Banish Undereye Circles! Part 2: A Concealer Smorgasbord

Read part one here. :) 


Something that I learned after writing that post is that vitamin K is effective in battling under eye circles. Vitamin K helps with blood circulation and coagulation. Poor circulation can increase the appearance of dark circles. Eat foods rich in antioxidants and vitamin K such as; broccoli, carrots, cabbage, spinach and strawberries. Or take a vitamin K supplement. Apply vitamin K topically as well. Eye creams that contain at least 5% of vitamin K strengthen capillaries and make blood vessels less visible through the thin skin under your eyes. A retinol cream can be used in conjuncture with the vitamin K to make it more effective.


Sometimes there is no amount of sleep, water, or cucumbers that will help my under eye circles. Enter concealer. 


There are a few things to consider when shopping for a concealer.


Texture- is mostly personal preference and may depend on your skin type. Concealers generally come in one of three forms. Liquid, gel, and cream. A liquid can be more moisturizing and better for dryer skin types, while gels and creams can work better for normal/oily skin types. 


Shade- Choosing the correct shade of concealer can be a trial and error process, especially if you are shopping at the drugstore. Many stores return opened makeup with a receipt. Be sure to check out the return policy when purchasing your make up and return it if it doesn't work for you! It is helpful to look at a color wheel when deciding which shade you need. 

Look for your skin's  undertones, specifically under your eyes, on the color wheel. For most, tones of blue and purple make up our under eye darkness. To find what shades will counteract the blue and purple look directly across the color wheel. If your under eye circles are more blue choose a orange or pink toned concealer. If your circles are more purple try a more yellow toned concealer. Some suggest using a shade that is one or two shades lighter than your skin tone. Be careful to not go too light as that will only emphasize the problem.


Corrector's- For very dark circles you may want to try a corrector concealer. Corrector concealers for under eye circles are highly pigmented peachy, salmon shades or there are also yellow toned correctors. Some apply the corrector and then put a regular concealer on top, and some only use the corrector. Use trial and error to learn what works for you. You can also try applying it underneath your foundation.

Concealers I use

My favorite concealers are (in no particular order):
Rimmel Match Perfection
Mary Kay Facial Highlighting Pen
Revlon Photo Ready concealer
**Revlon Beyond Natural Concealer and Highlighter
**Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer
**are discontinued. I found both at Big Lots. You can also find them at www.amazon.com

From left to right:
Revlon beyond natural concealer. Shade-Medium. Has a gel like consistency
Maybelline super stay. Shade Light. Liquid consistency
Revlon Photo Ready. Shade-Light. Cream consistency
Rimmel Match perfection- Shade- Light/Medium, liquid
Maybelline Dream Mousse. Shade- light/ivory, mousse
Mary Kay facial highlighting pen, shade-2m liquid


Yes, I know they look a little crazy not blended, but I actually use these concealers! I have a hard time deciding what my skin's undertones are. Sometimes I use a pink toned concealer and sometimes I use a more yellow toned one.

This is my current favorite combination. I use the Revlon beyond natural concealer as a corrector, underneath my foundation and the maybelline super stay over my foundation. Both have more pink undertones, and I feel like that is what's working for me lately. I then set the concealer with a very light dusting of powder. More on application in part 3 :)

Other Concealer's I Recommend:

Correcter- Pixi correction concentrate, available at Target or www.pixibeauty.com 

*Benefit erase paste,  available at Sephora and Ulta

*Bobbi Brown corrector, available at Sephora 

*Eve Pearl salmon concealer, available at www.evepearl.com or www.amazon.com

Concealer- 

L'oreal true match concealer- comes in cool, warm, and neutral shades. 

Neutrogena Healthy Skin brightening eye perfecter. 

*Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer,  available at Sephora

* Estee Lauder double wear concealer,  available at fine department stores

*IT Cosmetices bye bye undereye,  available at QVC

*I have not personally used these products. These are all products that have rave reviews and kept popping up in my research. They are now on my wishlist! :)


I hope you've found this helpful. I know it was a lot of information. If I forgot something or was unclear about anything, let me know and I will do my best to better explain things. 


The final part, part 3, will be how to apply concealer.  I did not intend to make this a three parter, but it seemed too long when I had it at two parts. 


Thanks for reading!
xoxo, J