For me, the answer is no. Makeup can’t be absolutely creaseless. I often think about this because people frequently ask for recommendations on creaseless concealers. I share swatches and my thoughts on the most crease-resistant formulas I’ve experienced further down, if you’d like to skip to that section. I’m sure you’ve seen those questions on various platforms. You can minimize creasing, and some products are less prone to creasing, but that varies from person to person. We move our faces constantly throughout the day, so things can and will shift. However, when we find a foundation and concealer that work well for us, it shouldn’t be very noticeable from a regular viewing distance. Another indication that a foundation and concealer work well for your needs is when the settling or creasing you see can be blended again later in the day without losing significant coverage or looking dry. These are, of course, only my personal opinions as someone who only tests makeup on myself. So, when I saw the Makeup By Mario Masterclass from this year’s (2024) Sephoria and someone in the audience asked about creasing, it felt like a good opportunity to share this information from a professional makeup artist’s perspective.

If you don’t know, Mario Dedivanovic owns the Makeup By Mario brand. He is best known for being the makeup artist for Kim Kardashian but has also worked with Jennifer Lopez, Ariana Grande, Mary J. Blige, Ciara, Katy Perry, Priyanka Chopra, Demi Lovato, Gabrielle Union, and the list goes on. Over his almost 25 years in the makeup industry, he has not only worked on various skin tones but also on various ages. Mario Dedivanovic got into the makeup industry in 2000 when he started working at Sephora, and by 2001, he was assisting makeup artists who worked on “Sex and the City.” Source: Rachel Syme. (2020, August 31). The Makeup Artist At Ground Zero Of Internet Beauty Culture. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/09/07/back-to-school-with-mario-dedivanovic

I’m giving you his background because while I agree with his thoughts on creasing, and mention it often (especially in my concealer reviews), he has much more knowledge of makeup and how it works across different skin types and ages. The quote below is transcribed from the video that I posted above by the automated program that YouTube uses. I went through and added punctuation as it made sense to me, but I’m by no means trained to do this kind of thing. It might look strange, but I did my best 😆. I didn’t want to alter what he said too much, so hopefully, my added punctuation didn’t do that. The video linked should start at 36:50, where he begins his answer to the person in the audience. (see update below to understand why I’ve crossed this out) I encourage you to watch at least that part if you’d like to hear it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.

“…yea, not to put as much makeup into the under eye creases. But here’s the thing guys when a face has creases, when a face has wrinkles, we can’t you know, we can’t remove that. We have to understand that that is there, that’s part of the the person, that’s part of yourself. And so you can only enhance things a little bit you can conceal things a little bit, but you can’t remove it. Um the lines and wrinkles and so you want to find ways to work around it, but the general rule is any deep lines or wrinkles, you don’t want to put makeup into those areas heavily because they are going to start creasing. And that’s okay things can crease, you just take a finger or a sponge and you just pat it out a little bit, you know, throughout the day if it’s, if it’s a problem. I think a lot we see a lot on social media. We see so much perfection you know, but there’s lights and there’s tricks and cameras and things like that. And so you have to always remember to stay grounded in the real physical world, and that you know we’re not living our lives 100% on social media. And so we want to look good in the real world. Um so if you can, it helps a little bit to release that sort of um pressure to feel like you need to have everything so perfect…”

Update August 17, 2025: Sephora cut the Sephoria Masterclass video down to make it shorter, and some of Mario Dedivanovic’s conversation about foundation and concealer creasing got cut out. Linked below is the new, shorter video. In the new, shorter version of the video, he reiterates his comments about creasing at the 12:28 mark.

I honestly get tired of seeing makeup products claiming to be creaseless because that claim, even more than most claims, is very nuanced. An interesting thing about Mario’s comment in this video is that his brand’s concealer is listed as being crease-proof on the Sephora website. There is no language about creasing on the Makeup By Mario website. So that is a little confusing, and it is unclear (to me) if that is something that Sephora’s marketing team came up with or if that came from the brand. I will say, however, that the Makeup By Mario Surreal Skin Concealer doesn’t crease badly on me. The other concealers that have minimal creasing, in my experience, are the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer, Revlon Colorstay Flex Wear Full Cover Concealer, NARS Soft Matte Concealer, and the Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer. Including the Makeup By Mario, I don’t have to use powder to set any of these for my dry, eczema-prone skin type. Most of the other concealers that I’ve tried have needed powder to keep the creasing to a minimum. There is one slight exception: the Westman Atelier Vital Skin Concealer can be worn with minimal creasing, but it requires some finessing. See below for swatches; you can also click the links above to read my full reviews.

I also experience some foundation formulas sinking into my smile lines and lines on the left side of my jawline more than others. The foundations with the fewest smile line issues (from best to worst) are the MAC Studio Radiance Face and Body, NARS Light Reflecting Advanced Skincare, NARS Natural Radiant Longwear, and Smashbox Always On Skin Balancing. Just like with concealer, if the creasing starts to look more apparent from a distance, I just blend it out with my fingers. I typically only have to do that once while wearing the Smashbox foundation. With the two NARS foundations, I can usually get away with leaving them alone because the creasing isn’t obvious from a distance. Estee Lauder Double Wear used to be a reliable option, but as my skin became drier over the years, it accentuated my smile lines.

I know that not everyone will agree with this sentiment since I’ve discovered that this professional makeup artist shares my opinion. I also understand that the products I experience minimal creasing with will not work for everyone. My goal is just to give enough information to help people decide what to spend their money on and what not to spend it on. So, I thought this was an important topic to highlight because I do think that sometimes people expect more from makeup than it can deliver. Hopefully, some of the products and techniques that work for me may help you with your creasing troubles.

---

Do you think makeup can be creaseless? If you have trouble with creasing, what products and/or techniques seem to help the most?

---

If you enjoyed this post, please like it below.  If you’d like to check out more of my content, here are some places to start. 

• Blush Index
• Brands A-Z
• Bronzer & Highlighter Index
• Brush Index
• Concealer Ranking
• Eyeshadow Index
• Foundation Round-Up
• Lipstick Index
• Makeup Storage and Organization Ideas
• My Favorite Makeup
• Powder Round-Up

Disclaimer:  I purchased all products featured with my own money.  This site receives a minimal commission from participating in the WordAds program and using affiliate links (marked with **).  For my full disclosure policy, click here.