Makeup Over 40

Archive for the ‘Concealer Makeup’ Category

Under eye concealer is primarily used to hide those dark circles that seem to follow you around these days.  You know, the ones where people ask you if you feel alright, or if you had a rough night and were tired?  (Even you are otherwise bright-eyed and bushy tailed.)

Yep, they’ve come to stay, but let’s talk about ways to make these unwelcome visitors from becoming permanent residents.  And we’ll talk a little about specific products that can help.  Read on!

Where Did These Dark Circles Come From?

As you age, your skin becomes thinner, and more uneven in tone.  The skin beneath and around your eyes is especially thin and vulnerable, which is why it’s usually the first place that fines lines and wrinkles appear.  And also dark circles.

Dark circles can also be hiereditary, in which case they show up when you’re younger.

Either way, a good under eye concealer can help you beat back those circles and make your eye area appear brighter.

What Color Are Your Circles?

You may think  this is a silly questions, but grab a mirror and take a good look.  Are your circles on the blue/purple side (most common) or are they on the yellowish/green side?  The vast majority of people fall into the blue/purple range, so that’s where we’ll concentrate (but I will talk a little about the other tones.)

In a color wheel, you want to take the opposites of your color to neutralize the shadows.  Blue and purple means yellow and peachy.  Yellowish  usually goes for purple and green for the warmer beige.  So your first step is finding a concealer with the right colors.

(By the way, the yellow and peachy tones are not bright colors; they are more muted pastel.)

Make Up For Ever (see photo on right) makes pretty much the best pallet for this entire range, seeing as there are a total of 5 shades that you can mix and match.  They also have pallets with purple and one with darker tones, for women of color.

You’ll notice a green on the pallet; that is for concealing redness (like rosacea, small capillaries, acne breakouts and such).  Extremely useful, so it’s a great addition.

Applying Under Eye Concealer – Dark Circles

You might be wondering how to apply the under eye concealer to the dark circles.  Your best bet is to use a concealer brush. I know, you can use your fingers, and I do sometimes, if my circles aren’t too dark that day.  But when they are dark, a makeup concealer bush will give you the best coverage by a long shot.

The Make Up For Ever pallet is a creamy based concealer.  There are also mineral (powder-like) concealers and those that are more liquidy (come in a tube or bottle).  Everyone has preferences, so it’s a matter of finding what works best for you.

You want to pat the concealer (on the concealer brush) gently on the dark circles, concentrating on the inner half (from the middle of your pupil over to your nose) of the circle.  This is where your circle is generally darkest.

Once you’ve got the concealer in place, you want to blend it out some.  For this, your ring finger and your pinky finger do the best job, because you want to do this very gently. 

Ready?  Set!

Now you want to set your concealer with either a regular powder or a mineral “powder”.  Just lightly fluff your choice on top of the concealer to set it, to keep if from disappearing.  If it looks too powdery, take a barely-damp cosmetic sponge or even a slightly damp cotton square and gently press it over the power (picks up any excess).

Under Eye Concealers and Lines

Up til now it’s been a piece of cake, but as you may have already discovered, not all concealers are alike.  Some look good for hours; others tend to creep into the fine lines under your eye and start to look cakey (almost as bad as the circles themselves).  Argh!

Now the steps I have given you above will help most halfway-decent concealers from “creeping” for several hours.  It will keep the better ones looking good most of the day. 

I’m getting ready to do some trials of 4 different under eye concealers for dark circles; 1 drugstore brand and then 3 more that fall into the “better” class.  But who knows how they will stack up?  (You will, as soon as I finish up the trials!)

So keep watching for those reviews, as well as for more tips for applying under eye concealer to banish the dark circles! Meanwhile, you can also check out the set below that looks to be very interesting (I may have to try it after I finish my current trials).