Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer Review

I would never have even considered going near Collection 2000 to pick up anything other than a cheapo nail polish. I think I was scarred by my nineties memories of skulking around the uber budget make-up displays and seeing how scummy the Collection 2000 one was. Even I, a penniless teenager who had no idea how to use mascara, knew that there were limits to how cheap one should go. Everything about the display looked kind of skanky, the packaging was just ugly, and no one had bothered to clear away lipgloss splodges smeared over the shelves and broken eyeshadow and lipstick testers. It was back then the Skid Row of make-up brands, it even made Rimmel look chic.

But as we all know, Rimmel have come into their own, particularly in the last few years. Collection 2000, although obviously much improved, I still hadn't much faith in. I tried their Big Fake Lash last year, after much Youtube hype, and was disappointed. It dried out in TWO WEEKS!!

But onto the review.... (finally, I hear you say)

So I heard about this concealer, and about how it rivals all the big expensive brands of concealer in terms of pigmentation, lasting power, concealability (is that a word? It is now.) etc. I picked up the medium shade (no.3) when I was last in London. It cost £4.19 from Boots and was the most 'expensive' of the other Collection 2000 concealers.

I'll get straight to the point. This stuff is brilliant. It kind of knocks spots off my expensive Make-up For Ever Lift concealer, which has been relegated to the bottom of my make-up box.

This baby is extremely pigmented and a little goes a long way. The colour is perfect for my pale, olive skin and it really covers my terrible dark circles, which is what I primarily bought it. It's great at covering blemishes too, even better than my Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage, which I find a bit fiddly and dry. You need an amount about half a grape-seed to camouflage each under-eye.

It's a thick liquid and comes with a doe-foot applicator, which I know some people hate, but for blemishes and pimples I actually remove some from the wand and use it with a brush. So no hygiene problems there.

The texture is so smooth and once blended (don't wait too long to blend as it sets within about 20 seconds) it really does stay put all day.

Yesterday was the ultimate test run. A day spent in 35 degree heat, an hour in a tin-can train which brought the temperature up to about 40 degrees, then a huge downpour. I came back home expecting to see a make-up downpour too, but everything was where it was meant to be.

This is now my go-to concealer every day. I use it over a bit of  Garnier tinted roll-on as this serves to brighten the whole eye area up a bit, and then I'll use it for my heavy duty coverage.

Did I mention that it also looks very, very natural? Even in daylight. My under-eye area has never looked better than when using this. The darkness under my eyes is minimised greatly. I still prefer a more natural look though, which is why I can still see the shadow but I don't want to layer it on even more or else it will become cakey and to me that's worse than a bit of under-eye darkness.

I'm so pleased with this that I'm going to get a back-up before going to the US, but in a darker colour in case I tan. That shows how much I can't bear to be without it now....

Have you tried this concealer? What's your all-time favourite cover-up?