Dual Action Concealer

Merle Norman

Where to buy Possibly in stock

About this product

The Merle Norman Dual Action Concealer is a misc. Our analysis of its 39 ingredients (31 low-risk) rates it Excellent (95/100). Based on its ingredients, it looks well-suited to dry skin.

Vegan-friendly Reef-safe

Summarised from our ingredient analysis — not brand marketing copy.

At a glance

Type
Misc
Ingredients
39
Low-risk
31
Fragrance
Fragrance-free
Origin
United States

The evidence

Quick Product Notes

Paraben-Free Sulfate-Free Alcohol-Free Silicone-Free EU Allergen-Free Fungal Acne (Malassezia) Safe

Notable Effects & Ingredients

No Notable Effects & Ingredients

Ingredients Related to Skin Types

Good   Bad — tap a skin type to see which ingredients · estimated from ingredient functions
Dry Skin 12/7
Good for dry skin
Glucose Glutamic Acid Sucrose Squalane Aluminum Hydroxide Isododecane Glycerin Fructose Hexyl Nicotinate Saccharomyces Lysate Extract Cyclopentasiloxane Urea
Caution for dry skin
Dextrin Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside Glycerin Hexylene Glycol Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone Silica
Oily/Acne-Prone Skin No data
Sensitive Skin 6/12
Good for sensitive skin
Pfaffia Paniculata Root Extract Sucrose Ascorbyl Palmitate Aluminum Hydroxide Glycerin Tocopheryl Acetate
Caution for sensitive skin
Glutamic Acid Sodium Chloride Ascorbyl Palmitate Aspartic Acid Alanine Isododecane Glycerin Hexylene Glycol Potassium Sorbate Methylparaben Phenoxyethanol Propylparaben

Ingredients list

39 total
Lower hazard (1) Higher hazard (7)
All39 Skin Conditioning27 Humectant12 Fragrance10 Hair Conditioning7 Antistatic Agent6 Viscosity Controlling6 Solvent5 Emollient5
EWG CIR Ingredient Name & Cosmetic Functions Notes
1
Water
(Solvent)
3
A
Cyclopentasiloxane
(Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Emollient, Solvent)
Silicone
Silicone
2
A
Glycerin
(Denaturant, Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Humectant, Oral Care Agent, Oral Health Care Drug, Skin Protecting, Viscosity Decreasing Agent, Perfuming, Solvent)
Good for Dry Skin
Good for Dry Skin
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
3
A
Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone
(Emulsifying, Skin Conditioning, Surfactant)
1
B
Isododecane
(Fragrance, Solvent, Emollient, Perfuming)
1
B
Ethylhexyl Olivate
(Skin Conditioning)
C30-45 Alkyldimethylsilyl Polypropylsilsesquioxane
(Film Forming)
1
2
A
Silica
(Abrasive, Absorbent, Anticaking Agent, Bulking Agent, Opacifying, Viscosity Controlling)
1
A
Squalane
(Emollient, Hair Conditioning, Refatting, Skin Conditioning)
1
B
Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate
(Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Surfactant Cleansingagent)
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
(Skin Conditioning, Viscosity Controlling)
1
Oryzanol
(Skin Conditioning, Antistatic Agent)
1
Saccharomyces Lysate Extract
(Humectant, Skin Conditioning)
1
Pfaffia Paniculata Root Extract
(Soothing)
1
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside
(Cleansing, Foaming, Surfactant)
2
A
Zinc Stearate
(Anticaking Agent, Colorant, Slip Modifier, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Cosmetic Colorant, Viscosity Controlling)
Ptychopetalum Olacoides Bark/Stem Extract
(Skin Conditioning)
Pichia/Resveratrol Ferment Extract
(Skin Conditioning)
1
A
Fructose
(Flavoring Agent, Humectant)
1
A
Glucose
(Flavoring Agent, Humectant, Skin Conditioning Agent Miscellaneous)
1
Lilium Candidum Flower Extract
(Skin Conditioning)
1
A
Phospholipids
(Skin Conditioning)
1
A
Sucrose
(Flavoring Agent, Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Soothing)
1
A
Dextrin
(Absorbent, Binding Agent, Bulking Agent, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Binding, Viscosity Controlling)
3
A
Urea
(Buffering Agent, Humectant, Antistatic Agent, Skin Conditioning)
1
A
Ascorbyl Palmitate
(Antioxidant, Masking)
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
1
A
Aspartic Acid
(Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Antistatic Agent, Masking)
1
A
Alanine
(Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Antistatic Agent, Masking)
1
Hexyl Nicotinate
(Skin Conditioning, Antistatic Agent, Emollient)
1
A
Glutamic Acid
(Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Humectant, Antistatic Agent)
Retinyl Palmitate
(Skin Conditioning, Skin Conditioning Miscellaneous)
3
Tocopheryl Acetate
(Antioxidant, Skin Conditioning)
Bad for Oily Skin
Bad for Oily Skin
1
A
Aluminum Hydroxide
(Emollient, Humectant, Opacifying, Skin Protecting, Viscosity Controlling)
1
A
Hexylene Glycol
(Fragrance, Solvent, Viscosity Decreasing Agent, Emulsifying, Perfuming, Skin Conditioning, Surfactant)
1
Sodium Chloride
(Bulking Agent, Masking, Oral Care Agent, Viscosity Controlling)
4
A
Methylparaben
(Fragrance, Preservative)
Paraben
Paraben
7
A
Propylparaben
(Fragrance, Preservative, Perfuming)
Paraben
Paraben
3
A
Potassium Sorbate
(Fragrance, Preservative)
4
A
Phenoxyethanol
(Fragrance, Preservative)
Paraben
Paraben

My Ingredient Notes

No personal ingredient notes yet. Save ingredients to your profile to get good/bad alerts here.

