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How long does it take to develop a concealer? According to Maureen Kelly, founder and CEO of Tarte Cosmetics, a year and a half. At least, that’s how long it took the brand to create the new Creaseless Creamy Concealer, which launches today.
The Creaseless Creamy Concealer contains a host of skin care ingredients—nearly 60 percent of the bottle—to nourish and rejuvenate your skin. “It’s like a skin care smoothie,” Kelly says. The formula contains star ingredients found throughout the Tarte collection, including maracuja, better known as passion fruit, which the brand responsibly sources from an all-female cooperative in the rain forest. Kelly also notes that the formula features cloudberry, which she explains has four times more vitamin C than an orange to help brighten your under-eyes, and bakuchiol, better known as nature’s retinol, to help reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Unlike its predecessor Shape Tape, this concealer has caffeine to depuff the under-eye area and vitamin E to help fight hyperpigmentation and reduce inflammation.
But why did the brand, which already has a bestselling concealer, decide to make the product in the first place? Kelly explains that Tarte has started to use AI to scan social media and listen to fans of the brand, affectionately called “Tartlettes.” “They were asking us for a concealer that was very skin care-based, full coverage, super creamy, and hydrating,” Kelly reveals. The hope, she says, is that sourcing customer needs will help Tarte deliver a product that’s just as successful as the original concealer. For Kelly, AI is a way to be more efficient and effective in running her company and meeting consumer demand. However, she is firm that AI won’t replace people. “I never could have created the product without my operations teams, my product development teams, our makeup artists, our .com teams—it’s just another tool in our toolbox to help us,” she says.
Tarte already had five undertones in their concealer range—beige, honey, neutral, sand, and golden—outperforming the industry standard of three undertones: warm, neutral, and cool. With this new launch, they are adding warm as a sixth undertone. In the past, the brand has come under fire for the lack of shades in deeper skin tones. To ensure it got every shade and undertone correct, the company hired shade expert and makeup artist Michela Wariebi to refine the spectrum. “With this expanded shade and undertone range, we hope that more women feel seen and are empowered to look their best,” Wariebi tells ELLE.com
ELLE editors were among the first to try the new concealer, which I’ve worn at least a dozen times over the past month. I’m pretty picky about my concealers and admit, while I like Shape Tape, it wasn’t necessarily my favorite. However, the Creaseless Creamy Concealer formula is great; it’s now the concealer I consistently gravitate toward, because the results are phenomenal. In my opinion, it’s currently one of the best full-coverage concealers on the market.
When I first tried it, I noticed how it immediately hydrated my under-eye area. I didn’t need to use a color corrector, because this concealer covers everything, which is great for busy mornings when I don’t want to add another step. If I was running on little sleep, it instantly made me look like I got an additional two hours of rest. The concealer plays well with other products, too, including my foundation and setting powder from different brands. I also wore the concealer on camera for a recent segment on sunscreen with Pix11, and I was surprised at its longevity and wear. Not all makeup works for TV, and this concealer had my under-eye area looking flawless and covered up my dark spots. My go-to shade is 51H, but I find them flexible, and I have tried out other shades, including 49W for brightening and 53H when I want a little contour. I also found the shade range to be inclusive; recently, at the Black Beauty Roster and Meta event to celebrate Black beauty businesses, I noticed creators with deep melanin wearing the concealer and easily finding their perfect match.
According to ELLE beauty editor Katie Berohn, “The first thing to know about Tarte’s concealer is that a little goes a long way—you truly only need a tiny dot for coverage.” For her, summer means going out more and wearing less makeup, so concealer is a must. “I have freckles that pop in the summer, so I like using concealer only on my under-eyes, the corners of my nose, and to cover up any blemishes, so I can let my freckles shine through,” she shares. Berohn notes how the creamy formula “mimics skin” and looks seamless once you apply it. “I like using a concealer brush to tap it in,” she says. She typically sets her concealer with a finely milled loose powder, but was curious to see how well this one would wear on its own. “I was shocked that it lasted through a nine-hour workday with no discernible signs of wear. This definitely will be one of my new go-tos.”
A concealer that works across all shades and undertones should be an industry standard, not an exception. Tarte’s newest formula illustrates an attempt to raise the bar for complexion products. Plus, one percent of all sales on tarte.com is donated to four mental health non-profit organizations: Active Minds, Asian Mental Health Collective, Black Girl Smile, and Mindfulness First.