Archived Post
How to Conceal Under Eye Circles - Tips & Tricks
Makeup & Beauty Tips on How to Conceal Under Eye Circles
Share your best tips and tricks for concealing under eye circles, tiredness, darkness, etc.! Feel free to share your experiences, how you mastered techniques, or what you struggle with.
My Tips
- I like to use a concealer that is slightly peachy (or salmon) toned to help to counteract darkness.
- I prefer a creamier concealer that’s not too emollient but not too dry to maximize effectiveness in terms of concealing and smoothing out the area while minimizing settling/creasing.
- I like to pat on with finger tips, and then use a fluffy blending brush (like for eyeshadow) to blend the concealer. Â Then set with translucent or pressed powder!
I use fingers to tap and then MAC 217 to blend in … when i use only fingers I see it sits in crow’s feet
usually skip powder by mistake and regret
for my oily skin and the fine lines around my eyes i use creamy concealer like MAC select cover up
but now i want pro long wear concealer 😀 😀
eagerly waiting for others tips D:
A tip from my sleep-deprived cousin who is currently in her residency: if you struggle with oily skin, creasing, & have really, really, really dark undercircles, try using an eyeshadow primer & a full coverage powder foundation, a matte pinky/peach, fleshtone eyeshadow, or a combo of both on them.
Omg. Eyeshadow primer. This is inspired! I am trying that today. 🙂
Yes! I use this trick almost everyday. Highly recommend Urban Decay’s anti-aging primer potion, all the benefits, no dryness.
I tried using that primer and it burned my eyelids…ugh
i use a shade two shades lighter then me salmon light thats very much full coverage creamy that won’t crease the tarte anti creaseless maracuja concealer is my favorite then right underwear it from the inner corner to the outer brow area i pat in one thats 3! shades lighter to create a “shelve” and diminish the shadow cast by the under eye bag.
Hi, this is the first time i have heard of this concealer although it seems to be super popular here! I went to the website of eve pearl and found one with astaxanthin and one without…what are people using?
Currently looking out for a corrector, what are your thoughts on Eve Pearl Salmon concealer? I didn’t see any review of Eve Pearl products on your blog Christine!! Much needed help from you!!
Thank you.
I really like her concealer! 🙂
This is the first i have heard of it…have you done a review Christine? I would be interested in trying this concealer out along with DermaBlend
No, sorry, I don’t have a full review!
Thank you for your response, I greatly appreciate if you could review the products of Eve Pearl in the near future, as your inputs are highly dependable!! 🙂
I have Eve Pear duo light salmon concealer/corrector. I like it just for the dark circles – just the smallest amount and only there (not a typical concealer). I got it from Hautelook so I didn’t spend an arm and leg to try it. I am light – neutral toned. My sister is warmer toned and loooooves the salmon corrector! It’s a holy grail item for her dark circles.
I have trouble finding peachy/salmon concealers! I’m very pale but with bad dark circles, and most concealers that are fair enough are also so yellow that they look unnatural.
Try eve pearl.. you can find on camerareadycosmetics.com. There are a number of products all with peachy undertones of various intensities for fair through darker skintones.
Love Cle de Peau in ivory and set wirh Laura Mercier Secret Brightening powder. This works wonders…never creases….and lasts all day and after even through gym workout
Bobbi Brown Correctors. They come in Peach and Bisque (more pink) shades.
Another option is OCC’s concealer in R0. Very creamy and excellent under the eyes, IMO!
I love Benefit Erase Paste, very creamy and has a salmon tone.
For those with light to medium skintones, try MAC Paint Pots in Painterly or Soft Ochre. I’m not familiar enough with the shades to recommend something for deeper skintones, but I would suggest dropping by a MAC counter and having a look among what is available. Apply a concealer that actually matches your skintone over the Paint Pot, and if necessary, powder.
you apply paint pots under the eyes?
What powder do you use to set concealor? I really wanna know a good one.
I usually use whatever I’m using for the rest of my face – these days that’s NARS Crystal Translucent Loose or Guerlain Les Voilettes!
I have hereditary dark circles so concealer is a pretty big deal to me. I always apply Bobbi Brown Corrector with a Mac 195 right on the darkest areas and pat it on in with my ring finger. Then I apply a layer of Mac Pro Longwear Concealer on the whole undereye area and blend it in with my ring finger as well. I’m still on the hunt for the perfect undereye setting powder though.
Your three tips are exactly the ones I would have given! I use the exact same techniques 🙂
I already matched the perfect color but you can still see that I got a deep “wrinkle”, where my eye circles were. What shall I do :-/
I don’t have the discoloration/darkness, but I do have that deep-set “groove” in the eye socket. I recently got a bag of deluxe samples from Sephora, and included was Philosophy Miracle Worker Miraculous Anti-Aging Retinoid Eye Repair, and it has made a huge improvement by “plumping” up that recess in the eye area. I hadn’t even realized it was such an issue until I used the product a couple of times.
