The Vegan Concealer That Erases My Dark Circles (And YouTubers Swear By)

The legend of Tarte's Shape Tape looms large. 

Spend 15 minutes watching YouTube makeup tutorials, and it’s bound to show up. The woman with the spot-concealing how-to dots Tarte Shape Tape under her eyes. The next tutorialist, who's drawing a cat eye using rocket science properties, also pulls it from her kit. So does the third, who expounds on the virtues of blinding highlighter and has the Tarte tube in three different shades for contouring.

Then, there's my sister. 

Seriously, my sister raved about this vegan, cruelty-free, full-coverage liquid concealer for probably a year. A year I spent hunting high and low for a formula that could stand up to my deep blue eye bags of death. A year during which I complained to her about all the BS I tested -- formulas that cracked, caked, didn't quite match, and couldn't compete with my dark circles. A year when she must’ve rolled her eyes so many times because she already found it: a near perfect full-coverage undereye concealer. 

Why didn't I heed her advice? Take a pro-tip from somebody who gets it? Well, apart from an apparent case of masochism, there were a few drawbacks to the much-lauded liquid cover-up that she (and everyone who's ever made a makeup tutorial) swears by.

For starters, Shape Tape is only sold through Ulta and direct through Tarte. You won’t find it at Sephora. Ever. That meant shelling out $27 would earn me none of my beloved points. Which, up until recently, meant they would earn none of my beloved dollars.

Then there's the fact that it’s mildly scented. Which is wildly unnecessary and doesn’t bode well for people with sensitive skin. Fragrance equals irritation, and Shape Tape includes both benzyl salicylate, which has a floral scent and is an ingredient associated with allergies and contact dermatitis, according to the Environmental Working Group, and amyl cinnamal, which smells like jasmine. 

I don't need my eye bags to smell like anything. I simply want the luxury of pretending they don't exist for about eight hours a day.

Of course, that's where the formula was most likely to deliver, thanks to its alleged ability to totally mask discoloration. Then again, that complete coverage had me suspicious that Shape Tape might cake on my skin, look like a creepy mask, or dry it out after a couple hours of wear. My skin is dry of its own accord and needs exactly zero help in that department, thank you very much.

That's quite a few items in the con column. But as my concealer search wore on, the exceptionally brief list of potential pros led me to try it anyway: What if this product helps me to not look like Mischa Barton in The Sixth Sense? 

Turns out, it totally does. In a Shamalan-caliber plot twist, I ended up loving this concealer, with one caveat.

It's creamy and goes on smoothly. Honestly, I can barely smell anything ever -- thanks allergies! -- so the scents haven't proven bothersome or aggravating. The concealer holds up with the help of a whisper of setting powder. (Lately, I've been partial to Becca's blurring one.)

The one drawback? Shape Tape is prone to looking real nasty real quick if you layer it on too heavily. So there's a bit of a learning curve involved. But once you get accustomed, it's easy to build up coverage lightly, since the oversize wand applicator offers more precision than you might guess.

That is, unless you just listen to my sister.