REVIEW: Top Beauty Picks Part I - Giorgio Armani Master Corrector and Maestro Eraser

As I work crazy hours every week, I don't usually put a load of makeup during the week. My usual morning routine includes slapping on sunscreen as quickly as I can, put on under-eye concealer (with the little sleep I get, this step is NEVER SKIPPED), brows, light blusher if I happen to look like a vampire that morning, mascara if I remember, some setting powder and I'm out of the house within 20 minutes.  

As you can tell, when it comes to makeup application, I am probably as lazy as you can get. First, I hate reapplying makeup and never do it, so the products that have become my staples are all long-lasting and will not disappear off my face during any hot (32°C+), humid/rainy (90%+) summer day of Hong Kong. Second, I don't usually apply foundation or even a tinted moisturizer unless I need the extra coverage due to hormonal acne. I also do not often apply eyeshadow (even though I cannot seem to stop purchasing them) unless I am going out with friends at night.

Part I - Concealer:

Concealer. This is probably one of the, if not the, most important step in my makeup application. I have hereditary undereye dark circles and no matter how early I sleep, how 

many hours I sleep, how well I sleep, they are constantly just as serious. I have tried many concealers before and a few has worked really well. Right now, I am in love with the Giorgio Armani combination of its Master Corrector and the Maestro Eraser. I have the Master Corrector in shade number 2 and the Meastro Eraser in shade number 3. 

The Master Corrector comes in two shades (Rose and Abricot). Number 1 Rose is meant to be for brightening dull, yellow complexions whilst Number 2 Abricot is ideally used prior to any concealer application to first reduce the bluish tint of dark circles. 

I find this rather ingenious, really. To give you an example, if you mix black and white together, you get grey, right? So you have dark circles, and you put concealer on it, now what you get is a grey tint under your eyes. Alternatively, if you apply the orange Master Corrector first, to counter the bluish tint of your dark circles and allow your undereyes to recover its original skin colour, then you apply your concealer and voila, perfect coverage. 

However, you cannot apply the Master Corrector without a concealer as you will end up with an orange cast under your eyes all day. It comes with a brush applicator and you can directly apply two to three strokes on your dark circles and blend it out with your ring finger, concentrating on areas with the dark bluish tint. Finally, you must note that Shade 2 in Abricot actually targets yellow/olive skintone, so if you are lighter than an NC25 in Mac, you may want to skip this one. 

The Maestro Eraser came out with Armani's Maestro Fushion Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF15 in 2012. Giorgio Armani claims that it is a hybrid concealer combining makeup and skincare in that after two months of continuous usage, dark circles will be visibly reduced (this was based on a test with 22 women with dark circles, with an average age of 32 years). Clearly, my dark circles problem still exists as they are hereditary so I really cannot speak to whether or not the Maestro Eraser can visibly reduce your dark circles (I have my doubts in any case). However, it is an excellent concealer. The texture is quite runny and goes on extremely smoothly. It applies sheer but is very buildable and literally erases my dark circles.  With other concealers, when I start applying more than 2 layers, it will begin looking "cakey" and accentuates some pre-mature lines visible under my eyes. With the Maestro Eraser, no matter how many layers I'd apply, my under-eye area still appears smooth and does not ever look like I had to use extra effort to cover particularly bad dark circles. 

I start by squeezing a pea size amount onto my ring finger and blend it over my dark circles, and slowly build it up until I achieve the coverage I desire. The downside to this concealer is that due to the runny texture, when you hold the squeeze tube facing downwards, product will actually run out without you squeezing it at all. In the beginning, it is quite difficult to control the amount you wish to dispense. However, with 15ml of product, it is hardly going to run out anytime soon even with daily use and you just need to remember not to hold the tube facing downwards!

Giorgio Armani is a premium makeup brand and with it comes a high price tag.  If memory does not fail me, I believe each of the Master Corrector and Maestro Eraser cost HK$250. Whether or not this product is worth your money, I believe so. Of course, I always recommend going to the counter and asking an SA to apply it on you before any purchase to ensure not only colour compatibility, but also whether you like the texture. Especially with products like foundation and concealer, don't be afraid to try it on yourself, walk around for a day with it and go back for it if you decide you like it. 

Stay tuned for Part II: Blush.

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V