When I shared my tip for using a concealer brush when applying concealer, some of you asked what concealer it was that I featured, all used and opened in the photo 🙂 It turns out that this has become one of my favourite concealers for the undereye area and I’d been meaning to tell you about it, so no better time than the present 🙂
This is then the Laura Mercier Undercover Pot concealer which I have been told is quite an iconic product and a popular favourite amongst many women. What it is, is actually 3 products in one compact portable package. You get on the top, the Secret Camouflage (left pan), Secret Concealer (right pan) and Translucent Loose Setting Powder at the bottom. These 3 products form parts 3 and 4 of the Laura Mercier 4-step Flawless Face so you actually save time getting this kit (Step 3 – Conceal, Step 4 – set with powder).
It does not come with a brush so you do need to have your own concealer brush before using this, because fingers just don’t cut it. Whilst this isn’t advertised as just being for the undereye area (The Secret Camouflage can be used on blemishes too) I use this only exclusively for the undereye because I find that for me, it works best for that and I’ll tell you that sometimes, 2 is better than just 1 😉
The Undercover Pot comes in 4 shades to cover most skintones. Mine here is in Undercover Pot UC-2. I noticed that the right side is deeper and more peachy than that in UC-1 which looks almost white in both sides of the pan, so I think that would only suit the very very fair.
The texture of the products in the top are quite different. Secret Camouflage on the left has a hard texture and its not easy to pick up the product. However, it is thicker and stays on better when it comes to camouflaging scars, marks and blemishes. I personally find that it doesn’t do much for me. I much prefer using the Make Up For Ever Full Cover which for some strange reason didn’t work for me a few months ago despite me using it for years but is now back to working. Strange.
The pan on the right is the Secret Concealer, which has a more emollient texture and so you can quite easily see that I have successfully formed a dip in the product where I use it almost daily. I really like the texture of the Secret Concealer, which is light and spreads very easily. My concealer brush picks up the product quite easily and the peachy tone hides my dark circles quite well (I don’t have a chronic problem). It doesn’t sink into fine lines around the eyes and it just works well for me.
But what I find is that I get a much better result when I blend the two products together.
What I do is use my brush and dip it into the Secret Concealer on the right side of the pan. The product is very easy to pick up. I then transfer the product over to the Secret Camouflage on the left side of the pan and blend it in together. I find that blending it together makes the product a little thicker, so it sticks to my skin a little better, yet the peachy colour is retained and a little lightened and that blends into my under eye area better. When I do it this way, my eye area appears more brightened and redness is concealed and I look fresher in general.
The only product I don’t use a lot of is the Translucent Loose Setting Powder at the bottom. You are supposed to use a fluffy brush and lightly dust the powder over the concealer to set the product and help it stay on longer. I find that when I do so, it makes it look cakey and unnatural and I dislike it. So I don’t use it at all.
I can’t seem to find out if Laura Mercier sells just the top portion of this product, because that’s pretty much all I’d buy because it does an excellent job! However, all isn’t lost of course. If you are the mobile sort, the loose powder at the bottom can be used on the face after blotting of shine and to freshen up your makeup. It has a very lovely texture on skin, feeling silky and velvety, but I personally just do not like it around my eye area. I have lines – I don’t need to accentuate it 😛
It feels awkward swatching a concealer but here you go.
Laura Mercier Undercover Pot UC-2 Swatches: (1) Secret Concealer (2) Secret Camouflage (3) Translucent Loose Setting Powder
As you can see, the Secret Concealer has a noticeable peachy tone while the Secret Camouflage has a yellow tone. I like blending them to the shade and intensity I want depending on the amount of coverage I need. The damning part is that the Secret Concealer is so emollient that it is so easy to make a dip in the product while the Secret Camouflage is so hard that you could use it for months (as I have) and hardly see the beginnings of a dip in it!
