Calling all Jodie Marsh wanabes... (Opia Concealer Crayon)

Member Name: xxfoxyredxx

Product:	Opia Concealer Crayon
Date:	31/10/08 (253 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap and cheerful, does give a little coverage

Disadvantages: Colours wouldn't suit many people, I'm sure lol

Do you worry about spots and uneven skin tone and stuff like that cos I know that I do? I buy moisturisers and scrubs and stuff and try the prevention is better than a cure approach but it's fair to say that sometimes there is no prevention to problems arising on your face. Like on the day you have a wedding to attend and are probably going to have to have a photograph taken or you have a big date arranged with a gorgeous hunk (ok that rarely happens to the most of us but a gal can dream lol). Life doesn't stop for spots and imperfections and the show must go on!

I suffer with spots full stop and naughty skin full stop. My spots aren't particularly hormonal or anything it's all down to fact I do wear make up quite often, do eat junk food and do drink (sometimes!) too much. I don't get enough sleep and in general (like my hair) I just have skin that is very temperamental and combination. Some days my face feels really dry and parched and today my skin feels slimy and greasy although I have cleansed and toned thoroughly. My skin is feeling bumpy to the touch and I get the feeling spots are under my skin threatening to break out at any god given moment like volcano's. Some places where I touch on my face feel tender like a spot is brewing up and there are visible areas that are pinkish and feel dry and I have some visible spot scarring though nothing major to be fair.

On the top of all that going I have more than my fair share of whiteheads and blackheads and a few broken capillaries and I do generally have uneven skin tone particularly on my forehead. I'm convinced that in the past week my skin has had an adverse reaction to me quitting smoking cos it hasn't looked quite this bad since my teens and I haven't changed anything lately in my usual skin routine to warrant this over reaction my skin is currently displaying!

I do own a lot of spot treatments and cover ups and use them when and if need be because at the end of the day I'm 34 years of age and I prefer to keep on with the battle of fighting the signs of aging and as I say I use the spot treatments on an if needed basis which sometimes means I miss the signs or that my rich anti aging regime actually makes them worse. In your 30's I think you stop being able to please everything on your face!

So this is why I decided to buy some concealer in the first place. To try cover up the issues I'm upset about. Not just with spots, scarring, uneven skin tone and all the other issues I've mentioned but also to try hide the big black bags under my eyes etc and sort of multi-task with it. I do own a few concealers and they have been expensive in some cases but I don't really rate them anyway.

I can't see how they work under foundation because you are basically rubbing it away in most cases by putting something over it! Putting it over foundation can appear cloggy and stodgy and not a colour match therefore appearing a bit odd and heavy and in some cases even crumbles during application. I've never had outstanding results with this type of product so it's something I gave up on using.

Till I saw this in Primark hanging by the till points. Usual price is a pound but according to the shop assistant the store is trying to clear a few lines to make way for the Christmas stock and therefore they are down to 50p a pencil (at my store in Coventry anyway). Well in my eyes 50p is nothing so I parted with my coin happily thinking nothing ventured nothing gained and it had to be worth a go whilst expecting nothing at all from it really lol This is why Primark must love it when we get stuck at the check outs! Cos we browse at all this stuff and spend more! lol

The Packaging....

Well it comes in see through plastic bag that hangs up and as I said I spotted mine hanging up by the tills. On the top of the bag which is sealed there is a black band of colour and basically I'm told it's Opia cosmetics and that's it. The pencil itself is made of wood and is black on the outside with silver writing on it length-ways telling me it's Opia Concealer Crayon. There is a clear pull off sticky label that tells me it's made in China and weighs 0.098OZ/2.89. Another small black, round sticky pull off label tells me the batch number of the product and also on there contact details are written for Primark along the edge of said circle. The pencil 'nib' is covered by a clear pull on/off lid which is very secure and fits neatly and securely on and the other end of the pencil is the colour of the concealer so you can see exactly what the product is at a glance as other Opia products such as the lip pencils etc look exactly the same as this so it makes it easier on you if you keep all make up together! The pencil is plain and simple and quite chunky giving you alot of product for the money you pay, whether that be the 50p or the pound lol

Using It....

Well there are no instructions you simply get the product and Opia presume you know how to use it! I use mine under my foundation and over the top of a decent moisturiser so it glides and blends easily. I make sure I have no dry bits of flaky skin for this to cling to before I start as well!

Now as far as I'm aware there are two colours available to buy and the pencils do not tell you what colour you have but are visibly colour coded differently on the end of the pencil as I told you previously. I chose the lighter shade of the two as I'm very pale skinned indeed and I never even picked up the dark one and considered purchasing that! Now it's hard to describe the colours and I hope you appreciate that but I will give you a word of warning. You can't test them out in store as they are in sealed bags and so the purchasing of them is rather hit miss colour-wise and I guess no one really cares because after-all they are only a pound each at the most so watch it!

So all I can say really is that the light colour is like a bisque colour which is rather orangy than an ivory. The darker colour is very bronzy and brown indeed and just well a funny shade of dark.

So you apply it onto where you want to use it as you would holding a pencil between your fingers. Apply the colour gently and then smudge it lightly with a finger or use a cosmetic sponge. I personally prefer using a finger in a good light as I feel I'm not wiping the product off and if I do I can see that and simply add more.

Now the consistency when it goes on is quite thick and the imperfection your trying to actually cover in my view becomes more prominent. If your not careful and shove the nib point at the problem, because it's moist the nib simply falls of on to the face which isn't a problem on the face but does mean it needs sharpening. It isn't the easiest thing in the world to sharpen because it is a cheap product made of cheap wood rather than smooth so you need a decent, large pencil sharpener.

It blends in easily as you gently rub it in and sure I feel like my imperfections are well covered... but only because the colour is so orangy it's coloured over them! The colour match is simply terrible and I even try to cover really gently as to not add much but still.... I er.... add too much lol Foundation does glide over it ok and I wouldn't say that this concealer doesn't do anything but again because of the colour you can see it poking out unmatched from under my foundation and as there is no match even though the concealer is blended it looks quite thick on but it doesn't feel it at all.

Overall....

Not bad really for the price providing you can get a colour match. It doesn't vanish if you work gently with it and I do think that skin feels smoother and a little more even though you do need work to make sure it doesn't clog up and appear thick making small lines you may have highlighted. It isn't a miracle product but as I say for the money does at least give some results but the colour on me and I'm sure for the majority of us is just awful! So yes it can cover imperfections if your a funny shade of orange and it does stay put till you remove it with your usual skin removal routine. It doesn't upset skin in my experience but mine has now gone in the bin because the shade is too dark for me!

Only available in Primark stores.

Summary: Morph yourself!