i really like this product. i thought it was thick enough to provide coverage yet sheer enough to make it look natural. it does not look like i'm wearing concealer. the texture is nice and it does not dry out like some other reviews have complained about. i guess i live in a tropical country so my pot is creamy even after a few months =D

my only gripe is the packaging, this was a BITCH to open and i hate how i have to use my fingers or a brush to apply this. but aside from that, t really like this product and i will definitely purchase again :D

[UPDATED 07/2010]

A solid waxy balm in a small clear plastic screw-top jar. No fragrance. To use:
Before applying this or other base/concealer, I moisturise and use sunscreen (the Clarins eye one, see separate review for that). Clean preferred hand, use fingers to rub out a very small quantity, allow to melt on finger-tip (rubbing two fingers together helps), apply to skin. Once it's more melted to a creamy texture, it can be patted in gently, no rubbing needed. Can also be dabbed and dotted on using a fine-tip brush. Six shades are available.

My main use for this stuff is as a concealer for the corners under the eye, and between eye and nose. On me, the skin there is very thin and, partly from seeing every blood vessel, kinda blue/purple.

End result: not shiny or sparkly, not too matte or chalky. No irritation, no effect on mascara, no irritation from running into eyes, no nothing. And it's easy to remove at night with other makeup: plain oil (in my case, some combination of mineral, safflower, sunflower, sweet almond, jojoba).

The shade LIGHTER THAN LIGHT, a neutralizing light peachy-pink, is exactly the same (on me, anyway) as Clarins' Éclat minute/Instant Light Eye Perfecting Base in 00. Big differences though: the Clarins is a twisty pen, a more liquid formula (but drier once set), is only in two shades (both light), and 2ml/0.07 oz costs USD24.50/CAD. TheBalm's concealer is 7.5g/0.26oz for USD18.00/CAD24.00. The finish is lighter, finer, and skin stays moist. So if you like the Clarins, give this a try.

LTL is slightly lighter and more yellow than Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1 (and several other similar salmon-peach things), but LIGHT is a good match. Time Balm's texture is somewhat similar, creamy-waxy, but a bit lighter. So if you're looking for a cheaper dupe, this would be worth a try.

Despite the initial texture in the pot, once warmed between fingertips and applied Time Balm is very lightweight. Fine for one layer, but not as super-concealing as heavier alternatives, and I found any attempts to layer and build just resulted in cakey grease. Not nice. So: fine for lighter application only.

I'm not using this as a concealer on the eyelid (Laura Mercier Eye Basics in Linen there) or rest of my face* (though it passes my standard personal irritation test) nor as a base for eye-shadow. But gets a general approximate thumbs up rather than down. [UPDATE 07/2010: Changed my mind from previous rave when I saw photos of me wearing this as an undereye concealer, and I'd put on too much: the result was really obvious, and the wrong colour. There are much better photos with LM Eye Basics used lightly on eyelid and undereye: looks like I've got no blueness or other discoloration, simply got flawless skin ... I'm no longer buying that salmon-pink to counteract blue-purple business. So shoot me.]

Decent company, cruelty-free, sensitive-friendly. Note that this concealer has no bismuth oxychloride, no parabens, does contain beeswax (so is not vegan), and does contain talc. And I, too, am sceptical of the claims that this is also a night-time treatment: though I admit I've slept in it and have lived to tell the tale. But hey, that's all part of the testing process besides being part of a product's and user's everyday life: from time to time, makeup gets slept in. That's life. If you're having any kind of a life.

INGREDIENTS (on base of jar): Tridecyl Trimellitate, Neopentyl Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Talc, Dioctyl Adipate, Isoeicosane, Cera Carnauba (Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba)) Wax, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Octyldodecanol, Retinyl Palmitate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, C18-36 Acid Glycol Ester, Panthenol, Tribehenin, Ceresin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Linoleic Acid, Glycine soja (Soybean) Sterols, Phospholipids, Silica, Propyl Gallate, Glycine soja (Soybean) Oil. May contain [+/-Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Ultramarines (CI 77007)]

* Though I'm not using this as a concealer elsewhere, I did test this out in my more irritable and spot-prone areas, and lo! no zits have appeared. I'm pale, so fading zits, even if years old, do show up quite pink in comparison: some concealment does help. But even this lightest shade, Lighter Than Light, is still too dark on my skin. So I'm stuck with the other main concealer: usually Clarins' stubby stick concealer (very similar texture to Time Balm) in 01 and a powder dotted on top to set it. Mind you, these are super-light spot-concealing solutions for skin that's otherwise in pretty good nick; look elsewhere if you need more more coverage, no oiliness, etc. continued >>

I had issues with this a first because I was using it during my makeup routine. Then I read on here it has to been used right after you moisturize and long behold, it works. If you moisturize enough the product does exactly what it suppose to, conceal those pesky dark undereyes. I picked this up in light/medium and will repurchase. I now understand how people have said they could do without foundation: wash, tone, moisturize, conceal and/or correct and wait ten minutes.


