You can spend a small fortune on concealer and still feel that you’re losing your battle against dark circles under the eyes. Makeup professionals tell you the secret to hiding them—without slathering enough makeup to make you look like a clown. The best thing about the tricks you’ll read is that with enough practice (and the right products) you can finish your makeup in under five minutes!
Find the right concealer for your skin tone
Many people think that concealer should be lighter than the skin tone. That’s not exactly true. It should actually be warmer than your skin tone, to balance out the color of your undereye circles. You know you’ve found the right concealer when it seems to blend perfectly into your skin, erasing or at least softening the ‘bluishness’ of your undereye circles while still matching the color of the rest of your face.
Get the right formula of concealer
Concealers are not created equal. Those that are applied with a sponge-tipped wand tend to give the lightest coverage. Concealer sticks give okay coverage, but nothing beats the concealers that come in a pot. These give maximum coverage (really important to hide those dark circles, and most importantly, keep it hidden—you don’t want makeup to ‘melt’ in the middle of the day, when you look your most tired and feel to frazzled to reapply).
Apply concealer well
Use a concealer brush (it’s got a small, pointy tip) to apply concealer. This lets you apply where you need it most without putting on too much (which has a tendency to get cakey later on). Put it under the eyes, blending it out, and if needed, apply on your inner corners. You can also get a great brightening effect by applying a little concealer on your eyelids, too. Just use a very light hand—too much concealer, especially on the eyelids, can only draw more attention to that area. Dab, then blend, before applying any more.
Set the concealer
After applying concealer, take an eyeshadow brush and apply a light layer of shimmery translucent powder. This will set the concealer and add an additional brightening effect.
If you put concealer on your eyelids, ‘set’ it with translucent powder before adding any eyeshadow. You may also want to use a cream eyeshadow instead of a powder eyeshadow. This will minimize the risk of caking.
Photo from dailycookie.net