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“I can tell you guys that it already feels like I have nothing under my eye,” creative Kristen Green says of the Makeup by Mario concealer on TikTok. “It’s almost giving, like, a concealer powder consistency.” As she taps the formula onto her skin with a brush, we see her dark circles vanish almost instantly, even without a color corrector. “That looks so good, guys,” she remarks to viewers.
Green’s shocked reaction is not uncommon; as I was scrolling through my TikTok feed when the SurrealSkin Awakening Concealer launched last month, the reviews were pouring in. To date, the hashtag #MakeupByMarioConcealer has garnered 22.8 million views. Honestly, I haven’t heard this much buzz about a complexion launch in a while. Even my beauty editor friends were particularly excited—eagerly posting about their tests of the formula on social media.
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It’s not unusual that a complexion launch from founder Mario Dedivanovic is so buzzy; he’s something of a modern makeup artist legend. His distinctive soft-focus, sculpted look has graced some of the world’s most famous faces—Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, and Salma Hayek are just a few of the stars who have sat in his makeup chair.
According to the brand, this concealer is its most requested product. Lifting, blurring, and brightening the eyes is, after all, a central step of any good beauty look. Luckily, Dedivanovic’s new elixir delivers all of this with ease. “It sets, it blurs, it has caffeine, it lifts the complexion, it’s self-setting so you don’t even need powder,” he explains of the formula over TikTok.
These benefits deliver a beauty-filter-like result without feeling heavy. With just a little bit of product, one can awaken the undereye; and because it self-sets, added powder doesn’t create undesired cakiness. Medium coverage and a natural finish are how the concealer appears on skin. Caffeine leads the formula to diminish the appearance of dark circles and puffiness. Fermented marine microorganisms are also featured to create that blurring effect—helping skin look smoother and tighter.
In my experience with the Makeup by Mario concealer, I would describe it similarly to Green: It really is like a concealer-meets-powder. I have oily skin, so a good face powder is of top priority to me, making this concealer’s promises that much more appealing. I opened its sleek tube to find a doe foot applicator perfectly sized for the undereye. The formula is creamier than I expected—almost feels cooling on the skin. While you may be tempted to layer on a lot of product to the entire undereye area, a little bit truly goes a long way. I found the most success by swiping a bit to the inner and outer corners of the eye.
“Just press it in to blend it,” Dedivanovic instructs. While he enlists a brush to buff in the concealer, I prefer a Beautyblender or even my fingers—blending in upward strokes for that TikTok facelifting effect. I compare it to a filter in the sense that my skin just looks soft and gently diffused—which is how SurrealSkin stands out against the industry’s other leading concealers. It’s uncommon to find something that manages to blur so seamlessly, working well without a host of other makeup products. Typically to get the look, I’d need to start with a smoothing primer, then spend minutes blending the concealer for an undetectable finish—locking it into place with a finishing powder and mattifying setting spray. But with SurrealSkin, I didn’t need to do any of that. I could apply the concealer on its own to bare skin to reveal filter-esque skin in seconds. I did so the other day, on the go during Fashion Week, tapping the concealer on my skin after a facial to appear rejuvenated and bright-eyed before a meeting. I’ve even considered keeping a tube in my purse for touch-ups.
Though it boasts multiuse benefits, this concealer just feels simple. It’s one of those formulas that I know I can trust no matter the beauty look I’m after. From camera-ready glam to go-to officewear, its creamy, blurring finish will bring life to my complexion.
Complete the Routine
Ready to give this TikTok-approved concealer a go? Pair the formula with some of our favorite products—from hydrating skin prep to ultra-pigmented blushes.