UPDATE (01/01/2011) Still love this! I don't use it often but when I need it I have it. I have Light/Medium and I'm a NW/NC 25 or Light-Medium with Neutral/Beige Undertone and this just slightly lighter than my natural coloring. I use my fingers for under-eye application, 224se if I apply it after foundation and the 194se before foundation, the all do a wonderful job for when I decide when and where I'm going to use it.


continued >>

holy gamoly. This is the best concealer ever! I suffer from enormous hereditary under eye circles and this is a complete miracle in the form of a measly $28AUD.
The best way I've found to apply this lightly layering it over Skin Food's salmon dark circle concealer. I use light/medium which is a tad light for me but my powder corrects that.
The texture is creamy once you get the product warmed up and can look cakey if you're not careful. Also it sometimes seeps int my fine lines although patting my under eye area a couple times throughout the day fixes that problem and I think a little creasing is a small price to pay for zero bags.
The first time I wore it to school, one of my friends remarked that my face looked really weird. I was a bit bummed until another commented it was probably because they've never seen me with no bags before. I guess I was still a bit bummed at that comment knowing I've got such bad circles BUT, now they're gone! :) I think this is fast tracking its way to HGness.

This is my Holy Grail undereye concealer. It's a great match for my NW15/20 (cool, pale) skintone and is quite pigmented yet easy to blend. Plus, it has never bled or creased on my combination skin. Time Balm looks (and stays) flawless and natural in my experience. I would say the coverage is buildable and medium to full.


It also works beautifully on blemishes--I just prefer to use a medicated concealer on spots.
continued >>

For reference I’m in between an NC15 and NC20 (more like an NC18 if that existed) and I have to mix foundations a lot to get the right color. I use this in Light/Med and it matches my skin really well without a hint of reverse raccoon eyes or the dreaded orange ring. It's light and yellowy and I think if I went any lighter it'd be too light. This is super pigmented and is very easy to apply in thin layers. I usually only need 2 layers to get excellent coverage of my hereditary, deep, dark, purplish under eye circles. This also works for my combo skin on the occasional blemish (not sure how it would hold up to true acne though). I apply it with my fingers and if needed go over it with my MAC blender brush which is a great concealer brush by the way. Blends really nicely.  Anyway, I usually use La Roche Posay ‘s C eye cream or plain Cetaphil lotion under my eyes first. I’ve used a lot of concealors and think this one is incredible. For reference I have recently used, Lancome’s Maquicomplete (too liquidy for my undereye. Didn’t cover at all), Erase Paste (decent color but too thick and highlighted my circles), Becca (great color but too dry), Nars Custard (pretty darn good but doesn’t apply as thinly as this and can cake), Vichy Dermablend (great if I mix Opal and Nude together but it’s a $50 concealer that way), KA SSE SX5 (decent color but didn’t cover my circles), Revlon Age Defying in Light Med, Similar coverage but thicker. It also took longer to blend. Would be a good dupe coverage wise but it sits on my skin and this doesn't. HTH! continued >>

This product is better than the benefit boi-ng, this concealer covers dark circles much better. It covers without being cakey like bo-ing.

