OK, listen up people. Those of you who have been paying attention throughout my many videos will know that I had a favourite concealer, and that the favourite concealer was none other than Estée Lauder’s Double Wear Stay-in-Place. If you weren’t aware that this was my most-used makeup product, then consider yourselves now fully aware of this important and life-changing fact. Congratulations! (You can find out all about the wondrous ‘Stay-in-Place’ by clicking HERE and seeing how it survived the Volcanic Ash Cloud disaster!)

Hold on a pretty little second, though; what’s this? I feel some unrest in the makeup bag – there’s a cabinet re-shuffle going on…Can it be true? Is there a contender for the ‘Best Cosmetic Item’ position? There’s a lot of jostling and pushing going on in there! What’s going on…do we?….hold on….YES! We have a new winner!

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my absolute pleasure to announce the new King of the Cosmetic Bag, Estée Lauder’s Smoothing Creme Concealer! It was a terribly difficult contest because I love both products immensely. They both cover dark circles completely, blend easily without dragging the delicate undereye skin and last for an incredibly long time without fading, creasing or settling into fine lines. The differences? If anything, it’s the ‘Stay-in-Place’ that lasts the longest – literally staying in place for a full day and way into the night. It’s industrial strength stuff. But the ‘Disappear’ Smoothing concealer pips it to the post for a number of reasons. Firstly, I prefer the texture. It feels lighter, more radiant and fresh without sacrificing concealing strength. Secondly, and I suppose this is a continuation of the ‘firstly’, it’s slightly easier to blend. I mean, it’s an absolute dream to blend. No tools or brushes required – just your digits. The finished effect is less matte than the Stay-in-Place, ever so slightly more natural. Thirdly, the Smoothing concealer is £17 for 15ml, whereas the Stay-in-Place is £18.50 for 7ml. Which makes the Smoothing way cheaper (less than half the price!) than the Stay-in-Place.

Don’t get me wrong here – this is a very close call. I almost couldn’t decide between the two – the Stay-in-Place truly doesn’t shift until you take it off with cleanser. It also has an SPF10 in the formula, which is handy for those concerned with sun protection around the eye area. It comes in a handy wand applicator which means that you only use tiny amounts of product at a time…. But still I just about prefer the Smoothing. It’s a softer, easier, lighter version of the Stay-in-Place and it will now be my regular daily concealer. You’ll be seeing it appear in videos in the near future, and I may even do a comparison video between the two concealers so that you can decide which one is right for you!

Estée Lauder Stay-in-Place, £18.50 and Smoothing Creme Concealer, £17 – both widely available at counters nationwide,