Here is part three in my concealer series: my every day concealer tutorial! Yep, here is my tried & true method to apply concealer to the under eye area aka my bags of motherhood glory! As I have said before, heavy & dark blue under eye circles are my biggest perfect imperfection. I am proud of these bags as the signify the many hours of sleep lost taking care of my four angels, staying up late to work because I spent my usually daytime work hours spending time with those four precious people! But to avoid scaring the daylights out of the world, I do like to hide these little boogers and that means I need a full coverage method.
Part one that covers the best concealer brush I have ever laid my hands on, followed by part two which covers why fingertips ARE NOT the best method to applying concealer ! This "my go to" concealer application tutorial is part three, part four is the triangle concealer method for the under eye area, part five is concealing blemishes, scars, large pores, fine lines and other imperfections and part six is all affordable drug store concealers. Whew! I think that covers everything! Just click the blue to go to any of the other parts in my concealer series!
Let's jump right in, as I am trying to eliminate the rambling that appears to be bothering some of my readers. But hey....I am from the south & we loooovvvveeee to talk! I want to give all every possible detail & info that I have so that when you finish reading, you have all of the knowledge you needed!
Step One: Ditch The Eye Makeup
Step Two: Wet, Lather, Rinse & Sometimes Scrub!
Yep, my face cleanser comes from the Dollar General for $2.25 and believe me when I say, it is the best drug store cleanser I have ever used. Blackheads are my skin's blemish of choice so I purchase this formula of Dollar General facial cleanser, although they have formulas for every skin care need imaginable & they are all amazing. This cleanser has tiny microbeads for a mini exfoliating session to remove dead skin & really scrubs those pores clean while removing the gunk behind blackheads. During the fall & winter months, I use this cleanser twice a day: pouring & night, because my skin is so dry that it requires a cleanser formula that also mildly exfoliates because if I buy a normal cleanser without the microbeads, I am literally just washing dead skin that gives my face its dry appearance. I need to remove those dead suckers, not wash them!
My skin is harsh, dry & actually flakes off AND this cleanser is very mild so I have no redness, soreness, burning, swelling or any of the other side effects of exfoliation. If you have sensitive skin, moderate acne or have very strong side effects from exfoliation in the past, you may not want to use this product as a daily cleanser. But the Dollar General also offers different formulas & they are amazing, too: sensitive skin, acne, normal, dry, oily, combination & aging.
It is important to do a deep exfoliate your skin once a week as well but that is another post; click here to see my skin care routine. Although my face cleanser of choice contains microbeads & claims it acts as a mild exfoliator, it actually doesn't exfoliate the skin completely. It pretty much just removes the top layer of dead skin that gives my face that dry, flaky appearance & soaks into the pores to remove & prevent breakouts, specifically blackheads.
Step Three: Hydrate That Skin Gurls!!
Here's some great advice to live by: Your skin will age (read: wrinkle) at a 50% slower rate if you start moisturizing early & make it part of your daily skin care routine from here on out. Statistically, you will look 5 years younger if you start moisturizing at puberty- or 13 years old- whichever comes first. Girls, don't forget to hit the neck, too, with a little moisturizer, working it up toward the face to avoid tugging the skin downward & causing premature wrinkles and sagginess! What good is a smooth, 5 years younger looking face if your neck looks like a wrinkled shirt that's been wadded up in the laundry basket for a year??
I use two moisturizing products: one specifically for the under eye area & one for all over my face and neck.
The Burt Bee's Intense Hydration Eye Cream is great for putting on right before your makeup. It hydrates the under eye area to minimize dry patches, fine lines and leaves the area smooth so your foundation & concealer doesn't look patchy. It also tightens up this area over time to reduce wrinkles and other oh-my-goodness-I-am-getting-old skin imperfections. I place 2 teeny tiny drops (combined, they would be about half of a pea in size) and dot it across my glory bag from the inner corner to the other corner then continue to pat back & forth across the area until blended. Even this small amount really makes a tremendous difference between a rough, patchy makeup application to the under eye area & a smooth, flawless makeup application. Using too much of any moisturizing product on your face, especially the under eye area because it has 3 types of 'base' type products (foundation, concealer & powder, sometimes primer too) applied to its thin skin. The area will become greasy & your makeup won't be able to adhere correctly, leaving you with damp, runny makeup. I also use this product at night, too. Click here to see my current nighttime routine!!
Step Four: Try a Primer, What Can it Hurt?
If you have large pores & fine lines, use a pore filling primer that contains silicone such as my personal favorite The NYX Pore Filler. This primer also works great to hide fine lines. I use this NYX primer during the summer because the heat and sweat causes my pores to enlarge. Take a small amount & using the tips of your fingers to warm up the product & the skin, gently press it into the areas where are pores are visible larger. Do not rub it into the skin because this causes it to just lie on top of the skin & will allow those large pores to shine through your makeup. By patting it directly into your pores, it uses its silicone base to fill up those pores, giving your skin a smooth, even look.
When my pores are behaving, I use the Covergirl BB cream in 810 light to medium coverage. BB & CC creams both are excellent primers for the face and the increase your foundations coverage as well. I dab a little on my cheeks, forehead, nose & chin and blend in well with my fingers.
