Is this $7 concealer just as good as youtube's $27 favorite?

When I started this testing drugstore makeup journey, one product that was at the tip-top of my *must try* list was Makeup Revolution's Conceal & Define Concealer. For those who aren't familiar with Makeup Revolution, their brand is pretty well-known in the beauty community for making affordable products that look an awful lot like high-end brand's most popular products (in fact, Kat Von D dedicated an entire video to their uhh business practice). So when they came out with a concealer, more specifically a full coverage concealer with an oversized doe-foot applicator, a very specific cult favorite concealer came to mind. That's right.. Tarte's Shape Tape.

So I've spent the last week putting this concealer to the test to see if I'll be saving a few $$$ or if Shape Tape is irreplaceable.

A few things to note:

1. I am picky as all hell when it comes to concealer. I need it to not only cover the fact that the inner corners of my eyes are a strange shade of deep blue-green but I also need it to not sink into the little lines under my eyes.

2. My concealer HAS to be multi-purpose. It has to be a kick-ass eyeshadow base as well as a concealer. I don't have the patience to have two separate steps to put eyeshadow on and have it be creaseless and vibrant AF.

3. I don't do that obnoxious triangles under the eyes, line down the center of my face BS with concealer. In fact, I put concealer on and then foundation so my need for concealer is pretty minimal. Three dots under the eye, one swipe on top then blending it into my skin.

Now that we've got that covered, lets move on..

Tarte's Shape Tape is a cult favorite and for good reason. It is FULL coverage and creamy which makes it great for not only concealing my previously mentioned discolored inner corners but also for cut crease eye shadow looks. Even though it is full coverage it doesn't ever look or feel heavy on the skin. Granted, it doesn't exactly look skin like but it also isn't in-your-face obvious either. It's also doesn't emphasize creases either. It has an over save doe foot applicator that holds a lot of product so you don't have to keep dipping the applicator to get out more product. Overall it's a damn good product.

However.. That shade range is C R I N G E Y. While it is better than it was when Shape Tape first launched, they definitely could expand by adding at least five more shades between medium and mahogany.. also something a little lighter than fair. Especially with Tarte being as large of a brand as they are. Look, if Tarte can afford to send influencers on trips to various islands, they have money to put into product development so people who follow said influencers can actually purchase what's being launched and know there is a shade for them, right off the bat.

Onto Makeup Revolution's Conceal and Define. I want to take this moment to stress that I am PICKY about concealer. This concealer is also full coverage but looks slightly more skin-like than Shape Tape. The only issue I have and can see other people having is that it sinks into fine lines. An easy fix is to set with powder to avoid creasing. I personally don't powder my under eyes so it's pretty annoying to me. Also, I don't love it as an eyeshadow primer. I think because it's more skin-like it just doesn't sit the way I want it to. But for $7 I mean.. For days I'm not wearing eyeshadow (which is most days tbh) this is pretty good.

THE SHADE RANGE THOUGH.. *heart eyes*. Makeup Revolution launched this concealer in February of this year and they've already launched (or are launching?) seven more shades bringing the total number of shades to TWENTY FIVE. The undertones are a little lackluster but again for how I use concealer, it's workable.


All in all, if you use concealer for the traditional purpose of uhh concealing then TOTALLY save your money and opt for Makeup Revolution's Conceal and Define but if you want something that will be a multi-tasking product Tarte's Shape Tape is worth the money.


That's it for this installment of my drugstore series. I've already got a handful of products I'm putting to the test so more to come. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss out on the next one. Also keep up with me on Facebook or Instagram where I post far more consistently.

- Ambz