8 best concealers for mature skin, tried and tested by a beauty editor

As we age, our skin undergoes myriad changes, becoming drier, thinner, and more prone to lines and wrinkles. While this means we demand more from our skincare, it also means you’ll be looking for a concealer better suited to more mature skin.

While I like to think my own descent into ageing skin has only just started, the reality is that these days, I do need my concealer to work harder. Whether it’s worsening sleep habits causing deeper, darker circles in my increasingly fragile undereye area, more noticeable sunspots or an infuriating recurrence of hormonal spots, I need a concealer that really holds up. And stays put.

When it comes to texture, I personally prefer something on the creamier side so that it blends easily and doesn’t sit too heavily in fine lines and creases. It also needs to be fluid enough so that it doesn’t sit unnaturally atop blemishes and dry them out (they always look worse caked in product).

Apart from that, I like a doe-foot wand for ease of application, but it’s not a deal breaker. I think ultimately, I want what we all want from a concealer: a little bit of makeup magic that makes it easier to look like we’ve had our eight hours, even when we haven’t.

Best concealers for mature skin at a glance

Best overall – Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Blur Concealer: £31, Selfridges.com

Best for dark circles – Vieve Skin Nova Concealer: £28, Cultbeauty.co.uk

Best for blemishes – Poco Beauty Skintuition Concealer: £23, Selfridges.com

Best for discolouration – Jones Road Wide Awake Brightening Concealer: £27, Libertylondon.co.uk

Best for staying power – Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Longwear Hydrating Gel Stick Concealer: £26, Cultbeauty.co.uk

How I tested

I looked for formulas that helped with dark circles and discolouration

Georgia Day/The Standard

Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for the purposes of this feature, these concealers were put to the test on everything from dark circles and spots to redness and patches of pigmentation. I like a concealer that can do a bit of everything, so each product was worn under the eyes and on any hotspot areas of discolouration such as around the nose, as well as on any spots and blemishes.

Each one was tested on clean skin with no other base products, although I did use an SPF under each. I wore each product for varying lengths of time to see how it performed in different circumstances and applied each one with both fingers and a brush or sponge.

Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Blur Concealer

Georgia Day/The Standard

★★★★★

Best: Overall concealer for mature skin

What we love: Continuing the Hollywood glam theme of the range, this concealer claims to deliver a soft-focus, filter-ready finish to skin, all the while conditioning it with a host of skincare ingredients like hyaluronic acid.

Take note: If you don’t like wearing foundation or just want a lighter base layer, this works really well in lieu of a foundation. Just apply in the targeted areas you need to concentrate the coverage on, and then, with what’s left on your brush, sheer it out over the rest of your skin.

Hands down, this is one of the best concealers I’ve tried. The formulation is more like that of a foundation, only a little denser and more pigmented, and so it covers everything you need it to with very little effort. The texture is creamy and hydrating but not too thick, so you can blend it out nicely with a sponge or small blending brush. It worked brilliantly under eyes as well as on spots and imperfections, and it didn’t budge.

• Coverage type: Medium to full
• Coverage time: Up to 24 hours

Prada Reveal Concealer

Boots

★★★☆☆

Best: Concealer for oily mature skin

What we love: The main selling point of this formula is its micro-correcting technology, which means it blurs imperfections and discolouration to create a more uniform skin finish. It’s also loaded with skincare benefits thanks to ingredients like peptides and squalane, so in theory it should help you look a bit brighter and less tired.

Take note: Think of this as a bit of an invisibility cloak. In other words, it’s a great concealer for camouflaging areas of concern, but I wouldn’t use it as part of my skin-enhancing arsenal like I would other more luminous concealers.

My initial impression was that it’s a slightly drier texture than others I’ve tried, but despite this, it blends to a lovely semi-matte finish and does create a blurred finish, which works especially well on dark circles under the eyes. Coverage-wise, it builds beautifully without any cakiness, so you can layer it over stubborn blemishes without worrying.

• Coverage type: Medium
• Coverage time: Up to 24 hours

Poco Beauty Skintuition Concealer

Georgia Day/The Standard

★★★★☆

Best: Concealer for blemishes

What we love: A do-it-all formula from a covetable, just-launched Irish beauty brand, this formula helps disguise everything from dark circles and spots to redness and pigmentation. The formula includes mattifying powders, ferulic acid and peptides.

Take note: If you’re already a little dry under the eyes, make sure you use a hydrating eye cream before you apply. Oh, and watch out: the frosted glass does make it slightly tricky to get a true idea of the shades within.

A thick and creamy formula that dries down to an almost powder-type consistency and offers excellent coverage. I applied it with a brush initially and then worked it in a little more with a sponge to remove any lines, and I am happy to report that the finish was seamless. I also used it on a day when my skin was more sensitised than usual, but it made light work of any redness straight away.

• Coverage type: Full
• Coverage time: N/A but described as long-wear

Very Valentino Concealer

Georgia Day/The Standard

★★★★★

Best: Concealer for a second skin finish

What we love: A signature light complex within the formula means this is ideally suited to brightening and sculpting all areas of the face. Infused with caffeine and vitamin E, it also helps de-puff the under-eye area and offers a buildable, luminous full coverage finish.

