In today’s blog post we are taking a closer look at the Nabla Close Up concealer. This was the first Nabla concealer I tried and I just hadn’t gotten around to reviewing it yet. The second one I bought I did already review. That is their Re-Generation concealer which I like but it isn’t my favorite. Still, it’s good enough to use it up. This Close Up one isn’t my favorite either, in fact I like it less than the Re-Generation concealer. Yet, still I am keeping it in my collection as I have found a great way to get more use out of this full coverage concealer.
Review: Nabla Close-Up full coverage concealer in Light Ivory
The Nabla Close Up concealer retails for €18 which really isn’t too bad in terms of concealers. However, it does only come with 4 mls of product. Judging by the packaging this concealer looks like a standard sized concealer, but 4 mls is really not that much. Most concealers come with 7 mls of product, this is nearly half the size. So is this still a good deal if you take the amount you get into consideration? You be the judge.
What does this concealer have to offer?
On to the good news: this concealer comes in 12 shades and for once, this is light enough for me. Many Nabla complexion products I have tried don’t have a great undertone for me as they are too yellow but this concealer comes in actual undertones. Light Ivory is described as being great for fair skin tones with a neutral undertone. So yay for that! It is a concealer that is quite full coverage, which is not something I always go for but as we will see later on, I like using this not for concealing per se. But most of this review is for how this product is intended to be used: as a concealer.
What is this concealer like?
So yes a full coverage concealer: not my cup of tea. And I had that reconfirmed once I started trying this. I prefer a lightweight, dewy concealer. I’d rather have less coverage and better blendability for a more natural look. With this, I feel my concealer can look dry and cakey too quickly and it emphasizes my fine lines as well. If you have super young skin, this may be great, but if you have any kind of texture this will emphasize that and make your makeup look less natural. Additionally I feel this was a bit thick in its texture and I struggled to get this to blend out seamlessly into my foundation. As I applied it, it just lifted off and then stamped back on rather than blending.
What does this concealer swatch like?
I think these pictures show you what I mean when I say this is a thick concealer. Granted the top picture is a full on swatch but this is what the concealer looks like when you first apply it. This is a rich, creamy formula that feels slightly sticky. Not great for concealing your skin. As I mentioned this is quite difficult to blend as it sort of lifts off, sticks down and just doesn’t blend that well. Now you can use less product and I also found that using your fingers to smooth this out will have blend it more seamlessly. This literally needs the heat and oils from your fingers to make it more emolient and more seamless looking.
How does this concealer apply?
Here you can see what I mean with what this concealer does for me. At the top we have my under eye area without concealer. Now you may be wondering why I am showing this on my under eye: it’s my main reason for using concealer as I have quite deep circles and that’s where I need most coverage. You can see in picture no.2 that I didn’t use all that much product. Just a small swipe and yet I really couldn’t make this look nice on my under eye. In the final picture you can see I ended up with a big gloop towards the side of my eye, it caked up on my lower lash line and there was hardly andy product there where I need the coverage most (in my inner corners). You can also see some of that texture in my inner corner too. Like I said: you can fix this if you use your fingers to press this in but I have plenty of concealers that work well enough just with a sponge which is what I usually use.
My final thoughts
The Nabla Close-Up concealer was sadly not perfect for me. It is too heavy and it doesn’t blend well for me. It’s quite sticky and it just makes my under eye area look heavy and cakey and it kind of stamps itself around. Even in the full face pictures you can see where some of the product just sits where I struggled to blend it in. But wait! That doesn’t make this a bad product. While this confirmed for me why I don’t love full coverage concealers, the sticky texture means this works great as an eyeshadow base! In fact, this is my favorite concealer to cutting creases or halo eyes. Granted I don’t do this often, but if that more creative streak hits me, I just know I have the perfect product for me.
Would I recommend the Nabla Close-Up concealer?
Yes and no. It really depens on what you like. If you love full coverage concealers and do you have oily or combination skin and are you under 25? You will probably love this. If you have any sort of texture or if you are more of a dry skin type that is more mature than I would suggest you stay away. I have another way to use this for me, so I can still make it work, but this is not worth it to run out and get it straight away.