Sounds nice! But hmn… lots of silicones, I mean: Nothing but silicones xD
I tried the Philosophy Miracle Worker Miraculous Anti-Aging Retinoid Eye Repair and it BURNS….I could not use it…I am glad it works for someone though
Maybe try the arbonne genius retinol treatment? I used it for a while with great results, but I think I will need it more as I get older. I use it sporadically when my skin is looking wrecked and depressed.
I’m feeling old xDDD I’m 24
I have horrible dark grooves under my eyes which are partially due to heredity and also due to health issues. I’ve tried many products. Right now these are the big guns I pull out to cover:
I am NC20 to NC25ish with neutral undertones and I apply my foundation prior to conceal/correct
1. apply a thin film of Eve Pearl Salmon Concealer and Treatment in shade Light just in the deep groove and areas where I can see blue shadows in the corners of my eyes. I pat this on using my pinky finger. A little goes a long way and the product is quite emollient so I need to powder, even on my drier maturing skin. If you do not powder, I find this product creases.
2. lightly dust with setting powder using a super fluffy eyeshadow brush. I either use Chantecaille HD or NARS Light Reflecting.
3. apply MUD corrector (BC1 – Blue Corrector 1) with a MAC 242 shader brush again just in the corners of the eye and down through to the lowest point of the discoloured groove. I do not carry corrector or concealer around my eye at all. I have found this only serves to draw attention to the baggage and darkness even more.
4. Diffuse the corrector using a MAC 217 in a small circular motion.
I find I do not need to powder again over the Mud corrector. This double dose of peach correctors seems to work well for me and stays put during the day without creasing.
What is a MUD corrector?
Oh, man! My biggest tip would definitely be to change the colour of your corrector according to how light or dark your skintone is. When I first started wearing makeup, I assumed I needed a salmon (that’s what everyone tells you!), but I figured out a few years later that light yellow actually works much better on really fair skin.
I’ve read great things about using more orange correctors for darker skintones as well, though I haven’t been able to test this theory myself!
I have outrageous circles/bags, and I have found an amazing and cheap concealer that works really well in the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind series. I use the “neutralizer” (a yellowy shade) and “brightening” (a pink, a la Touche Eclat–this one works so well for my light-light/medium skin) colors, but it comes in a bunch of other basic concealer shades, too. it doesn’t settle into my considerable fine lines, either, which is a small miracle as far as I’m concerned. The only down side is a goofy sponge applicator.
I have used Mac paint pot in “Painterly” with success, too, though it offers more sheer coverage …just to second a comment from upthread. 🙂
Mine aren’t too bad, just a slightly darker colour. I use Benefit Eye Bright or High Brow then concealer, either Maybelline Fit Me or Boi-ing by Benefit again. I’ve just read that Eye Bright can go on top of concealer so I might give that a go as well. It’s quite waxy though which is why I use it underneath,
It Cosmetics Bye Bye Eye corrector is my latest fave. Very impressive coverage and doesn’t look like spackle by collecting in your creases. i am almost 60, so need emolient, good solid coverage.
This is my favourite as well. I have huge hereditary dark circles and the tiniest dot of this covers them both.
Good tips! I definitely need help in this department.
My biggest issue is finding a setting powder that won’t dry my very sensitive skin under eyes, any recommendations?
As for concealer I was a fan of MAC Pro Longwear, but recently it starts to dry my under eye area, so I switched to Bobbi Brown
I like NARS’ Translucent Crystal Loose powder – it’s very fine!
Christine, is there any way you can weigh in on some of these products suggested, they all seem like great options, I don’t know where to start!
All my reviews for base, foundation, concealer, etc. products can be found here – http://www.temptalia.com/category/reviews/face-product-reviews
Thanks so much. I bought the tartes concealer today but I’m thinking of trying the OCC or Cle de Peau. Which would you recommend, my skin is on the dry side.
Cle de Peau for drier skin!
I use Maybelline Fit cosmetics concealer under my eyes to brighten in the “duct, duct, nose” shape. Once I’ve done that the area of actual discoloration is much easier to see! I then use Detrivore Cosmetics loose eyeshadow in Autopsy as a color corrector. It’s a fantastic matte powder that melts into the skin and I can layer as much or as little as I need and blend away the edges perfectly. The color is pretty much exactly my skintone if I had kidney failure so it corrects my blue tones to be my normal skin tone perfectly.