Take note: Although it’s billed as a full coverage concealer, I found I need a couple of layers to cover patches of stubborn pigmentation. But given the gorgeous texture, it’s not a problem and never felt caked on. A very pleasant surprise from a brand I’m not overly familiar with.

If I tell you that the first word that came out of my mouth as I applied this was “wow”, it should tell you everything you need to know. Not only did the shade happen to be the perfect match for my skin tone, but the formula was unlike any other concealer I’ve tried. Lightweight, silky, luminous, and so… luxe. The product virtually melted into my skin as soon as I applied it, which meant I barely had to blend it in.

• Coverage type: Full
• Coverage time: 24 hours

Jones Road Wide Awake Brightening Concealer

Georgia Day/The Standard

★★★☆☆

Best: Concealer for discolouration

What we love: A creamy concealer made specifically for the undereye area. The weightless formula contains a plant complex which helps to deliver nourishment while it covers.

Take note: It’s down to personal preference whether you apply this with your fingers or a brush. I tried both and preferred to apply initially with a flat brush before buffing it in with a fluffier complexion brush.

Jones Road is known for its simple, straightforward approach to beauty, so I was pleased that this concealer performed as it said it would. The pot container allows you to apply as much as you like, and it really does feel featherlight on skin. Despite the under-eye area being called out in the product name, I preferred using this to cover imperfections, as it’s great for layering and it blends well. If you are prone to a little dryness under the eyes, apply a hydrating eye cream first.

• Coverage type: Medium to full
• Coverage time: N/A

Vieve Skin Nova Concealer

Georgia Day/The Standard

★★★★☆

Best: Concealer for dark circles

What we love: A balm-textured concealer that diffuses into skin and leaves it looking brighter and fresher. As its name suggests, it sits within the brand’s excellent Skin Nova family, which is all about seamless skin that looks lit from within.

Take note: The little tube and neat applicator make this an ideal formula for stashing in your bag and using for touch-ups wherever you are. The small head of the wand means you can be precise, so it’s especially great for brightening hard-to-reach areas like the corners of your eyes.

I was really impressed with the brightening capabilities of this concealer and found it covered my dark circles brilliantly without leaving my skin looking too flat or matte. The texture is nicely fluid, so it blends out very well, and despite the radiant formula, it lasted all day without budging.

• Coverage type: Buildable
• Coverage time: N/A

Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Longwear Hydrating Gel Stick Concealer

Georgia Day/The Standard

★★★★☆

Best: Concealer for staying power

What we love: A gel-to-cream formula that contains three weights of hyaluronic acid to hydrate and support skin while blue agave extract offers grip and helps ensure its staying power. It offers a naturally skin-like finish that keeps skin looking hydrated, refined and fresh while offering medium coverage.

Take note: The formula leans towards dewiness, which may not work for those with very oily skin.

The long-awaited concealer in Milk’s bestselling Hydro Grip range did not disappoint. This concealer manages to be both properly hydrating while also providing good coverage and genuinely staying put all day; after a 12-hour busy day, I still looked as fresh as I did first thing. One swipe delivers a surprising amount of coverage, meaning that you don’t have to add multiple layers for it to be effective.

• Coverage type: Buildable
• Coverage time: N/A

Haus Labs Triclone Skin Tech Hydrating Concealer

Georgia Day/The Standard

★★★★☆

Best: All-rounder concealer

What we love: A flexible formula loaded with skincare ingredients like fermented arnica and hyaluronic acid. As well as leaving skin hydrated, it blurs fine lines, brightens and de-puffs under the eyes and conceals redness and hyperpigmentation.

Take note: The 31-shade range is impressive, and it’s good to note that all undertones are catered for, ensuring a natural finish.

Although this is jam-packed with a host of impressive modern skincare ingredients to condition skin, this felt like the most traditional concealer I tried, in that it does a bit of everything, really well. The thick, creamy formula is densely pigmented, which means it’s excellent for everything from hiding spots to disguising dark circles, but it would also work well for anyone who likes to use their concealer to carve and sculpt.

• Coverage type: Medium, buildable
• Coverage time: N/A

What are the best concealers for mature skin?

While each of these concealers offers something a little different, whether it be texture, formula or suitability for one area over another, I was pleasantly surprised to note how modern they all felt. All of them had added skincare ingredients to ensure the product went on smoothly and supported skin health, and let’s face it, when you’re staring down the barrel of middle age, that’s a big plus point. I was also impressed with the shade ranges available and the attention to undertones too, so whatever your skin tone and whether you’re warm, cool or neutral, you can rest assured you’ll be looked after.

When it came to the concealers that I would unequivocally buy again and again, two stood out. Charlotte Tilbury’s Airbrush Flawless Blur Concealer is a bit of a game-changer for me. The formulation is so good (blendable, hydrating and long-wearing) that it means I wear less base products like foundation and tinted moisturiser as a result, and my skin looks better and more youthful for it.

The second, the Very Valentino Concealer, was a revelation. Having not tried anything from the brand before, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was blown away by how incredible this formula felt on skin and by how radiant and fresh it left my skin looking.

Why trust me?

Georgia Day is a beauty journalist, editor and consultant with more than a decade of experience writing about beauty, hair, skincare and wellness. Having held editorial roles at titles including ELLE and Glamour, Georgia now contributes to publications including The Standard, British Vogue, and Sheerluxe.