So here’s the deal – I am not a fan of most drugstore concealers because they either run too pink, or the lightest shade tends to be too dark for my NC15 skin, so I initially had no plans of purchasing Milani Secret Cover Concealer Cream. Upon reading the description of all avaiilable shades it comes in, I discovered that 07 Natural Beige is made for “Pale to Light Skintone with Neutral or Pink Undertones”. Hey, that’s me!
Totally random observation, but when my order finally arrived, I was surprised that the color looks the same in real life as it does on the website. Whoever photographed and edited Milani’s stock photos did an outstanding job! I mean, just take a look at Sephora.com, you can’t trust your eyes there and always have to look for swatches online before you buy anything [been there done that].
Secret Cover Concealer Cream comes as a thick paste in a flat round pot with a golden twist cap. The packaging makes it easy to see what color’s inside, so if you own several of these, it won’t get confusing which one is which. Milani doesn’t provide an applicator, so you can either use your fingers, or a concealer brush. There’s also an option of dotting it on with your fingers, and then smoothing everything out with a beautyblender. For me, the last option seemed to work the best.
07 Natural Beige would be the perfect companion for someone with NC15-NW20 complexion. It has a nice balance of yellow, beige, gray, and pink pigments that make it look natural and blend in easily with the surrounding skin.
Swatch reference: My skin tone is between MAC NC15 and NW15 with neutral undertones. Sometimes I can wear NW20 in the Summer. I thought this would be useful to know, since all screens show colors differently, and I also don’t have a studio setup with consistent lighting. Hope that helps!
The paste itself is intensely pigmented, which makes it easy to overapply, so I recommend building up the coverage as needed. Milani says it’s “budge-proof” and “built to last”, but that isn’t true at all – I found that it smudges easily, and if your skin is oily, or you have oily lids, it’ll crease pretty badly.
However, there are a couple uses Secret Cover Concealer Cream excels at – contouring, outlining the eyebrows, and covering up hyperpigmentation. I used it as a highlighting part in my contouring routine, and it worked miracles when applied on the forehead, in the cupid’s bow, and in the area close to my nose! I also outlined my eyebrows and lips for a more refined look, but since those parts of the face tend to get pretty oily, I had to blot and powder throughout the day to keep the concealer from sliding off and creasing. And finally, the part where it works really well for concealing my hyperpigmentation. Luckily, the parts where I need it gone are not the oiliest on my face, so I can usually get by without touchups, and that’s what I’ve been using Secret Cover Concealer Cream for most often these days.
Do you need this? Tricky question… Is it a must have? No, but it does have a certain je ne sais quoi. It’s not the best concealer you can get at the drugstore, but I am oddly attracted to it, and have been using it quite often these days. I guess I just really like that it’s pigmented, and that the shade actually matches my complexion, but I am still looking for ways to make it work with my oily lids.
WHERE TO BUY: $5.19 for 0.27 oz. Available at Milani, Drugstore.com, local drugstores.
Do you have a favorite drugstore concealer? What’s the best crease-resistant undereye concealer you’ve tried so far? Let me know in the comments below!
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Thanks for the review. This sounds like pretty average product and something I probably won’t purchase now.
You’re most welcome! I think this concealer would work pretty well for people with dry skin around their eyes, unfortunately, mine tends to get very oily, so it creased and slid all over the place. It did work well for the rest of my face though, so there’s that 🙂
Thanks for the tip about creasing on oily skin.
You’re welcome! My lids are an oil slick, and very few products seem to work well without creasing. I think this concealer would work quite well for those with dry and normal skin.
Gah, I have oily skin too so this wouldn’t work, but it’s nice to know there are alternative uses for it!
Yep! it’s cheap and has great coverage, so I didn’t feel like returning it 🙂 It works really well for anything other than what I bought it for, haha!
Thanks for the review, Anastasia. I wasn’t aware of this concealer from Milani. Since Sam left, I haven’t gotten anything from them or any PR releases. This looks like a concealer that could work for me too. I’ll use my next CVS Extrabucks to get it!
You’re very welcome, Allison! If your skin is normal or a little on the dry side, this one might work really well for you. P.S.: I was never cool enough to be on Milani’s PR list 🙁 Fingers crossed they notice me one day.
I’m definitely dry. I made it onto their PR list because I am a focus group moderator, and I conducted some market research for them in 2013. The women who run the company are wonderful. That’s how I lucked out. Now that Sam is gone, I don’t know whether I’ll still be on the list. Haven’t heard from them since she left.
I’ve actually been a big fan of Maybelline’s Fit Me Concealer for the under eye. There aren’t a ton of shades but the one I have works really well for brightening the undereye.