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Key ingredients

Cyclopentasiloxane
Skin Conditioning, Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant, Skin Protecting
Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone
Skin Conditioning
Isododecane
Emollient
Ethylhexyl Olivate
Skin Conditioning
Squalane
Emollient, Skin Conditioning

Benefits

Good for dry skin

Concerns

Contains paraben
Contains silicone
Not fungal acne (malassezia) safe
Propylparaben — higher EWG
May not suit sensitive skin

EWG flags hazard, not real-world risk — ratings don't account for how much of an ingredient a product contains. Treat these as things to research, not verdicts. How we score →

Ingredients explained

Water
Solvent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Solvent
Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone
Emulsifying, Skin conditioning
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 3 CIR A EmulsifyingSkin conditioningSurfactant
Isododecane
Fragrance, Solvent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR B FragranceSolventEmollientPerfuming
Ethylhexyl Olivate
Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR B Skin conditioning
C30-45 Alkyldimethylsilyl Polypropylsilsesquioxane
Film forming
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A Film forming
Silica
Abrasive, Absorbent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1–2 CIR A AbrasiveAbsorbentAnticaking agentBulking agentOpacifyingViscosity controlling
Squalane
Emollient, Hair conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A EmollientHair conditioningRefattingSkin conditioning
Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate
Hair conditioning, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR B Hair conditioningSkin conditioningSurfactant - cleansingagent
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin conditioning, Viscosity controlling
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A Skin conditioningViscosity controlling
Oryzanol
Skin conditioning, Antistatic agent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Skin conditioningAntistatic agent
Saccharomyces Lysate Extract
Humectant, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 HumectantSkin conditioning
Pfaffia Paniculata Root Extract
Soothing
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Soothing
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside
Cleansing, Foaming
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CleansingFoamingSurfactant
Zinc Stearate
Anticaking agent, Colorant
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 2 CIR A Anticaking agentColorantSlip modifierViscosity increasing agentCosmetic colorantViscosity controlling
Ptychopetalum Olacoides Bark/Stem Extract
Skin conditioning
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A Skin conditioning
+ 17 more — see the full ingredients list above
Cyclopentasiloxane
Hair conditioning, Skin conditioning
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 3 CIR A Hair conditioningSkin conditioningEmollientSolvent Silicone
Glycerin
Denaturant, Fragrance
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 2 CIR A DenaturantFragranceHair conditioningHumectantOral care agentOral health care drugSkin protectingViscosity decreasing agentPerfumingSolvent Good for Dry SkinFungal-acne trigger
Ascorbyl Palmitate
Antioxidant, Masking
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A AntioxidantMasking Fungal-acne trigger
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant, Skin conditioning
Potentially comedogenic - can block poresRead moreShow less
EWG 3 AntioxidantSkin conditioning Bad for Oily Skin
Methylparaben
Fragrance, Preservative
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 4 CIR A FragrancePreservative Paraben
Propylparaben
Fragrance, Preservative
Higher-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 7 CIR A FragrancePreservativePerfuming Paraben
Phenoxyethanol
Fragrance, Preservative
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 4 CIR A FragrancePreservative Paraben

How to use

How to use

  • 1 Evening: Use at night — start 2–3× a week and build up as your skin tolerates it.
  • 2 Wear SPF the next day: Acids and retinoids increase sun sensitivity — daily sunscreen is a must while using this.

General guidance from this product's category and active ingredients — always follow the directions on the package.

Trust & honesty

Pregnancy & breastfeeding

Contains ingredients some choose to avoid or double-check while pregnant or nursing.

Often avoided
Retinoids (Vitamin A) (Retinyl Palmitate)

Topical retinoids (retinol, retinaldehyde, retinyl esters) are widely advised against in pregnancy as a precaution. The strongest evidence is for ORAL retinoids; topical absorption is low, but most clinicians err on the side of caution.

This is general information, not medical advice. Pregnancy guidance varies and depends on concentration and your individual situation — always check with your doctor, midwife or pharmacist. How we flag this.

Effective levels — general guide

The concentrations these actives are typically effective at in research — not a measurement of this product.

Retinoids (Vitamin A) 0.01–1%

Most studied between 0.1% and 1%. Higher is not automatically better — irritation climbs with dose, so a well-formulated lower strength is often the sweet spot.

Retinyl Palmitate

Vitamin C (ascorbic) 5–20%

L-ascorbic acid is usually used at 5–20% (around 10–15% is common). Above ~20% adds little and tends to irritate more; it also needs a low pH to work.

Ascorbyl Palmitate

INCI lists don't disclose amounts, and we don't claim to know this product's levels — these are the ranges these ingredients are usually effective at, so you can tell a real formula from "fairy-dusting" a marketed active. How we estimate this.

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