5 Clever Concealer Hacks That Will Hide Dark Circles
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Raise your hand if you’re guilty of too many late nights, have gotten into the habit of picking up your phone every 23 seconds, or just generally aren’t looking your freshest every day. Or maybe you’re getting enough beauty rest, but the delicate skin under your eyes betray your actual perkiness? Whatever the case, we got you. We asked top makeup artists to reveal their best, well-kept secret hacks for concealing undereye bags and dark circles.
1. Take the Anti-Cake Approach
Throwing as much concealer as possible at your eyes may seem the intuitive approach, but it can sometimes backfire. The skin here is more delicate than it is in other areas, so a light hand and less makeup might be your best bet.
“Because the skin under your eye is thin it is more prone to drying, so packing on thick concealer will weigh down your undereye area and make you look more tired. Less product means fewer chances that your concealer will crack,” says Joyce Platon, a makeup artist and the podcast host of HelloBeauty. “Use lightweight formulas and strokes, and instead of drawing a triangle underneath your eyes thickly, use a concealer brush and minimum product. Keep blending the product out in feathery strokes without adding any more product.”
It might sound crazy, but that whole anti-cake magic you just applied to your undereye area? Repeat the whole process on your eyelids, too. “This brightens and ties in the whole eye area together,” Platon says. “To set your concealer, place a tissue paper over your under-eye area and lightly dust translucent powder over that area with a small fluffy brush.”
2. Layer Two Different Concealers
Combining multiple textures on your undereye area can be an effective way of concealing this trouble zone, especially if you have deep, dark circles.
“To pull it off, begin with a hydrating concealer that’s one shade brighter than your complexion. I like Beauty Blender Bounce Airbrush Liquid Whip Concealer, $26, which comes in 40 shades. The hydrating formula plumps and smooths the undereye, creates elasticity, and prevents it from creasing,” says makeup artist Kelli Bartlett, artistic director of Glamsquad and brand ambassador for Australian Gold. “Follow up with a soft matte concealer in your true skin tone, targeted at the hollowest part of the undereye, which is where the color is the deepest.”
3. Color Correct with a Warm-Toned Tinted Moisturizer
The thing with color-correcting concealers is that they’re tricky to work with. They can easily lead to a heavy, cakey, or an oddly tinted finish. Instead of grabbing the peachy or yellow concealer, Bartlett says to use a sheer, warm-toned BB cream or tinted moisturizer. ColourPop Pretty Fresh Hyaluronic Acid Tinted Moisturizer, $14, and Australian Gold Botanical Tinted Face Sunscreen SPF 50, $16, both work well for this.
“To counteract dark circles, apply with your hands making a deep triangle shape under the eye. Next, apply a creamy concealer with a beautyblender, $20, and press into the skin for a super natural illumination,” she says.
4. Wait to Blend Your Concealer
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This hack comes to you from Kelsey Deenihan, a celebrity makeup artist and artistry advisor for Lorac. “Instead of blending immediately after applying your concealer, apply your foundation or bb cream on top and then gently blend the two together. You can use a beauty blender to dab the foundation right over the concealer where your under eyes need some extra help,” she says. “This provides superior added coverage and brightness to the undereye area without being a totally different color than the rest of your face.”
She recommends Lorac Pro Soft Focus Longwear Concealer, $24, which offers a lightweight formulation while still packing full coverage.
5. Harness the Power of Pearl Pigments
For a little extra oomph, try combining a creamy concealer and your favorite highlighter, says Deenihan. It can be a liquid, pressed powder, or loose pigment. This self-mixing option is helpful since it gives you max control over the amount of shimmer and the color, as well.
“You’ve basically created your own illuminating concealer that will help light bounce off the areas in help of looking brighter and more radiant,” says Deenihan. “Use this new concoction as your concealer anywhere your skin looks dull and could use a little brightening up.”
Have you tried any of these undereye concealer hacks, or do you have a technique you swear by? Let’s chat in the comments!
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