September 14, 2015

Stroke of Beauty Skin Finish Concealer Review & Swatches

I purchased this item and I receive a small commission if you shop using the links in this post.

Stroke of Beauty Skin Finish Concealer1

Stroke of Beauty Skin Finish Concealer is a new concealer that recently launched on QVC. I immediately wanted to try this out as Stroke of Beauty is actually a new brand founded by Holly Mordini who was Smashbox Cosmetics Global Artist for the past 15 years. Holly’s demo on QVC several years ago convinced me to try Smashbox’s old flat top liner brush. And it was life changing as I learned how to apply eyeliner with this brush.

Needless to say I always enjoyed when Holly presented on QVC as she always made application such a snap. I was quite excited to see her bringing out her own line of cosmetics out and was eager to try them so of course, as a concealer junkie, I started with her concealer.

Stroke of Beauty Skin Finish Concealer2

As of now Stroke of Beauty is in its infancy stage so there aren’t color cosmetics available in the collection but I imagine given time that will change. Upon getting the concealer I think the thing that stood out the most for me was how similar the font styling and box was to Smashbox Cosmetics! Don’t you get a little Smashbox vibe going on here or is that only me?

Stroke of Beauty Skin Finish Concealer4

Stroke of Beauty Skin Finish Concealer

Stroke of Beauty Skin Finish Concealer5

The box pays home to a full size concealer (0.11) as well as a brush for application. The price was right at $26 plus $3 bucks for shipping so I ended up hauling the medium shade. You’ll also get some great concealing tips and tricks for where to apply the conceal and how to blend it out on the inside flap of the box.

The concealer formula is very appealing as it promises a bare skin or “uncovered skin” finish with the promise to cover dark circles, hyperpigmentation, etc…with sheer to medium coverage finish. The emollient formula promises a light, airy fluid that flexes so it moves with your skin and doesn’t cake or crease under eyes.

I’m all about bare skin anything lately so I was excited to check this product out. It is indeed very emollient but that doesn’t hinder the blending process. It blends very easily under my finely lined, drier eyes without an issue. The brush is soft with a pointed head that allows precise application of the concealer under and in the inner corners of eyes. The brush is very well made with soft, shed-free bristles. I swipe on with the brush and I gently blend and pat into place with my finger! The formula is great for drier eyes as it feels lightly hydrating and doesn’t drag or tug during the blending.

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Stroke of Beauty Skin Finish Concealer swatches

This brightens up the eye area beautifully. Medium looked a little too dark to me but the shade seems to go down at least one full shade after I applied it. It has a very nice brightening effect under my eyes however, that’s the extent of the pros on this formula. It sheers out considerably once applied and no matter how much I build I felt like it offered very little coverage. So although it brightened up the eye area wonderfully it didn’t technically conceal anything. My puffiness, finer lines, and the minor darkness under my eyes was still very visible once I blended. The formula also falls into my finer lines and creases rather badly within an hour of application.

The wear proves fair enough at around six hours (although I’d like at least eight hours of wear ideally from my concealer) but within that first hour of wear the creasing starts and I had to gently pat the concealer back into place every hour or two as it migrated into my finer lines.

I think the brightening is very nice here but the lack of pigmentation and the fact this creases so badly makes it a no go for me! I know Stroke of Beauty has a foundation upcoming as well and I look forward to checking it out in the hopes the formula proves better than the concealer.

Stroke of Beauty Skin Finish Concealer is available now at QVC.com.

Tried it?

Do share!

I purchased this item and I receive a small commission if you shop using the links in this post.

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • kellly

    Thanks for this review. Like you, I am a concealer junkie so I jumped to read what you had to say about this. Thank you for saving me some money. Of course I will be spending that money on some other great cosmetic stuff, but at least on something that gets better reviews than this did! 😛

    • Isabella Muse

      My pleasure kellly! This had so much good but the creasing and lack of pigment made it a no go 🙁

  • Karen Kordonowy

    I don’t really have a use for concealer since I don’t have dark circles under my eyes(at age 56!). However when I saw how Holly applied it around the nose areas and above the eyebrows I fell for the pitch and purchased it. I tried it once and thought “this is going back.” I wasn’t impressed at all with the formula. I felt it wasn’t creamy like she said. I had a hard time blending it. I totally agree with your review.

    • Isabella Muse

      I think I like the idea of using it as a highlighter and maybe for contour work, I can see it working for that but I wanted it for concealing work NOT as a contouring tool. I was ok with the formula Karen but the coverage was really weak 🙁 Sorry you were disappointed as well sad sigh!

  • Penny

    I was going to try this as well…so glad I saw your review first! Going to pass on this one! 🙂

    • Isabella Muse

      Penny good call! But QVC does have a generous return policy just in case you’re still tempted ;-D