The setting powder is translucent so naturally, it disappears right into my skin LOL! 😀
As I said, I like this and unless I’m using a highlighter concealer pen (Dior Skinflash gets my vote on this!) I use this product exclusively for the undereye area and its great! 😀
In a nutshell
The Laura Mercier Undercover Pot houses 3 iconic products in one portable compact. There is the Secret Camouflage concealer for spots and blemishes, Secret Concealer for the undereye area and Translucent Loose Setting Powder to set the products. I like blending the 2 concealers to the right intensity and colour for my undereye area. I find that it gives me the right coverage and colour, while being smooth and emollient enough to spread easily and blend into my skin very quickly. I don’t quite like the Secret Camouflage for blemishes as I find the texture too hard and it takes too much work. As for the Loose Setting Powder, its very lovely, but I find it makes the undereye area look cakey so I don’t quite like using it.
Pros: Secret Concealer is smooth and emollient and the shade works for me to cover redness and non chronic dark eye circles, Secret Concealer blended with Secret Camouflage works well to even out skintone and stays on better, Translucent Loose Setting Powder is very lovely and silky and velvety for skin but not for the undereye area
Cons: Secret Camouflage is too hard and takes too much work for me to use it alone on blemishes, Translucent Loose Setting Powder makes my undereye area look cakey
Who will like this: Anyone who is looking for an undereye concealer that is lightweight yet covers well, Anyone who appreciates having 3 products in one handy kit
As you can see, the Undercover Pot is very portable and handy to have in your kit. I like taking it when I travel because as much as I complain about the Secret Camouflage, it works in a pinch to touch up and conceal spot blemishes. I just have to be a little more patient. Also, the setting powder is very useful for the face. I use a face brush for this or sometimes, I improvise in hotel rooms by using the cotton pads as a face puff 😀 It works in a pinch!
If Laura Mercier sold just the top half, I’d buy that because I know I’d get lots of use out of it. As it stands, I don’t think they do. This has been one of the better concealers I’ve tried to date. A very little goes a very long way for a lovely natural finish so it looks like I’m staying put for the long term!
Have you tried the Undercover Pot? How about each of the products separately?
I have the Secret Camouflage compact but I personally am not sold on it. Its so hard and takes so much work to warm it up enough to use that I hardly ever use it. I haven’t tried the Secret Concealer on its own, but I like how the colour and texture feels and looks after blending with the Secret Camouflage. Still, it makes economic sense to just get the one if I don’t use all 3 in this kit so I’ll look into that soon! Keeping it for the long term 😀
Paris B
Laura Mercier Undercover Pot Price: RM129 Availability: Laura Mercier counters or online
LM concealers always does a good job. And yes, using the powder on top also caked it up for me. But I do love the powder for the rest of my face. I like the powder even on no make up days 🙂 What a cute set though…too bad I no longer use concealers–I just let my eye bags hang out for all to see! Haha!
The powder for the face is super lovely! I’d forgotten just how silky a good loose powder can be 🙂 you cracked me up about your eye bags. I’m sure they aren’t that bad if you can forgo concealers! 😉
I recently purchased the Secret Concealer oh its own as I already have Secret Camouflage but this did tempt me so! I like the Secret Concealer but I’ve found it to smudge my mascara, something other concealers have not done.
Hmm, sorry to hear it smudged your mascara. Perhaps you can try blending it with the Secret Camouflage and see if it works better? 🙂
I really want to to try it, but in my city Laura Mercier isn’t sold (I hope Sephora will get it soon). Now I want to try MAC pro conceal and correct palette (I know you don’t like the brand) it looks interesting six shades of concealer.
Haha my dislike for MAC precedes me eh? 😉 I haven’t seen that palette to be honest, but I have seen similar ones and I’m always impressed by them because I don’t know how to use them! 😀 Do enjoy it if you get it
I have actually been using this for the last 2 years. The Secret Concealer does not set into fine lines like my MAC concealer did previously but I have started to use your tip to apply this with a brush and use the ring finger to blend. But I find that the Secret Camouflage has hardened on my pot. Need to revisit it again to see if it could still be used. The Translucent Loose Setting Powder does not work with the Secret Concealer at all and I never use it. Thanks for the tip to use the powder on the face as loose powder. Never knew I could use it for that function and I have had this for quite sometime 🙂 If I am not mistaken, LM did sell both the Secret Concealer and the Secret Camouflage in one case without the powder but that was 2 years ago. Not really sure if they do now.
