FACE Stockholm Magic Wand

The Swedish have given us may wonderful additions to modern life, such as pancakes, Volvos, depressed detectives and Alexander Skarsgård. I now count FACE Stockholm amongst this hallowed group - their streamlined range of professional products is all about quality, with an incredible array of pigments and formulations housed in sleek, metallic packaging. It's chic and smart makeup and skincare, and I'm dying to visit one of their stores one day.

The lovely people at FACE were kind enough to send me a few products to try, including their glittering Magic Wand pen. Touted as highlighting and concealing - magically, one would assume - it's a handy little pick me up that I'm thrilled with as a light, sheer concealer. Below are the shades -

I started using it only for undereyes, hoping it would be similar to YSL's Touche Eclat, but it wasn't for me - I loved the creamy, sheer formula but the shade (#1) did nothing to brighten up my shadows, being a bit too puttyish and cool for my very yellow (read: sallow) undertones. Were it to be a good color match, the formula feels wonderful and light around the eyes - it just doesn't do anything for me brightness wise, I think I need a bit more pink in the formula.

Then I tried it as a quick concealer - and I'm in LOVE! I use very little coverage, and I hate the feeling of anything cakey, dry or fake looking on my skin - this is remarkably creamy and light, with good lasting power. Somehow the shade suits everywhere but my underye perfectly - it blends beautifully over spots, redness or little broken capillaries, and looks completely sheer and natural, while damping down the red and covering exactly what I want concealed. It layers wonderfully and never cakes or creases, even on dry, irritated skin.

If you're used to heavy duty concealers for maximum coverage, this probably isn't going to be for you, but for quick touch ups, tidying up sheer complexions and for dry, easily irritated skin, it's an absolute must for me - I keep it in my clutch of essentials, and will be repurchasing it regularly. Is it magic? I might not be trying the right spells, but I can't get anything but a lovely creamy concealer out of it so far, but that's magic enough right now for my tired winter skin. At $32, it's even a bit less pricey than most of the click pen concealers out there, and lasts white well.

Have you heard of or tried any FACE Stockholm products? Are you still thinking about Alexander Skarsgård driving around in a Volvo and eating pancakes while solving crimes? That's okay. When you're done, have a look at their website - it's gorgeous. And let me know if you have a favorite magic item in your beauty arsenal that you can't live without!

(product kindly sent by FACE Stockholm for review)