After meeting with my extended family (sans makeup) the other day; instead of a polite hello, my cousin greeted me with an earth-shattering: “HOLY EYE CIRCLES! Are you an insomniac?”
After giving him the finger (I kid. Maybe.) I talked with my other female cousin, his sister, about dark eye circles and what we do about them. I’ve been lucky to find some gems (Benefit’s Boi-ing concealer is freaking fantastic and Laura Mercier’s Secret Concealer is not bad either), but I know many suffer from extreme dark eye circles. (And judging from my cousin’s reaction, so do I.) Instead of simply applying concealer and hoping for the best, I decided to source out any other tips and tricks to hiding those pesky things.
I found myself at a tip Bobbi Brown wrote about in her book, Bobbi Brown Living Beauty
I’ve found that the best way to brighten extremely dark under eye circles (circles that have a greenish or purplish tinge to them) is to start with a pink- or peach-toned corrector, then layer on the yellow-toned concealer. The pink or peach shade may work alone sometimes, but mostly you’ll need to layer it.
For problem dark circles keep the focus on the upper part of your eyes. Many women with extreme under-eye darkness also have dark eye-lids, so lighten the area with light (white or bone) shadow. Don’t line the lower lash line or apply mascara to lower lashes. A pop of bright pastel pink or peach blush on the apples of your cheeks will also steer your eye away from the dark circles.
Thanks, Bobbi! I’ve always loved her beauty books and devoured them when I first got into makeup, but I’ll have to re-read some of them as I have the memory of a goldfish. This beauty tip seems logical though, so I’ll be trying it out sometime.
What do you think of Bobbi’s tips? Will you be trying this method out? :)
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Good tips. I don’t really “suffer” from dark eye circles. I have some blueness under eyes but not really noticeable or puffy. Another good tip: when concealing, tilt your head down a little and conceal the “shadows” you see (if you know what I mean?). It will be much more effective dan just looking straight forward and putting a ton of concealer on underneath your whole eye! Good article, Renee!
Hey Rox, thanks for your tip! :) That really helps too. You’re so lucky to not have deadly eye circles such as mine – concealer is a must for me! Also tilting your head up to look at the ‘grooves’ of the darkness helps too… I guess ‘checking’ in every direction is the best, since our eye area really does make a lot of shadows! :-P
some dark eye circels can be removed depending on the cause, like if it’s just lack of sleep, then improving blood circulation around the eye area could work. but i’ve read somewhere that those who have asthma will forever have dark circles. i can’t say too much about it because i already forgot the reason…if you do get more information about this, i’ll be more than happy to know!
thanks for the tips btw!
Hey Sunmom, you’re welcome! Totally! Some eye circles are due to that but I’ve also seen someone on TV saying to look at your parents – yup, it’s also genetics! I know mine has to be genetics because I sleep very well. LOL. Poor parents, we can now blame them for everything! :-P
YES! I have extremely dark undereye circles- Genetics :( people always comment on how tired i always look..
i usually just use my peach concealer from Sonia Kashuk, but im definitely going to try this layering method
Hey Meli, guess we’re in the same boat. I heard peach is better at covering than yellowish tones, something about canceling the colors out. I wrote about it some time ago if you’re interested. :D
http://www.beautyfool.net/how-to-color-correctors-and-neutralizers/
I personally <3 this concealer. REALLY it rox!My bff has it and whenever she has it on it looks totally natural! I am definetly gonna put down that concealer for my next makeup shopping spree!
The Bobbi Brown one? I’ve heard so much good things about it… let me know how it works for you! My friend uses it too I think… she loves all things BB! :D
I have very bad dark cirlcles. Unfortunately they’re genetic so there’s not much I can do about them apart from trying to hide them. I usually use pink toned concealers for that and they seem to work to an extent. I never thought of layering a yellow one on top, I will have to try it now, thanks for the tip.
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You’re welcome. :D This tip sounds great, no? Can’t wait to try it out myself. Pink/peachy concealers work best, I hear. I have a peach-ish (what the heck is that word, haha) color but I think I’m gonna find a pink toned one, heard those are the best to cover deadly circles!
Yeah these tips really work. That´s why we always see on fashion show´s backstages the make-up artists applying diferent colors of concealers! Like green,purple and yellow! I sell make up here in Brasil, and the brand I sell has these 3 colors. People like it!!
=) And for really bad circles they say touche eclat from YSL works amazingly!!! I havent tried yet =/
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So true! You see so many colors the makeup artists are using and you’re like… WHAT’S THAT ONE? Haha.
Ooh you sell makeup in Brazil? What kind, may I ask? :)
The best tip there is to use peach or pink toned concealer – I am amazed at how many women opt for cool, blue toned concealer, pack them under the eye and look utterly ghastly.
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I’ve heard good things about BB concealer but I usually don’t like their products. Those lip glosses are so small, sticky and they cost a lot. I guess I’m not into this brand. :)
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Im definitely one of those girls with serious genetic under eye circles and dark lids. They don’t get worse if I’m tired, but do if I’m sick. When I’m sick everyone asks how long I slept. Gah, it drives me batty. My circles are more of a tan-purple hue and so when I tan(or use self tanner) they disappear quite well.
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