Some problem areas are harder to treat than others and dark under eye circles happens to be one of them. I’ve always struggled with finding just the right thing to cancel out those pesky dark marks under my eyes and I know I am not alone. I’ve tried countless products and at-home beauty treatments but it wasn’t until a few months ago that I nailed down a routine that actually did the trick! Today I am going to share with you the ultimate secrets to covering dark circles.
Pre-Treatment
The first thing that you need to do is find an under eye treatment that works for you. I have yet to discover a product that gets rid of the darkness completely (if you know of one – let me know!) but in my research, I have found a few that undoubtedly make a big difference. My favorite has been the Maracuja C-Brighter Eye Treatment by Tarte. This tiny jar has maracuja oil and a touch of magic because it really helped to tame my dark circles after just a few uses. I have been through a few jars of this (although one small jar lasts forever because it is so concentrated) and I am totally obsessed. It leaves the under eyes feeling moisturized without being oily and brightens the skin overnight. I noticed a significant difference after just a few weeks.
Due to the fact that I am a beauty addict and I like to change my products up, I decided to give the Creamy Eye Treatment from Kiehls a try and I was impressed. This treatment has avocado in it which helps moisturize on a deep level, which is very helpful for dark circles. Because the skin under the eye is so sensitive and thin, it can often appear dark because it’s dehydrated. A little bit of this product goes a very long way so don’t be afraid of the hefty price tag; a dab the size of a grain of rice is enough for both eyes! When using this product before bed, I noticed that when I woke up in the morning, the cream was still totally in tact and my eyes stayed moisturized all day long. I didn’t notice as much of a difference in my under eye brightness as I did with the Maracuja Eye Treatment but I have since come up with another use for this Kiehls treatment that I absolutely love.
Prep
Now that I have treated my under eye area to make it as manageable as possible, I focus on covering up whatever darkness remains. To avoid creasing in this area, it is really important to keep it hydrated before applying makeup to this delicate skin. This is where my Creamy Eye Treatment comes in! I apply a tiny amount of this to my under eye and let it works its magic while I fill in my eyebrows. This gives the skin a chance to absorb any extra hydration it needs before it is covered up with products and powders. Prepping the skin will avoid any drying or tightening under the eyes which can be very aging, and we definitely don’t want.
Color Correcting
The basic premise of color correcting is using a complementary color to cancel out another color and create white light. When you’re looking at a color wheel, you can find the complementary color directly across from the color you want to correct. Darkness under the eyes is usually made up of a mixture of blues, greens, and purples. Colors that would cancel this out are pinks, reds, and oranges! In doing this, we are canceling out the blueish hues that are there and replacing them with vibrant pigments, such as pink, to brighten the area as much as possible. After experimenting with many color correcting products, I have discovered the queen of color correcting, the Under Eye Brightening Corrector by Becca. This product has a highly-pigmented pink/salmon undertone along with light reflecting illuminators which gives the look of brightness, illumination, and radiance. It has a very creamy consistency that doesn’t settle into fine lines – I promise. I love this product so much that I convinced my mom she needed it in her life and she loves it on her mature skin. It works on a variety of skin types and tones and totally does the trick when it comes to combating the darkness we all hate.
Concealing
Now comes the part you’re all probably familiar with: concealing! Concealing can be an amazing tool and can definitely get the job done on its own for those of you who don’t have any problems with darkness under the eyes (so lucky!!). In this case, you need to cover up any color correction with concealer because you don’t want to walk around with pink circles under your eyes!
Finding the right shade of concealer is essential. I used to try to brighten this area by using concealer that was lighter than my skin tone but in reality, it made my dark circles more apparent and didn’t do any brightening at all. I’ve realized that the best solution is to use a concealer that is closer to my skin tone so it’s able to camouflage the area completely. If my face ends up looking one dimensional, I can always go back and add a lighter color in a triangular shape under my eyes, avoiding the crescent moon directly below the lower lash line. This brightens the center of the face without drawing attention to the area we have been trying to cover up all along.
Especially over the creamy consistency of the Becca Brightening Treatment, I like to use a lightweight concealer to avoid texture and creasing. My ride or die concealer has been the Naked Skin Weightless Concealer by Urban Decay. It is the perfect combination of lightweight and coverage; you do not feel it sitting on top of the skin at all but it still provides major coverage. This particular concealer blends like a dream and totally eliminates everything from dark circles to blemishes.
What are your favorite tricks for covering up this dreaded problem area?
Maracuja C-Brighter Eye Treatment | Creamy Eye Treatment | Under Eye Brightening Corrector | Naked Skin Weightless Concealer
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