If you spend the night tossing and turning or in and out of sleep, you may have woken up with some unwanted eye bags. While this is never ideal, we fortunately have the luxury of concealer to help us out. So if you have any pesky under eye circles that need to be hidden, here are seven things to know when applying concealer to the under eye area.
Choosing the Right Shade
If you only have one shade of concealer in your makeup bag, you may be using the wrong shade for your under eyes. A concealer that is used on the face to hide blemishes should be an exact match for your skin tone. Your under-eye concealer on the other hand should be one to two shades lighter than your face concealer. This will help reduce the appearance of dark circles under the eyes by brightening the area. So make sure that you have a separate shade to conceal your under eye area properly.
Using Color Correction
If you have severe darkness under your eyes, you also have the option of using a color correcting concealer. Yellow, peach, or orange toned products will help neutralize under eye darkness. You can apply the color correction concealer before your normal concealer to hide the most extreme cases of dark under eye circles.
Preparing your skin
You will need to prep your under eye area for concealer if you want to achieve the best results. You should start this process with an eye cream. This is especially important if your under eye area tends to be on the drier side. Makeup can build up in areas with excessive dryness, so it is important to make sure the area is well moisturized. As a bonus, you can store your eye cream in the fridge when you are not using it. The cool temperature will help reduce any eye puffiness before you begin applying your makeup.
Applying Concealer Last
Concealer should be one of the last makeup products in your routine. We always recommend doing your eyes before you start with your face makeup. This is due to the chances of fallout when using eyeshadow. You will want to wipe your under eyes with makeup remover after you apply your eye makeup to ensure that you don’t have any dark powder sitting there. Eyeshadow fallout can make your eye bags appear darker if you were to smudge it into your concealer by mistake. It is best to ensure that this area is clear of dark powders before you start to apply concealer.
We also recommend doing your foundation before your concealer. Because you are using a shade that is slightly lighter than your foundation, applying the concealer under it can reduce the brightening effects of the lighter shade. Setting powders, blush, or contouring products are the only things that should be applied after your concealer.
Blending the Concealer
The best way to use undereye concealer is by drawing an upside-down triangle shape under each eye with the product. Then use a damp beauty blender to distribute the product directly under the eyes. Use a dabbing motion rather than sweeping or tugging the sponge along the skin. Blend the product down and out around the upper cheekbone area to increase the brightening effects. Once you have blended the concealer, the area should appear lighter but not unnatural. If at this point you have a startlingly bright area around your eyes, your concealer may be too light. While you should notice a slight variation, if it looks at all jarring, you may have gone too light with the shade.
Setting the Concealer
Do not skip this step. Taking time to properly set your concealer will help determine the look and wear of your concealer throughout the day. Use a translucent setting powder under the eyes to help reduce creasing. It can be helpful to use a smaller powder brush to ensure that you have set the entire under eye area as it can be hard to reach with a large face brush. Once you have set your concealer with a powder, finish the look with a setting spray to maintain your coverage all day long.
Touching Up Throughout the Day
If you take the right steps from skin prep to application, then you should have minimal touch ups to make throughout the day. However, if you are rocking the same look from 8am to midnight, you may want to make some minor adjustments. If you used a setting powder, then you will want to do any touch ups with a separate, tinted powder. Applying a liquid concealer over your setting powder does not yield the best results. Carry a powder foundation in your bag and use a small portable brush to sweep any additional product under the eyes. Avoid using the round sponge that is included in most compacts for this purpose as it has poor blending capabilities.
Follow these tips and tricks and you’ll look like you got a full eight hours of restful sleep instantly! Even if you only got three hours of subpar rest, your friends, family or coworkers will never know the difference!
