If the eyes are the window to the soul, then the skin around them can indicate just how old a soul we are! It’s simply a fact of life that the skin around our eyes is different. Loss of collagen and elastin translates to thinner and more delicate skin which shows signs of aging much faster. And our wonderfully expressive eyes experience micro contractions throughout our lives as we smile, laugh, and squint.
Today I’ll share with you tips on how to correct dark circles and prevent creasing, and I’ll also share with you some of the top correctors and concealers for mature skin.
No makeup is going to totally cover up or reverse these under eye challenges, but makeup can make a pretty dramatic improvement in how our under-eye area looks.
In today’s article and accompanying video, you’ll find a menu of steps you can take, but you may find that you only have to do some of these steps. So, it’s important to experiment to determine if you only need to do some of these steps or if doing all of these steps will help you the most.
Crucial First Step
A very crucial first step is to prep our skin before we apply any makeup whatsoever. I highly recommend using under eye patches to help moisturize our eyes. But because they are so moisturizing, it’s best to apply them at night before going to bed. Too much moisture under our eyes is almost as bad as too little moisture since too much moisture won’t fully absorb into our skin which can cause our makeup to crease. So, apply eye patches, heavier eye cream or heavy-duty moisturizer before bed rather than before makeup.
And there’s one other thing we don’t want to do: we don’t want to bring our foundation up under the eye area unless we’re not going to be applying concealer under our eyes. This is because the more layers of products we have on our skin, the more likely our makeup is to crease. So, skip applying foundation under your eyes and just use the products we’ll be talking about next.
Tip #1: Go Light
Use a lightweight moisturizer or a very lightweight eye cream before applying makeup.
Tip #2: Quantity and Application Matter
Take a very small amount of your moisturizer and gently press and tap it in using your third finger or ring finger. The reason behind using these fingers is that they’re our weakest fingers so we won’t be applying as much pressure to this delicate skin.
Tip #3: Let It Set
We’re all guilty of rushing when we do our makeup. Instead, we need to let the moisturizer totally dry before we apply our next product.
Tip #4: Give Color Corrector a Chance
Use a color corrector next. Color correctors help cover or neutralize unwanted discoloration such as redness, dark spots or dark circles. And the concept of color correcting is guided by the principles of color theory. Think back to elementary school art class. You were probably taught that colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel are called complementary colors and cancel each other out.
Color Theory and Makeup
This same principle applies to makeup. So, we want to determine the color of what we want to cancel out and then choose the corrector in the opposite shade.
Since the dark circles under our eyes tend to have a bluish tone, shades of peach and orange are ideal for cancelling them out. If you have skin that’s lighter, you’ll want to use a lighter peach shade, and, if your skin is medium or deeper, you’ll want to use a deeper peach or orange shade. Most makeup lines will either have a separate category of makeup called a corrector that comes in peach or orange shades, or they’ll just include these peach or orange shades in their concealer line.
Suggested Products
Some really good correctors can be found in these brands: Nars, Becca, Catrice, Bobbi Brown and LA Girl. And Doll 10 makes a good one if you prefer using a product from a clean beauty brand. One of my favorite color correctors is a drugstore brand: Elf’s Hydrating Camo Concealer in Light Peach. It also comes in a Medium Peach if you have a skin tone deeper than mine. Because this product has a big doe foot applicator – and you just want to use a small amount of this corrector – it’s best to put some on the back of your hand and sheer it out a bit because we don’t want this product to be too dense.
You can pick it up with a brush if you prefer, but I like tapping into it with my third finger and tapping it on with my fingertip since the warmth of my finger really helps this product melt into my skin. Apply it over the area just where you have darkness rather than over the entire under eye area. Then feather it down to where the dent of the cheek ends and the hollow under the eyes begins.
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Tip #5: Let the Corrector Dry
Be sure to let the corrector totally dry. This is important because if products are still wet, they’ll absorb into each other and won’t be as effective.
Tip #6: Make It Long-Lasting
This tip is especially important if you’re going to have your makeup on for an extended period of time. Take a very slightly damp makeup sponge and spray it with a setting spray like Urban Decay’s All Nighter and gently pat it over the dry color corrector. You don’t want to rub since that will disrupt the color corrector and make it sheerer so it won’t provide as much coverage of our dark circles.
Tip #7: Choose the Right Concealer
To further improve the appearance of dark circles, apply a brightening, slightly lighter concealer under your eyes rather than the concealer that you use on the rest of your face that matches your skin tone. Since it will vary for each of us as to whether we want to use a lighter coverage concealer under our eyes or a concealer with slightly heavier coverage, let me offer a few good options in each of these categories.
A good lightweight coverage concealer is from the clean beauty brand Saie Beauty. Some good medium weight concealers are from Haus Labs, Colourpop’s Pretty Fresh Concealer, YSL’s concealer and the clean beauty brands Doll 10 and Westman Atelier. If you want a little more coverage, you might want to check out the Natasha Denona Hy Glam Concealer, the Dermablend concealer, Bobbi Brown’s Long Wear Concealer or the L’Oreal Infallible Full Wear Concealer. Please be cautious of any long-wear, fuller coverage concealer as it will be denser and you’ll need to use even a smaller amount under your eyes.
One of my favorite concealers is the medium coverage concealer from the clean beauty brand Kosas. I love how lightweight and brightening this concealer is. And a brightening concealer can be important since it reflects light and this can help areas that have more texture have a finish that’s more of a soft focus effect. Once again, I’ll apply it on the back of my hand and tap it in with my middle finger. You can certainly also use a very slightly damp makeup sponge to tap it in.
Tip #8: Setting Spray
We want to spray that dampened sponge with setting spray once again, and tap it over the brightening concealer.
Tip #9: No Creasing Allowed
This tip ensures that our concealer won’t crease. Apply a very finely milled translucent or brightening powder under your eyes so the corrector and concealer will be less likely to crease. The secret that’s important to know is to look up as you apply the powder. This movement stretches your under-eye skin which means it also stretches the fine lines and allows you to get into that area more effectively with the powder.
I like to put some powder into the palm of my hand and then work a brush into it – or you can also use a small powder puff or a slightly damp sponge – and then gently press it over the concealer once the concealer is fully dry.
I hope you’ve found today’s tips helpful, and if you’d enjoy a few other makeup artist tips, here’s a video where I’ve shared tips from some other makeup artists which I think you might find especially helpful.
Your Thoughts Matter:
Do you have dark circles? What concealer or corrector has helped you even out the area under your eyes? If so, please share it with us!