Choosing the Right Color Concealer
If you have bluish or dark circles, a peach concealer will help cancel
them out. But if your under-eye area and eyelids are pink-tinged, a
common condition among the fair-skinned or allergy prone, a yellow
concealer will counter the redness. The formula — cream or liquid — is
a matter of personal preference. Cream concealers offer more coverage
but take a little more skill to apply; liquids are sheer and a better
bet for minimal circles or younger skin.
How to Apply
Using your ring finger for a light touch, prep the under-eye skin with
eye cream so that the concealer won’t drag on. If you woke up with puffy
peepers, apply a tightening or firming eye gel instead. The coolness
and lifting ingredients should help send those bags packing.
If you wear foundation, bring it up under the eyes. Using an
oval-shaped 1/3-inch wide synthetic bristled concealer brush, apply
three dots of concealer starting at the tear ducts and ending at the
iris. Paint them down and outward to cover the entire area. Gently blend
in the concealer with your ring finger, using a press-and-roll motion.
If upper eyelids are pink, stroke on yellow concealer there as a
neutralizing eye shadow base.
Use a Powder
Set your concealer with one of the new ultrafine mineral powders in a
colorless, one-size-fits-all translucent shade. “Dip the corner of a
triangular latex sponge into the setting powder — I use pressed rather
than loose for neatness — and blot it right up against the lash line,”
says Weston. Powdering concealer is an often overlooked but essential
step. “Otherwise, the mascara and eyeliner you’re about to apply will
smudge as the day wears on, creating the very darkness you’re trying to
eliminate.”
How Hair Can Help
It never hurts to think outside the box. If under-eye circles are
chronic, a good hairstyle can deflect attention from them, says Tom
Brophy of the Tom Brophy Salon. For instance, sideswept bangs cut from a
side part will direct the beholder’s gaze away from the under-eye area,
as will soft layers around the face. “What I would avoid,” says Brophy,
“is a middle part or horizontal fringe, both of which would only frame
the problem area.”
Also, consider that your natural hair color may be exaggerating those
under-eye circles by casting a shadow on them. Colorist Michelle Vance
at the Tom Brophy Salon has a solution: Lighten up. “Since dark shades
and ashy tones can accentuate under-eye circles, think about taking your
overall color one shade lighter. Or add a few blond highlights around
the face to brighten things up,” she says.
Next thing you know, those sunglasses that were hiding your under-eye
circles will have nothing to do but act as a headband up in your hair.