Ah I wasn’t dreaming! I thought I saw the split pan Secret Concealer/Camouflage without the powder before this! I can’t find it online though so maybe they’ve discontinued it. But yes, the loose powder is basically the same as the one for the face so it doubles up its use 🙂 Now it won’t go to waste eh? As for the Secret Camouflage, i’m puzzled why its so hard. Usually, blending it with the Secret Concealer and using a brush makes it a bit like blending those cake paint palettes – remember that from school? Or maybe its just me lol!
This looks like something to have when I’m off to somewhere. I really like the idea of having all three in one convenient pot. I haven’t tried anything from LM yet just because it’s a bit harder to get here but I will definitely check this out if I see their counter! By the sound of it it seems to be well loved!
It most certainly is a very good travel kit, but it works just as well at home 😀 If you have a chance to check out LM, do take a look at this one. I do think it quite worth it (if you use concealer which I doubt you need! 😉 )
This one looks similar to Bobbi Brown’s creamy concealer (the old one with loose powder below), except that it has 2 concealer shades. The current Bbrown creamy concealer comes with compact powder and it’s in an oval shape, I believe.
I’ve been using the BBrown one for ages but find it sometimes settle into fine lines… Could you tell me please how the Laura Mercier one compares with BBrown? When mine is finished, I’d like to change to a new product never tried before. 🙂
Honestly, I haven’t really used the Bobbi Brown one because the shades were too yellow for me. I looked like I had these yellow patches under my eyes which wasn’t very flattering. I preferred to keep my dark circles LOL! The Laura Mercier one has more peachy tones so I find it makes the skin look brighter.
OK. Thanks for your suggestion. Maybe my skin is more yellowish so the BBrown concealer is quite all right on me. haha 🙂
But I’ll definitely try Laura Mercier’s next. 🙂
When I first dabbled into makeup, secret concealer was the concealer I first used. I went through 3 pots of them before I moved on to something lighter. It’s really one of the best I’ve ever used. So glad you featured this. It brings back very good memories 😀
Ah I’m a late bloomer I am! But I’m so happy to discover this. I swear I don’t really want to use anything else!
I wanted to try this handy little pot!
I have the Secret Camouflage, which I use everyday now for under eyes, blemishes and redness (pretty much all my concealing needs). The dryness makes the product stick to the skin for a long time and not slip. I also find that light layers do a good job of covering flaws.
You’re right about the dryness of Secret Camouflage helping it stick to the skin, Arianne. I just found it a bit too much work but I’ll give it another go and use light layers as you suggest 😀
i had this ages ago in a laura mercier kit, and i quite liked it at the time! but i wasn’t too much into spending time concealing, so I must’ve given it away or something. Now i’m curious about it again! (Although I’m still not so good at spending time on concealer, so maybe it isn’t the most practical idea! Lol)
Haha you probably didn’t or don’t need it, Joyce 😀 Now that I’ve gotten the hang of it, the job of concealing gets done very quickly. In fact, its the most important thing for me, dang these blemishes and circles >.<
I use the Secret Camouflage. I stopped for a while because it wasn’t working, but I’ve rediscovered it and it’s working great. I actually like the drier texture because I find it stays on much longer. For undereye, I’m using Clinique Airbrush concealer. Pretty good, that one 🙂
Oh I remember you talking about the Clinique concealer – will check that out. I like these pen things 😀
I’ve tried this and I quite like them. I found the yellower one a bit dry, but I do think it’s good for spot concealing. I know this is one of those most-used products by makeup artists for that purpose! The setting powder is lovely, although I wouldn’t say I see a huge difference between it and less expensive finely milled setting powders
Yes, the Secret Camouflage is a bit dry and hard and takes a bit of warming up to work, but it does do a fair job. I just prefer using the Make Up For Ever one because it just takes less work 😀
I’ve always been wanting this specific Laura Mercier product but each time I go to the counter and try on their testers, I always tell myself I do not need it for now! I am quite happy with my Bobbi Brown concealer and I’ll have to give myself a bit more time to see if I really want this 😀
Hey, if the BB one works for you there’s no need to change (except for curiousity! 😉 ) I personally can’t use the Bobbi Brown one simply because its too yellow for my skintone. I don’t know why Bobbi Brown bases tend to be so yellow. It makes me look sallow 🙁
I have been wanting to try Laure Mercier products especially her base products..this looks very promising..even Bobbi Brown has similar product na?