I tried a concealer of peachy tone and it works fine for me, thanks for a great tip.
While you’re on the computer, ladies + gents, don’t forget to watch what Wayne (Goss) says on You Tube. Lots of the techniques you guys mentioned are used. Undereye primer…who knew? Big improvement. (Got the Smashbox one for Sephora points: what is better, opinion, folks?) Fair amount of steps (Nearly as many as WWendalynne!!!, bless your patience…) but excellent results. I’ll try the WW method on a day off, but I doubt I have her fab stash…
I’m in my late 40’s and found that when I set my concealer with powder, it accentuates my fine lines but if I don’t then my mascara and liner smudges.
I have never found a concealer that doesn’t crease (except for one which is from a company that doesn’t seem to exist o_O) so I won’t be of much help…
I generally prefer thinner, runnier textures to the full coverage thick concealers. I do find that it’s almost impossible for me to find a concealer in my budget that matches my medium skin tone where I live, and I try the darkest products offered in the display and they still come up too light and ashy on me. I’ve also seen people with my skin tone on youtube using lighter undereye concealers and looking ashy and awful. I take this to mean that if you have a warm medium skintone it’s best to try and match the colour to your actual skin tone and not go a shade or two lighter.
I’ve given up and I don’t use concealer any more. Now I try to embrace my dark circles, which are not really that bad. I’m happy with this choice because I’ve noticed that when I used too much concealer I looked a bit… artificial and doll-like for lack of a better word. You need different tones in your skin, yes, even there.
The best tip I have is to use pale yellow powder. This makes a huge difference to brighten your undereye while still being very natural. Obviously it won’t erase your dark circles but it can minimise them a little bit.
Oh, and Catrice does a peachy primer that is very translucent, adding a hint of peach colour without being very full on and flattening that area of the face. I like to use that on its own and set it with a pale yellow powder.
Hi,
Being of South Asian decent and doing makeup work in the South Asian community I’ve come across some of the worst dark circles. Its so bad on some to the point that the under eye circles are almost black. For when I don’t have enough time I use Cle de Peau concealer under my eyes blending it out with a beauty blender and setting it with Laura Mercier Brightening Powder. In all honestly its a very difficult issue to hide because it is usually combined with fine lines on most people.
The only method that has worked for me and my clients and provides the “Kim K” effect is mixing and blending various concealers.To do this I use a corrector from Makeup Forever. You need to find the one that comes in a single pot as the consistency is better than those sets they also sell. Finding your color in the corrector is vital! I’ll tell you a secret though the color no. 14 or 15 in the camouflage cream works on most people! than I sometimes use a waterproof type of concealer closer to the bottom lash line area where lines are most prevalent either MAC Pro Long Wear or Makeup Forever (water proof). Then I use Makeup Forever lift because it is brightening and moisturizing I use this one to do a triangle shape for contouring. This is most of it sometimes I use Shisedo’s stick concealer on the inner corners as well. I blend everything with a beauty blender and a concealer brush. I do not always need to powder this but when i do I actually use Gurlain’s Meteorites and The same Laura one I mentioned earlier if a client needs it. I hope I helped someone out there as this is an Issue I’ve had for a long time. I know it sounds expensive but you could always try mixing other products. I promise you one thing though, this will change the look of your entire face its absolutely amazing and everyone looks 100 times better after!
Colour correcting instead of concealing.
I used Laura Mercier’s Secret Concealer in #2. It has the right amount of orange and blends beautifully. I used a flat concealer brush like Secret Camouflage Brush by Laura Mercier. I blend the product in a downward circular motion. Powder to set.
I just bought this and I love it! Thanks!
I’ve had dark circles my whole life and have tried lots of different products. What is currently working for me is applying eye cream and then Maybelline eraser in the corrector color, which is a pale yellow. I apply in a triangle shape below the eye. I love this product because it covers well but is still thin not heavy or pasty. Then I mix a dot of foundation with a dot of eye cream and pat over the corrector. If needed I smooth this out gently with a concealer brush. I do all this prior to applying foundation. I set the undereye with powder, putting a very small amount of powder on my index fingers and patting below the eye.
In addition to corrector and concealer (I use Giorgio Armani’s):
1. Tap the original products on. Then a second round of taps to smooth out the lines. Sometimes a third round of taps.
2. Light dusting of Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder — IMO, truly unique for this function.
With above, no sinking of concealer into fine lines…stays put all day.
For undereye setting powder, I love elf Studio’s HD Undereye Setting Powder. It’s amazing – the powder is so fine and it gets rid of all the concealer stuck in the creases. It also blurs out harsh edges. Love it!
Above all this, good sleeping habits will ensure no dark circles. and proper skin care too.