Concealing Dark Circles

I take after Ta's side of the family. I have his skin coloring, his mother's nose, and his father's dark circles. 

All of Zeidy's sisters have matching sets of black dents underneath their eyes. 

I tried all sorts of treatments. First I purchased anything that claimed to do away with the circles. Then an "expert" claimed that the only way to treat dark circles was with Vitamin K. I had yellow, stinging goop beneath my eyes for months, and bupkis. No, no, no, said another "expert." Vitamin K was only for dark circles caused by lack of sleep; for genetic dark circles, the only thing that works is caffeine-based products. I got a coffee-smelling gel that did nothing after a year.

I threw in the towel. I still apply an anti-aging cream at night, but I no longer bother if it treats dark circles.

One of the reasons I was inspired to wear makeup on a daily basis was when a nervous voice in the elevator inquired, "Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah . . .?" 

"You look so tired! Are you sick?"  

Concealer, please! 

Makeup Geek has a tutorial that was of great help to me.

Until I saw this video, I only used concealer without setting powder, so it would crease. (The list of the products she uses can be seen here). 

Before one begins, there is the option to apply shadow primer first. It really helps to prevent the concealer from creasing (I usually only do this before Shabbos or an event). 

My concealer of choice is Clé de Peau Beauté Concealer in Ivory. Before my readership starts shrieking that $70 is INSANE for a concealer, bear in mind my last one lasted for years. But there are plenty of other options. 

The Amazing Cosmetics AmazingConcealer MUG uses is greatly loved. TheBalm TimeBalm is also well reviewed, as is Bobbi Brown Corrector. Ma absolutely swears by Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat, but I find the product too liquidy for my needs.

I like stick concealers since I find them to be usually more pigmented than others. I alternate between my ring finger and a concealer brush by Revlon that I bought for $1.99 from Amazing Savings. When using fingers, remember the ring finger only, and tap, do not tug. Dab the product on; rubbing it will only move the product around.

To set the concealer to prevent creasing and to ensure longevity, one can use a translucent setting powder. But in my case, with MONSTER dark circles, I need a little more coverage on top of concealer. 

I purchased bareMinerals Multi-Tasking Face, a concealer powder in Well-Rested ("yellow ivory/ eye brightening"). For purple circles, like the ones I have, yellow (on the opposite end of the color wheel) neutralizes the "bruise" appearance. 

It sets the concealer incredibly well (it won't budge over yontif), and it adds the extra coverage and brightening my eye area needs. 

To apply the powder under the eye, I would recommend using a fluffy eyeshadow brush, which gets into all the nooks and crannies. (I learned this from MakeupAdikt, who used to have YouTube tutorials but seems to have gone AWOL). Make sure the bristles are soft. I'm currently using Sonia Kashuk's Blending Brush that I found around the house. 

Via mymakeupblog.blogspot.com

To apply, make sure to windshield-wipe the brush back and forth to really work in the powder. Then it won't crease.

One can also use the bareMinerals Multi-Tasking Face alone. It works very well solo. This past summer I just applied it over my tinted moisturizer that I would dab around my eyes for SPF protection.  

I came across this video much later, where she highly recommends another shade of the bareMinerals Multi-Tasking Face, Summer Bisque.  

She gushes that this stuff is amazing, and I concur.