Sounds like I should give it a try, since I’ve been using their Fit Me foundation with good results. Thanks for the recommendation!
I hadn’t seen anything about this concealer before this review, so thanks for the info! I hoard concealers, always looking for the next best thing to tackle my undereye circles!
Always happy to enable! 🙂 Complexion products are my weakness as well, I have a drawer in my Alex fully filled with powders, concealers, and foundations.
I agree with Chelsea and Allison, I didn’t know anything about this concealer either, and am glad you shared your review. Too bad it didn’t totally live up to its promises.
I was a little upset, too, because the coverage it provides is near perfect. I just wish my skin wasn’t so oily all the time in the Summer.
Thanks for this thorough review. I’ll know to pass this one by in the store. Your pictures sure are gorgeous!
Thank you Erika!! <3
Sounds like a mixed bag but not good for those with oily skin. I will need to pass on it but I’m glad you are still finding uses for it!!
Yep, no-go for oily-skinned girls, but I’m sure it’ll work well for those with dry and normal skin though. I kept it instead of returning, because I love how well it covers my acne scars, but I wish it could stay on my lids without sliding.
This sounds like an interesting option, I’ve been looking around for an affordable cream concealer. I was using Sonia Kashuk’s but the lightest shade is too dark for me to wear all year round and I haven’t had good luck with the ones I’ve been trying recently.
I was very happy to discover this one, since I didn’t know it even existed until I randomly clicked around the Milani website. Kind of bummed that it kept on creasing on my oily lids, but there are very few products that don’t. It’s a great concealer with very good coverage, and as long as your skin isn’t an oil slick like mine, you should be fine.
I actually never bother to attempt concealer on my eyelids because they all seem to crease, I just stick with stronger long-wear eye products. Milani always slips under my radar and I really don’t have that much experience with their products, and now that I’m thinking about it I’ve never tried any complexion products from them, so I appreciate the heads up!
Looks interesting, but would definitely be too dark for me.
When I looked they had a whole bunch of shades available, so maybe there’s one that matches your complexion, although I’m sure you have better concealers in your stash already.
That looks to have just enough yellow to tame dark circles. You can’t beat the price.
The price is really great for this one, indeed! Combined with store sales and online coupons, you can score a really good deal on Milani products.
I have their e/s primer and the only thing I don’t like is the pot since I find it hard to get product out.
Yep, the pot packaging is definitely tricky, so I always have to use brushes. I tried using my fingers at first, but ended up scooping the product with my nail, lol! 🙂
That looks like a great match for you, but too bad it creases on oily lids.
It really fits my complexion well, especially when blended out. Ah well, there aren’t that many concealers that don’t crease with my oily lids, so I’ll keep looking 🙂
I like Milani a lot – but I prefer concealers in tubes. Otherwise I would be all over this
Me too, I normally like concealers that either come in a bullet, like a lipstick, or liquid ones with a wand. However, since I’ve never even heard about this one before, I was intrigued to give it a try 🙂
I’m surprised to see Milani with a bit of a miss here. Most of their products are pretty on point!
Well, it’s probably just my oily lids that are the real issue here. This concealer is otherwise quite fabulous – it’s pigmented, creamy, and doesn’t accentuate the pores or any flakes and patches.
It can be a real challenge to find concealers that light in shade, but also so richly pigmented, so I can see why that would definitely be a plus for you. I’m super oily, so I think I’ll try to find a concealer that sticks a little bit better.
Right? This one is a gem for sure, but for a different skin type.
I love milani products and was a huge fan of their cream to powder foundation when I did use foundation. I do like cream products in a tube better, but this is something I would totally try.
I heard great things about that Milani foundation, maybe I’ll give it a try next time they have a good coupon. Because, you know, a full drawer of foundations is clearly not enough, lol.
Good point on accurate photography. Sephora should learn from Milani, lol
Totally! I mean, not a single color on Sephora.com is accurate, but thanks to that our blogs have those extra pageviews from people looking for swatches, haha 🙂
How have I not tried this!? Now I must place an order!
Always happy to enable, haha! Looking forward to hearing what you think about it 🙂
Milani is awesome in so many ways!
Agreed! They make my favorite drugstore lipsticks and baked blushes of all time, and I love those new eyeshadow singles, too.
hmmm it sounds worth a try… like you can just make it work. I’ll pick it up!
I hope you like it, Brooke! Let me know how it works out for you.
I think it looks convenient!
It’s a nifty little pot for sure 🙂 So easy to carry around, and you know it won’t leak out in your purse because the formula is solid.
oh wow. I need to try this for sure. I had no idea it was even out
Apparently it’s been part of the permanent lineup for years 🙂