I get a lot of questions on the proper way to conceal, on how to avoid creasing, plus cover up wrinkles and dark circles. While I am in no way a makeup expert, here are some tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way, especially for aging eyes:
This is the most important tip on this list. If your eye area is not hydrated, your concealer is not going to look or feel right. And really, that goes for your entire face and all your makeup. Hydration is EVERYTHING. Invest in a good under eye cream and use it day and night. I also find that adding a tiny dot of face oil/eye serum (or a good undereye brightening cream) before applying concealer, gives me an extra bit of hydration… just make sure it’s absorbed before you apply your concealer. I use the Olive & M oil.
Whether it’s redness or dark circles, find the right product to correct before you conceal. Depending on your skin tone, peach, pink, orange and red correctors will combat dark circles. Yellow and green can combat redness, while purple helps to brighten eyes. Sephora has a great product selector here and below is a quick cheat sheet I made for you guys.
Put on your foundation before concealing. I generally stay away from using my foundation under the eyes because I don’t want to overload that area. For a more mature eye especially, the more product you put on there, the more visible wrinkles and imperfections will be.
Choose a concealer that is lighter than your foundation (but be careful, don’t go crazy light) and apply using a damp beauty blender while looking up to smooth out that area as you apply. Pat, don’t smear or wipe. Also, be wary of baking your undereye area… younger, non-wrinkled eyes can do that well, but if you’ve got any lines or wrinkles, it will bring attention to them. Basically, the older you are, the less product you want to use… the more you use, the more you magnify lines in the skin.
I use a combo of Tarte Shape Tape with either Kylie’s concealer or Maybelline Age Rewind.
I still want my concealer to stay put, so I do use setting powder, but with a very light hand. I love Laura Mercier’s secret brightening powder. Tap out the excess powder and lightly dust that delicate area with a brush. Again, take special care to not over powder, especially in the corner eye. The more powder you use, the more you’ll accentuate your lines and wrinkles.