’t tend to use this on its own. Even if I wanted to use
it on my own I couldn’t. The shade I
use, Bisque, is significantly darker than my normal skin tone; a necessity
given the severity of the darkness under my eyes. This just means that I would
never be able to get it to blend with my actual skin colouring.
So, it’s usually the second step in my foundation routine –
which goes primer, Bobbi Brown Corrector, foundation and then concealer. I will
always then set it with a powder, either my setting powder (if I am being lazy)
or else I use the powder in the Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer. If I am being
very lazy then I sometimes won’t bother with under eye concealer. I would
always choose this over concealer under my eyes any day.
Application
I have a very dry under eye area with quite a few fine lines. I do find that to ensure a smooth application of this product I need to moisturise my under eye area before I apply the product. If your under eye area isn’t all that dry you would probably find that this step wasn’t necessary (although let’s face it, it’s always good to moisturise under the eyes anyway).
I have tried applying it with a flat concealer brush, a
domed concealer brush and my fingers and my preference is to use my fingers to
smooth it over the under eye area. I find this method gives the most consistent
and smooth coverage, probably because of the warmth of my fingers.
Great coverage
The Bobbi Brown Corrector has excellent coverage in my experience. I don’t need to layer it up really thickly for it to cover up the dark circles. I just swipe it on using my ring finger until I am satisfied with the coverage and then I move on to foundation and concealer.
How to apply under concealer
Bobbi Brown recommends that the Corrector be used under the Creamy Concealer for maximum coverage. I know that this isn’t a review of the Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer but having tried this recommendation I can only say that layering the two products didn’t work well for me at all. Together, the two products proved to be too thick and too drying for my under eye area. While I will accept that under eye products will emphasise my fine lines to a certain extent, these two products together emphasised to them to an extent that I wasn’t at all happy with. If your under eye area isn’t all that dry to begin with you might not have that problem. It’s all trial and error isn’t it?!
I would recommend that if you are going to use the Bobbi
Brown Corrector that you use a concealer over it with a liquid consistency. I
use Mac Pro Longwear Concealer in NW 20 and the combination works ready well.
Texture
Although Bobbi Brown states that it a “creamy-smooth texture, I don’t find it overly creamy - I would say that it has more of a tacky texture (but in a good way, I promise).
I mentioned this a little earlier, but one of the bigger complaints I have read about the Bobbi Brown Corrector is that its texture can make it quite drying. I think that there is something to that, especially if you just put a whole heap on without prepping the eye area first.
In my experience, so long as you moisturise the under eye area first and don't apply too much, I don't find its texture too drying.
No caking
Even though sometimes I have the Bobbi Brown Corrector, foundation and concealer under my eyes I still don’t seem to have a problem with cakiness, so long as I layer them carefully and don’t go overboard. You really don’t need much of the Bobbi Brown Corrector at all to get great coverage which helps.
No creasing
I can say that I have never noticed any serious creasing with the product. It can sink a little into my fine lines – but I have just come to terms with the fact that once those fine lines are there any product you place under your eyes is going to sink into the lines to a certain extent so this doesn’t bother me because it’s not all that noticeable in this case.
Long wearing product
The product is long wearing on my under eye area and I would agree that it is sweat and humidity resistant. If you have read about my unique eye condition you will know that I do not have a fully functional tear duct in my right eye which means that my right eye constantly runs. Products under this eye take a constant bashing. Not only do they need to survive all the tears running over them all day long, they also need to survive all the dabbing I do to mop up the tears.
In those conditions no product is going to last perfectly
all day long but I can, with confidence, say that I have never found another
product that will last under those conditions as long as the Bobbi Brown
Corrector does.
Packaging and size
Packaging and size
As for the packaging; it’s small, it’s round and it has a little mirror. Nothing to get all worked up over. The size makes it perfect for travelling. I have found it clips nice and tightly closed. I broke the clip on my best Bobbi Brown Corrector so it wasn’t closing properly but it still didn’t dry out.
It contains 0.5oz/1.4grams of product which sounds really
tiny but you really don’t use much at any one time. I use it almost daily and I
would say it still lasted probably nearly 12 months.
THE MONEY
At $40AUD I know that this is expensive but I think that if
you have problems with dark under eye circles, the Bobbi Brown Corrector is
well worth the money.
THE WRAP UP
I haven’t used any other under eye correctors to compare
this one too.
But….
The Bobbi Brown Corrector covers my dark circles really
effectively and it stays put all day long. I use it every day and would have
trouble living without it.
I look refreshed when I wear this product; like a less tired
version of myself.
What else could I ask for in an under eye corrector?
