Patricia asks:
Hi Aisling,
I need a fix for dark circles! Years of working nights and bad sleeping has left me with some fab circles. Can you please help?
And how should I apply any products to best hide the divils?
Hi Patricia,
First things first, why do we get circles? It's because the skin around the eye is five times finer than the skin anywhere else on the face and so many have them.
In regards to the dark circles, we need to understand that each person has a completely different skin tone and under tone. A lot of products are marketed for dark circles but they don't take our skin tone into account. Fundamentally, it's basic colour theory we need to look at here. Different skin types have different undertones, so we need to identify that undertone and colour correct that. The way you do this is by looking at your dark circle and squinting your eyes. It will fall in to one or three categories: blue, red or sallow/dark.
This will let you know what colour you need to neutralize to get rid of your dark circle.
A lot of people they will fall in to the blue/purple dark undertone. A pink colour correcter is required here. Something like Touche Eclat from YSL or Prep and Prime Radiant rose by MAC is perfect.
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Yellow based concealer will reduce dark circles on a more tanned or sallow complexion and is also great for redness around the eye. Try something like Lemonade by Benefit Banana Powder by Benn Nye.
And finally, a peach or orange colour corrector is for a severely dark/sallow dark circle that is almost brown in colour. You'll find this in Mac's Bright Forecast, or Nyx do a range in colour correcting concealers.
The best way to apply your required colour correcter is with a fluffy blending eye shadow brush. In a circular motion, blending clockwise and anti-clockwise.
After this, you need to apply your neutral concealer to blend it in with your skin tone and foundation. For around the eyes, less is more, so always go with a hydrating/moisturizing liquid concealer. I like Maybelline's Eye Eraser or Mac's Studio Moisture Cover.
Hope this helps, Let me know how you get on.
Ais x
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Do you also suffer with the dreaded dark circles? Do you have any tips to share?
Today in our Ask Beaut series, we're cracking that old chestnut of dark under eye circles. So many of us are, eh, blessed with these panda eyes that we thought some pro advice was in order.