Anyways, back to the dark circles :) Don't we just love them? :-D
So here's a step by step to hiding those evil half-moons.
1. Moisturise - even if you aren't going out or trying to cover them up, make sure your eyes are well moisturised. It really helps to avoid wrinkles and laughlines in the future(or in my case, getting worse). I am loving Exuviance Eye Bionic Brightening Serum right now and you only need a tiny drop of it. Another old time favorite of mine is Vita-K's dark circle eye cream. Its pretty cheap at about $14 a jar that will last you a month if you apply it religiously am and pm, and you will notice a difference - I certainly did. The only thing is, you do need to apply it consistently to notice a change and it is NOT overnight. Also, if you stop using it for a while, those circles will just come back.
2. Pick the right color for your skintone. If your like me, olive/Mediterranean/Hispanic/Indian skin tone, then make sure you pick something peachy or orangey. This will help tone out the purpley grey color of the circles. Now if you can't find an orangey concealer(trust me, not as easy to locate as you would think), use an orange color creme, MAC used to make one but stopped for some unknown reason and I haven't been able to find one I liked as much. My 2nd choice is Eve Pearl's Samon concealer - but very pricey and if you're using this, make sure your eye cream has been completely absorbed before you apply it, because it is very creamy. And be very lighthanded If you have oily skin, then I'd avoid the eyecream altogether before applying this concealer, it isn't going to stick otherwise.
If you're a little paler in skin tone or Asian, a yellow toned concealer will work well. Again if you can't find one that is yellow enough for you, then try adding a lil yellow creme to your eyes first. Yellow is also essnetial to counteract any bluish tones your dark cicrcles may have. Lots of companies now sell "yellow" concealer kits just for this. Most skin tones need a lil yellow somewhere. I hate to admit to buying drugstore brands but I do like the Maybelline yellow concealer. It looks like a lipstick but it has magical powers ;) Just kidding.. its just a concealer in lipstick form :)
3. Match your concealer. Very important!! Some people suggest using a concealer that is lighter than your skintone, by a shade or 2 - WRONG!! Do you want to have reverse racoon eyes? no... OK, so stick to the color of the skin color of the side of your nose. This way you will match your face and not look like your cheekbones melded with your eye socket.
4. The final step - make sure you BLEND! You don't want anyone to be able to see that yellow or orange concealer under there. Use your fingers or a small concealer brush. I find both work pretty well, just depends on how much of a rush I am in and whether I'm doing myself or a client :) You can of coruse blend the orange/yellow color with the concealer before you apply and this works well too. Finally, dust very lightly with a transluscent powder.
5. Optional final step- if you're looking in the mirror and thinking, "uhoh, those circles won't give up" then there is a final step, a lightener. Skip the powder at the end of step 4 and apply a drop of either Yves Saint Laurent's Touche Eclat or Body Shop's Lightening Touch. Now there's a big cost difference here and to be fair, I amn't sure the Touche Eclat is worth it. Sorry, blasphemy I'm sure but I'm not a brand snob! Sorry Yves Saint Laurent :) I wouldn't use either on their own but over a bit of concealer, for sure!
If your circles aren't as bad as mine you could probably skip steps 1 - 4 and just use the lightener but then you probably wouldn't be reading this anyway :-D
Hope this helps!
Fizza Qadri
Picture Perfect Makeovers
http://www.pictureperfectmakeovers.com/
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