The Best Concealers For Covering Tattoos

While this is one of my favourite concealers it's not great for tattoos. While it covers spots easily – even the worst hormonal corker – it doesn't have the same durability on ink. You could say it blends too well as it just merges into the skin.

I really love this concealer, but it's too sheer to cover tattoos. It has a smooth, silky texture, which is ideal for under-eye circles and is buildable on spots but not on black ink. As you can see from the picture this gave the smoothest finish due to its blendable formula, so if you're not too fussed about totally covering your ink then this still a recommended purchase.

Airbrush Make-up is basically an ultra-thick paste that can be mixed with a face oil (they recommend their Snake Booster Oil) or used alone as a heavy-duty concealer. I was, therefore, expecting big things from this. In truth, this does offer amazing coverage on tattoos but it's just not the easiest to blend out. It took quite a lot of work to even out the skin around my tattoo, so I'm not sure it would be ideal for anything bigger than my tiny tat. That said, this has the ability to cover the darkest of ink, and it's really versatile in its number of uses.

I've tested it on spots and under-eye bags in the past and loved it because of its creamy consistency and ultra-practical stick packaging. But for tattoos, it was these reasons that let it down. It's just not thick enough and because of its texture, it doesn't build well. Great for the face, not so much for body art.

NARS concealers are the best, I use them on a daily basis but they're too light for tattoo covering. As with others, I tested, its soft creamy formulation means it can only be built up to a certain point, which works for acne and redness but not for tats. However, if you haven't already tried this on your face it's definitely worth a go.

Since its launch at the end of 2017, I've become rather taken by Trinny London's line of stackable, cream-based products. As well as the highlighter and the eyeshadows, the Just A Touch concealer-foundation hybrid particularly impressed me. I'm not convinced about using it as an all-over foundation (it's a bit too thick to blend everywhere), but as a concealer, it's very impressive. As you can see, it does a pretty good job at covering tattoos but isn't quite there in terms of coverage.

Even though this concealer was endorsed by a friend I was wary; Kevyn Aucoin makeup is notoriously pricey and I think it's unfair to recommend a concealer that costs considerably more than a return flight to Amsterdam. Full disclosure: I borrowed this from a friend so I could see if it worked before I dropped nearly 40 quid, which explains why it is a little dark/orangey for me. That said, pictures don't lie; this one was definitely superior at covering tattoo ink. As you can see, it doesn't look like untouched skin (let's be realistic here), but this is as good as you're going to get. It's buildable, so requires a few layers to get to this level of coverage, but it's long-lasting without feeling heavy on the skin. It also has a good range of shades and is waterproof (to an extent, I'd probably label it water resistant) so the crappy English weather can BRING IT. It's always annoying when the most expensive product on the list provides the best results, but for this purpose, I can't deny it.

I was really pleasantly surprised by this. Plus, it's nearly half the price of the Kevyn Aucoin – score. As it's Estee Lauder, I knew it was going to be a high-quality concealer, but the consistency was lighter and fresher than expected, which made me doubt its coverage potential. Oh, how wrong I was. This blends smoothly and high-pigmented so the coverage may even be better than my number one pick. It's oil-free, fairly long wearing and water and humidity-resistant, too, so won't be brushing off anywhere.