Beauty: The under-eye dilemma

Let's face it. Life is hard. It's even harder when you wake up in the morning looking like you've had 20 minutes of sleep in the last 24 hours. Waiting for your dark circles to go away is just like waiting for your knight in shining armor to prance through the streets on his white steed.

Never

gonna

happen.


And let's be honest, there's so much a man can do anyways. I say, save yourself, especially when it comes to your under-eye area.

Under-eye concealers are different from regular ones. Normal concealers usually (but not always) have a thicker consistency and are used to cover blemishes (think pimple scars). But our under-eye area is one of the most delicate areas on our face - it has less elasticity and the skin is thinner as compared to the rest of face. So, just like there are different moisturizers for the under-eye area and the face, we use a different type of concealer.

Under-eye concealers (sometimes known as correctors) usually contain color correcting pigments (most of the time it's a salmon/orange color to counter the dark blue that causes discoloration). One of my favorite under-eye concealers is Benefit's Erase Paste (in Deep No.3). 

One of the things I love about Benefit is that they make it e a s y  for every girl to become a makeup aficionado. So instead of 20 different shades, they stick with 3 - Light, Medium and Deep. No head scratching, swatch-fest happening at the Benefit counters for sure!

I use a spatula to get a teensy amount of product, with a concealer brush dab it on and with my (uber-clean and hygienic!) ring finger, spread and blend the product wherever needed. In seconds, I go from sleep-deprived to A W A K E .

The horrid thing about the ever-sunny and humid weather of our climate is that things tend to slip and slide, and no, not in a good way. The only good thing that slips and slides is you when you're playing on a slip and slide. Anything else, not good.

Most people use their face powder to set their concealers and while they're not wrong to do so, I often find that it creates a ridiculously cakey look. To me, cakey = you look like you're 1000 years old and could dissipate into dust when the wind blows.

In comes Benefit's Powderflage to save the day!

 

This stuff is my honest to goodness lifesaver. I love it so much, I use it to set my regular concealer as well as my under-eye concealer! Powderflage is a special light weight powder that sets your under-eye woes to rest. Seriously, a few swipes of this baby and nothing moves! However, instead of using the flager (i.e. the tiny fan brush it comes with), I usually use a fluffier brush like a crease brush (think MAC 224) to set my concealer.

Under-eye concealer can do wonders to your look. It makes you look like you've had 10 hours of sleep the night before (prepare for enviable stares!). Using a good under-eye concealer is especially vital when you're going for a dark smokey eye look. Smokey eye + dark circles = racoon eyes. Not good at all. 

A good trick to know? Applying under-eye concealer in an upside down triangle shape helps highlight the highest points of your face, making you look like you were born with amazing cheekbones. 

What's your favorite under-eye concealer? Do you use one or just stick with your regular concealer?

Til the next post!

Peace lovelies.