UPDATE: I'm so bummed - i lovved this concealer, but it has given me milia under my eyes. I had a little milia already & it made it worse, and gave me more in spots I didn't have it. guess it's too heavy. too bad, the concealer search continues :(
OLD REVIEW:
BEST concealer I've found, woohoo! I love this stuff. My problem with concealers is that they usually look cakey, or pasty, or crease, or they just look noticeable. I was looking for something smooth, blendable, and creamy that wouldn't look dry and pasty under my eyes (so that it wouldn't accentuate fine lines, milia, etc). This is perfect! It's completely opaque so it covers dark circles and the red around my nose perfectly. It's very creamy and blendable so that it blends right into the skin or foundation, so it is absolutely undetectable! the color match is also perfect for me. It lasts all day as well if you put it on top of foundation or set it with powder. relieved to have found my HG concealer! :)
for reference, I got it in "light/clair." continued >>

This is an alright concealer. It isn't for sale anywhere in the UK as far as I am aware so I purchased it online. Its alright at covering my under eye circles but sinks into my fine line under my eye. On top of that it looks a bit cakey so obvious that I have make up on but admittedly brightens the whole area. Its difficult to apply it with the sponge given so I use a brush instead. I don't think I'll be purchasing it again.

After reviewing over a list of 20+ concealers in my inventory, i have to declare TheBalm's Time Balm to have the best COVERAGE, TEXTURE/FINISH, and LASTING POWER.


1. COVERAGE

The best way i've found to use this on my dark dark DARK brown circles is to firstly do a light layer of eye cream, don't wait too long for it to fully absorb, then correction with an illuminating pen that has peach undertones (i'm using Clinique's Airbrush concealer for its very moist finish). Many girls complain about reverse raccoon reactions or getting that dreaded grayed-out undereye - this is because you need something peach-based to counteract the brown/purple/blue-ness of your dark circles.


So i first need a sheer and moist finish to firstly CORRECT and BRIGHTEN up the entire hollow of the eye. The reason why i recommend a sheer coverage as a base is because if you opt for something thick, and then slap Time Balm over, the coverage might get too cakey and artificial.


Lastly after that's done, i lightly dab Time Balm ONLY onto my undereye area, especially that awful crescent line that denotes "eyebag". You don't have to put it anywhere else because that's already been covered by the first sheerer concealer/highlighter. If you do, your entire eye area might look too caked up and unnatural. So, this is the best way i've found to cover my dark circles without compromising on the finish. Many reviewers here complain about the dry finish. But if you try this application method i think you could counter that problem.


2. TEXTURE/FINISH

Somehow, given the cream format of the product, this doesn't really crease or do anything funky like creeping into my fine lines. Most cream concealers always do that to me. e.g Bobbi Brown's Corrector. Who wants to look older than they really are?


3. LASTING POWER


Thanks to me, your friendly neighbourhood guinea pig, i've even tested this overnight. Holy sh**, it lasts. I woke up with the concealer still on. No other concealer i've owned (yes over 20 of 'em) has been able to do that. I've ever read in a makeup reviewer's blog that she put on the Time Balm and went jogging and it didn't leave her nor forsake her. Sounds far-fetched but yikes it's true.



Lastly, the main reason why i bought this product was for its skincare properties. I haven't seen any real benefits yet, but it has not caused me any millia though i'm millia-prone - even eye cream breaks me out. In conclusion all of these factors make Time Balm a HG for me.


I'm using "Medium" for my asian NC30 lightly tanned skin with yellow undertones. I bought mine from Sasa in Singapore for about S$29.


Here's a list of concealers i've tried and owned:


1. Shu Uemura Pro Spots 7yr medium
2. MAC Select Moisturecover NC30
3. Kesalan Patharan Undertone Light Up
4. Estee Lauder Ideal Light Brush On Illuminator 02
5. KATE Stick Concealer 02
6. MAC Studio Stick NW30
7. Cardinale Concealer 40
8. Shiseido The Makeup Corrector Pencil 2
9. MAC Studio Touch Up Stick NW25
10. Givenchy Mister Light 03
11. Laneige Snow Crystal Dual Concealer 23
12. Bobbi Brown Peach Corrector
13. Paula Dorf Special Camouflage
14. Paula Dorf Total Camouflage Sun/Earth
15. LUNASOL Under Eye Base 02
16. YSL Touche Eclat 03
17. Sofina Fine Fit Eye Zone
18. Ayura Zero Clear Colours Beige, Yellow, Orange
19. Cle de Peau Correcteur Visage Dark Ochre
20. Clinique All About Eyes concealer 05 Medium Beige
21. Christian Dior Skinflash 003
22. Covermark Bright Up Y-2
22. ZA Concealer Perfection 02
22. RMK Super Basic Concealer EX-01
23. Giorgio Armani Master Corrector Peach
24. Maybelline Angelfit Double Perfector
25. The Balm Time Balm Medium
26. Clinique Airbrush Concealer 02 Medium