Hi Parita, yes there’s a similar product by Bobbi Brown – Creamy Concealer I believe. I haven’t tried the Bobbi Brown one so I can’t compare but I really like this one so I doubt I’d stray 😀
Hmmm… interesting. I’ve just switched to a liquid-y concealer for my undereye area because my creamy one was too light for me, heh heh. Will keep this in mind. Thanks, PB!
Creamy one too light in terms of texture or colour? Was trying to get my head around cream being lighter than liquid LOL Which are you using now then?
I’m not sure why I never checked this out–I’ve heard so many people refer to this as their “HG” concealer. Bobbi Brown’s Creamy Concealer was always my go-to but I didn’t like when they repackaged and got rid of the loose setting powder in favor of the pressed one. I should’ve switched to LM’s version instead. Plus, it comes with 2 shades instead of one so that has to be better, right?! 😛
Haha well, 2 is always better than 1 😉 Well to be fair, its actually 3 different products in one, so its not like its 2 different shades. More like 2 different textures of concealer. One for spot concealing, one for the undereye or blended to make it more emollient 🙂 I think you’d like this one, Becca!
I quite liked Secret Concealer, but did find it a bit too emollient – I should try mixing it with my too-yellow cream foundations!
Glad to hear your opinion on the setting powder – I will skip.
The setting powder is a very lovely face powder actually. Don’t skip on it for that purpose 😉
Thanks for this! I have this pot sitting pretty on my vanity collecting dust, as I find the right side to be too creamy, the right side to dry and hard. Also I can dig out my flat concealer brush. I prefer blending brushes for under eye concealing, and don’t normally conceal blemishes and such (hardly get any – I know, I’m a lucky gurl :D)
Can’t wait to re-try this w/ the traditional concealer brush!!
Haha glad to be of service, Ika! 🙂 This is a very good product but blending it together really gives a much better result than using them separately, in my view. I hope it works for you!
I realized how much a concealer helps and covers only when I get a makeover at the counter. On my own I’m pretty hopeless lol. I like this packaging. All in one and good to go.
I used to be like you Jennifer. At a makeover, I’d be marvelling at how flawless I look. Then when I go back I’m all “Why can’t I get the same look?!” LOL I think the key to concealer is finding one that suits you and the right technique. Good luck!
I miss this. I used to use this when I first started playing with makeups (o thats a long time ago LOL). It’s still up to this day one of the best undereye concealers I’ve tried.
This product has brought out a lost of nostalgia in many people LOL! I am now sitting here wondering why I never tried it myself all those years ago 😀 Happy to know its a good one for you and maybe a nice reminder to revisit 😉
Hey Paris, have you tried Bobbi Brown’s concealer? If so, how do you compare LM to BB? Regarding caking up undereye with powder, maybe you can try what a lovely SA at BB taught me, to use a large fluffy blending brush (usually use for eyeshadow) to dust some loose powder, tap off excess and then gentle pad on undereye. I find setting undereye make up with powder better than not setting them. You tempt me with high end make up:( thank goodness cny is just around the corner.
Hi Josephine, I haven’t used the Bobbi Brown concealer because the shades are too yellow for my skintone. So I can’t compare them sorry! Thanks for the tip for the loose powder for the under eye. I tried it but its still cakey. Maybe my under eye area has too many lines hehe… 😉