Review & Giveaway: Holika Holika Naked Face Cover-Up Concealer

I just finished my thesis presentation, yeah! I had a skype session with two of my supervising professors and I was quite nervous as I was afraid they would shred my thesis to piecces. But they didn’t so know I am super motivated to finally finish that beast of thesis! (52 pages and still counting.)  Instead of working on my thesis however, I am working on this blog post because my time managing has become more complex not that I am part-timing my way through life again. (Good bye glory days, after this day it’s 4 days straight work…. wasn’t it called part time?) Since blogging has become one of my biggest hobby, I’ll try to keep the posts coming regularly – I know you always say you understand if I’m busy, but I actually need constant blogging to stay happy. 🙂

Today I’d like to introduce you to another concealer that I haven’t heard much about in the blogging world so far, the Holika Holika Naked Face Cover-Up Concealer. Disguised in a mauve-colored tube is one of the most underrated concealers of the Korean beauty market in my opinion – forget Skinfood Salmon Dark Circle Cream! Or to say it with the voice of one of my favorite TV series: „…Queen you shall be . . . until there comes another, younger and more beautiful, to cast you down and take all that you hold dear.“ Okay, mabye a bit too drastic, but you get the idea.

As someone with PIH, acne and genetic dark circles (yes I got enough sleep, thank you co-workers, it’s jst the way I look okay) I am always on the hunt for an even better concealer – I am still utterly in love with my current HG Luna Long Lasting Tip Concealer but it never hurts to remain open for alternatives, right? :3

I have never tried anything from Holika Holika before – when I lived in Korea, the sales persons were way too pushy and always tried to sell me a whole moisturizing line for 100$ – afraid as I was – barely able to express myself in Korean – I fled their stores every single time. (And by the time I was able to voice „Thank you, but I’m just looking around“ in Korean, my interest for this brand dropped below zero.) So here I am, back in Germany 9000km away from Korea, developing a new interest in a brand that doesn’t seem too popular in the Asian beauty blogging world. Great timing. Challenge accepted.

The Naked Face concept is actually a whole family of beauty products from Holika Holika – and such a pretty one! It ranges from primers over foundations to powders and has a solution for most skin problems be it covering or an even base that you’re searching for.

From left to right, top: Glow Base, Tone-Up Base, Fitting BB Cream, Covering BB, Concealer

bottom: Long-lasting BB, Illuminating Powder, Foundation Powder, Face Fixing Pact

There are two shades available of this concealer (and every other product in the family) and as always, I picked the lightest shade 01 which is very similar in color and undertones to my Luna Long Lasting Tip Concealer. As always, the shades are very very limited to light skin shades which I always find such a shame but such is life, I guess.

I personally really like the look of the packaging; the mauve-colored tube is something I haven’t really seen as a concealer yet. I must say, that I would prefer a doe-foot applicator over the tube as I find it a little bit inconvenient to dab this on straight from the tube (always too much product) or use a brush for it but from a visual point of view, I really like to look at this.

Water, Titanium Dioxide, Cyclopentasiloxane, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Isododecane, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Mica CI 77019, Butylene Glycol, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Pentylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Sorbitan Isostearate, CI 77492, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Zinc Oxide, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Linum Usitatissimum (Linseed) Seed Extract, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Sapphire Powder, Sigesbeckia Orientalis Extract, Rabdosia Rubescens Extract, Cereus Grandiflorus (Cactus) Flower Extract, Beeswax, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Magnesium Sulfate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Aluminium Hydroxide, Stearic Acid, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Methyl Hydrogenated Rosinate, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance, CI 77491, CI 77499

I have entered the ingredients into cosdna as always, which you can view here. I was surprised to see at how much stuff fits into a small concealer tube! :p

Hey there, blue veins.

….I used WAY too much product for this swatch. Could’ve probably covered my whole face as this stuff is yielding! A little goes a very long way without cutting down on coverage. As you can see here, the shade is a great match to my favorite Luna concealer, albeit not as thick in texture. However, it already covers my blue veins like a pro. Also swatched my newest Western beauty addition, the famous Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser – very surprised at how pink it looked in comparison! (Surprisingly enough, I don’t see a big color difference once I applied and blended them out on my skin..)

In terms of performance, I am extremely torn about this product: As you can see, it gives great coverage on my acne marks and hyperpigmentation. What is still visible with my base make-up almost disappears completely with the concealer without looking overly cakey. I applied the concealer first with a brush on my troubled cheek areas and then buffed it in with tiny motions with a cushion sponge.

On my undereyes however….. it’s a complete different story. You can’t really tell in these pictures because the lighting makes my dark circles appear a lot less harsh than they are in real life but this concealer doesn’t work well for me in concealing my dark circles. I think it may be due to the lighter formula, but somehow it looks a bit uneven and you can tell that I am wearing concealer which I personally don’t like.

So as a final verdict, I really like the performance of this concealer a lot to use on my acne marks and hyperpigmentation as it gives a great natural look without being too noticeable but at the same time giving solid coverage. Also, the tube has a lot product and a little will go a long long way – I think this would probably last me forever! For the price I definitely recommend you give Holika Holika Naked face Cover-Up Concealer a try if you are still searching for a good concealer that has medium to full coverage. For dark circles, I will stay true to my beloved Luna Long Lasting Tip Concealer, but it might work if your dark circles aren’t as bad as mine are.

There is always a but. If you have paid close attention to the ingredients list, you might have noticed that olive oil is quite high on the ingredients list. Well. Shit. Olive oil and me have a very bad track record – it either triggers acne for me or clogs my pores (which will result in acne as well 🙁 ) So I am searching for a new home for this baby as it really is a nice product if you don’t have problems with olive oil like me. Conclusively, I decided to host a little giveaway! Open internationally, I am giving away the Holika Holika Naked Face Cover-Up Concealer (used once for this review purpose by me) along with samples and a sheet mask to one lucky winner! 🙂

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway is open until Monday, 27th of April.  In order to enter, you have to be a reader of this blog either by GFC/Bloglovin/Facebook/Youtube and tell me why YOU need this concealer in your life! Convince me 😀 I will handpick the winner myself who gives me the most compelling answer. Good luck!

If you have any questions unanswered feel free to write me a comment!
Have a nice day everyone & lots of love,

Sam