Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch highlighting concealer pen in Ivory 320 review & swatches

I have been curious about highlighting concealer pens, so I picked this one up at CVS. I ended up paying $1.28 thanks to CVS extra bucks and a coupon! I chose the shade Ivory, # 320, which is the second lightest in the range. Radiant, the lightest option, looked very pink (almost like color correcting pink) so I passed and chose Ivory.

Dream Lumi Touch has very standard concealer pen packaging - you click the bottom of the tube a few times to push a bead of concealer up through the attached brush tip applicator. The clear cap fits securely over the brush. The writing on this tube is poorly adhered and already is starting to flake off.

I usually like Maybelline concealers (still sad about the discontinued Maybelline Minerals concealer) and this one fits into the pattern. Like its sister product, the Maybelline Age Rewind concealer, this one has an overly complicated name and a frustratingly stupid applicator. I ripped the gross sponge tip off of my Age Rewind concealer long ago, but this brush tip isn't easily removed. Granted, the brush tip looks easier to clean than the sponge, but a squeeze tube or mini pump would be an asset to this product.

Pros:

This concealer has more coverage than expected and lasts pretty well on my skin. My standard wear test is pretty aggressive - 12 hours or more. At the end of a full day, the product hasn't faded away into nothing, but isn't as perfect as it was when it was applied. As far as coverage goes, someone with a little bit of undereye darkness and discoloration would love it. I have very severe bruise colored undereye circles and this doesn't erase them. Dream Lumi doesn't come close to the coverage of Hard Candy Glamoflauge, NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, or Laura Mercier Secret Camoflauge, but easily beats out Maybelline Age Rewind and NYX HD concealer. The highlighting properties work as intended - no glitter or sparkle chunks visible but still leaves a glowy finish.

Cons:

I hate the brush tip. Not only is it unsanitary and generally gross, but the product builds up and clumps on the bristles and the product dispensing mechanism doesn't work as it is supposed to. Instead of the concealer magically dispensing through the brush tip to allow you to paint the concealer on, it beads up at the base of the brush tip. I have included an up close photo of the brush tip to show the clumping and beading. Packaging aside, I'm not in love with the formula either. The product is too thick and doesn't blend super easily into dry skin. I think for a gel based highlighting concealer, it should be a much more emollient or more thin formula to allow for a seamless skin like finish. I prefer a thicker consistency for blemish concealing products, but the highlighting properties of Dream Lumi take this option off the table. I also find that it settles a little bit into fine lines under the eye.

Swatches:

Swatched directly from the brush tip on the left and blended with my finger on the right. Swatched over bare skin without primer.


Bottom line, I have mixed feelings about this one. I dislike the packaging and it is too thick, takes work to blend into my dry skin, and settles into lines under my eyes more than I would like. The finish does look nice once it has set and it does provide some illumination. It is 100% worth the $1.28 I paid and I will use it up, but next time I want a highlighting concealer, I will buy something else.