What eye makeup and beauty tips really work for getting rid of dark circles? We found out five foolproof rules for fighting fatigue in an instant...
Are your eyes the first thing to give away a bad night’s sleep? If so, there are some handy makeup tips and tricks that really work to help conceal dark circles and help eyes regain their missing sparkle.
We asked makeup artist and Get The Gloss Expert Caroline Barnes for her top concealer recommendations and tried and tested techniques for fighting the signs of fatigue. “You can adapt these to suit any skin tone,” says Caroline. “For concealer, just go one shade lighter - peachy colours for darker skin tones and lighter, creamier pink shades for lighter ones.”
The next best thing after a full eight hours, these beauty tips will act as a worthy substitute when a good night’s beauty sleep is all but a dream away...
Rule 1: Use an opaque concealer first
“In terms of creating the perfect untired eye or covering eye bags, it’s best to use two different concealers,” recommends Caroline.
“First use an opaque concealer to block out discolouration and cover dark circles, pigmentation or blemishes.”
Caroline’s top opaque concealer picks
MAC Matchmaster Concealer , £17: “This is really creamy and pliable so it connects really well with the skin, rather than just sits on top.”
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer , £22 and Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage , £26.50: “These are the most solid and dense on the market - just put them on and you’re good to go.”
Get The Gloss loves
Susan Posnick Color Correct , £13.50: A double-ended multitasker that has a surprisingly creamy texture, it cleverly corrects discolouration and conceals dullness in one versatile and easy to use pencil.
Amazing Concealer , £19.50: One of the best under eye concealer picks that we’ve tried, this is one product that is truly worthy of its title. It can be used anywhere on the face that needs a little extra attention.
Rule 2: Use a light-reflective concealer on top
To counteract both discolouration and the dullness, a combination of opaque and reflective concealers will provide a multi-dimensional finish that looks great in any light. “Paint gently on top using not too much and push it into the skin - don’t wipe it on, otherwise you’ll end up taking off the other concealer and not allowing the light-reflective particles to sit into the pores,” cautions Caroline. “Apply only to the blue-coloured areas only, not on blemishes as it will reflect the light and make them more obvious.”
Caroline’s top light-reflective concealer picks
Clinique Airbrush Concealer , £19: “This is one of the best highlighting concealers on the market. There are three shades - Neutral Fair is great for up to light tanned skin tones.”
Max Factor Mastertouch Concealer , £7.99: Smoothing, light-diffusing and brightening, this concealer pen is a great pick for pale skin tones.
YSL Touche Éclat , £25: “This comes in six shades and is great for darker skin tones.”
Get The Gloss loves
Charlotte Tilbury The Retoucher , £25: Now available in a range of colours to suit medium to dark skin tones too (10 in total), its silky formulation and illuminating properties has made this concealer/highlighter hybrid our new late night, early start essential.
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Rule 3: Make goggle eyes
When it comes to application, channel your inner snow bunny. “Think of it as when you have goggle eyes after skiing,” advises Caroline. “You want to create a goggle-eyed effect with the concealer and keep that area lighter to the rest of the face: it adds dimension.
“The face is made up of different colours and if it all looks the same, it looks unnatural.”
Rule 4: Colour correct
To offset the more unusual shades of the colour spectrum that our under-eyes can delve into, there are some equally inventive colour correctors at hand to help boost the efficacy of our concealers. “ Max Factor Colour Corrector Sticks in pink, peach and purple, £8.99 are like pastel pens for the face. If you have a pale skin tone, it’s good to add pink to counter the blue-grey colour,” recommends Caroline. “My general rule is that the deeper the skin tone, the more apricot and brown the colour that’s necessary.”
We also love MAC Pro Conceal and Correct Palette in Medium Deep, £35 for darker skin tones. The orange shade acts as a great way to counteract ashyness and greyness in particular.
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Rule 5: Create clever optical illusions
To complete the transformation from weary to wide awake, complete the look with a couple of simple yet effective makeup tricks. “Lighten the area around the tear duct by dotting pale gold or silver (if you’re very pale) to it. It adds brightness, like a lightbulb, to the darkest area and acts as a distraction too which works just as well as coverage.”
“For red eyes, use an off-white eye pencil to line the inner waterline. Try MAC Chromagraphic Pencil in NC15 , £14 or 3 Custom Clarifying Pencil , £14.50.”