Victoria Woodhall is sold on a new beauty innovation for dark circles and pigmentation
I can’t remember a time when my eyes weren’t blessed with dark circles of one kind or another. In my teens, they were either exam or heartbreak-related, in my 20s it was staying out too late ‘just in case’ (FOMO wasn’t yet invented). My 30s were all about insomnia and newborns and thinking Touche Eclat was a coverup when it was more of a highlighter (I might as well have used Stabilo Boss). In my forties, it’s been juggling, adrenal fatigue and skin thinning. I’m only giving you the bag-inducing edits, you understand, that’s not ALL that happened.
A good concealer is the most loyal beauty friend you’ll ever have - the one who has your back, deftly parrying questions about your wellbeing (the circles don’t lie) with a “nothing to see here, all fine!”.
Its other skill is misdirection - drawing the eye to where you want it. The legendary makeup artist Trish McEvoy introduced me to the triangle of light technique – where you paint a scalene triangle with concealer from the corners of the eyes to the corner of the nose (blend well unless you’re going for the Pennywise look). The effect is to attract light and focus to the centre of the face, making cheeks look plumper and eyes brighter. I’ll take any day of the week.
Trish makes products to enhance the way women feel about themselves, so when it comes to dark circles, blemishes and blotches - things that can make you not want to face the world - she knows what a good suit of armour looks like.
Suffering from what she calls ‘extreme darkness’ as she's grown older, Trish has now created the genius Correct and Even Full Face Perfector - a truly multi-generational product that should be in every woman’s handbag from day one. It’s like espresso for the eyes, waking you up, putting a spring in your step and giving you a veil of 'new' skin. What sealed the deal for me was one of those front-facing camera ‘resting face’ surprises - normally a shocker, but now actually pretty OK.
The packaging has a nod to Touche Eclat – a clicky metallic wand with a sponge applicator at the end. You stipple your shade (I use the l ightest, 1 ) under the eye and around the inner corner where the shadows fall and blend with your ring finger. For more precise application use a small brush.
What’s really clever about FFP is the texture. At first, it seems way too thick to sit easily on the delicate eye area but it blends with a soft, malleable and full coverage that smoothes over wrinkles, lumps and bumps. You can also use it on pigmentation, blemishes and redness.
The problem with concealers is that they either dry out and set like concrete in your lines or are hydrating but ephemeral and an hour later you’re back to being racoon girl. This stays put all day and remains supple.
The shade range is good – but I can’t go without mentioning the orange one called Extreme. This one - the wavy line in my swatch - comes with a warning, “not to be used alone”. Not that you need company to apply it, it’s a colour correcting undercoat - peach tones are the enemy of grey, says Trish. I’d recommend trying this (very sparingly, with a brush) if your dark circles are severe and only on the really dark bits. Even if your under eyes only need it occasionally, it won’t sit idle. It serves as a great cheek colour too, if you dot it below the cheekbone. Makeup artists are also using the other shades in the range to shade and contour.
Cruelty-free, this has been my beauty product of the year so far. And it’s just gone online at Liberty.
Buy Trish Mc Evoy Correct and Even Full Face Perfector £40
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