For photos, wedding, pageants, etc, I use Revlon PhotoReady Perfecting Primer. This primer is applied all over the face and down the neck to help aid in creating an airbrushed foundation & concealer look for those days when you have to go heavy on the makeup so it shows through in photos. Anytime you will be taking photos, you need to go much heavier than usual on the makeup to make sure your features don't fade out in the photograph. This Revlon primer is perfect as a base for this, allowing the heavier makeup to stay smooth instead of looking thick & unnatural, making sure your makeup lasts hours and hours!
Now, if you prefer not to use a primer or you have very oily skin, don't use one. However, to make your concealer reach its maximum potential and make sure it doesn't wear off, always use a primer under the eyes at least. There are primers made specifically for hiding under eye circles but they cost a pretty penny. I have found most drug store primers are great (skip the Cleo primer...it is a greasy, slick mess, even for those of us with dry skin!) for using just under the eyes. Of course, teenage girls probably don't have these issues. Just wash your face well & moisturize then jump into your foundation.
Whichever primer you chose to use, take a pea sized amount and dot it under each eye from the inner corner to the outer corner, coming down about 1/4 of an inch below your under eye circle. Use your fingers to pat into the skin under the eyes. Let sit for several minutes before moving on. Adding another product on top of a primer before it has had time to dry will only rub your primer off!
Step Five: Foundation Time!
Apply your foundation!. You can click here to see my fall foundation routine but you can simply apply your foundation the way that works best for you. Choose a concealer based on your greatest need first; ask yourself which is the most noticeable about your under eye circles-dark discoloration based on color (usually blue, green, red or purple), fine lines, deep/large pores, puffiness, sinking in, etc.
Top: full view of dual ended Essential Tools concealer brush
Left: small, thin, flat domed end concealer applicator
Right: medium-sized, domed blending brush
If you took my suggestion & purchased the best concealer brush EVER (see picture above), (actually you'll need two of this brush) one for under eye foundation & the other for concealer, then you already have the only two tools you need to complete your under eye concealer routine. Or maybe you have found another great concealer tool you love to use. Maybe you are simply trying out different tools & methods to find one that suits you. Either way, here is my application method for applying foundation to the under eye area.
The foundation in the under eye area should be thinner than on the rest of your face. That is why I don't prefer to do a full face foundation all at once but to do my face, skipping the under eye area so I can control exactly how much foundation goes here. If it is too thick, especially when using a full coverage foundation, adding concealer on top will give it a cakey look and you definitely can't add powder. I know a lot of women prefer no powder under the eyes, especially those prone to dryness & fine lines, but I feel you need some sort of setting powder to lock in your concealer or it will be gone in just a few hours, with your true bags shining through.
A pea sized amount of foundation is enough to do both of your under eye areas as well as blending up across your eye lid to even out the lid, as the lid is very thin and even with an eye lid primer, your veins can show through without foundation on the lid, which will change the intended look of your eyeshadow. For example, if your lid has visible blue veins & you attempt to use a goldish eyeshadow, the eyeshadow will take on a greenish hue: gold (which is yellow based) and blue equal green, see?
Dot foundation across your under eye area. I use my ring finger & make four small dots from below the inner corner across the bag area to the outer corner. With one of the two concealer brushes I recommended above, use the medium sized blending brush end (not the thin, flat brush on the opposite end) to make small circular motions across the under eye area blending in your foundation. Make sure to hit the edge several times to blend it into your previously applied face foundation to avoid lines.
Step Six: Send Those Bag into Hiding!!!
Now, you gotta hide those under eye bags!!! If you are using a standard concealer, such as the normal, common method of using a concealer one shade lighter than your skin tone, here is what you do! Using the flat side of the concealer brush (lower left picture above), dot concealer across from the inner corner to the outer corner & down 1/4 inch below the eye bag. Using very gentle patting motions, pat the concealer into the under eye area until completed blended. For concealers that offer only a light coverage but you need more of a medium to full coverage for serious bags of glories like mine, let this first layer of concealer sit for about 5 minutes then apply a second layer using the same brush and method described above. Let this layer sit for an additional five minutes.
My current favorite concealer (above) is the Hard Candy Nobody's Perfect Concealer Palette. First, take a look at the last concealer on the right. This is the 'dark' shade of the 3 skin toned concealers & when I say it is a hot mess, I mean scorching!! It is thick & sticky & completely unusable. I have seen many reviews over this palette & many of them didn't have this sticky disaster for a dark toned concealer...but many of them did, too. I have contacted Hard Candy & so far no response. But the rest of the concealers in the palette are great, the shades are described at the top of the photo because I could not get my photo to be true to the correct shades.
A large portions of the reviews on this concealer palette were negative. However, as I have always say, tools & technique can make any product work! I give a full review of this product & my tutorial on the best technique to maximizing the potential of these concealers here but my application instructions below give a shorter version.
I use the flat side of my brush & tap it in the green concealer (top left of photo) twice. I pat this shade from the inner corner where my bag is most pigmented and about 1/2 of the way along the curved line that runs under the eye, giving this area the 'bag' shape. I dip the same side of the brush into the purple shade (left center of photo) twice and add it right to the top of the green, but bringing it further out to the end of the curved line. Then, I did the brush into the yellow based concealer (bottom left) once and apply this directly above the purple and green, running it down the length of this line. This leaves the entire 'bag' part without any concealer, aside from the yellow based shade that runs atop the green and purple.
Still using the fluffy side of the brush that was not used for foundation (this is why I say having two of this brush is best), I move it back & forth across all of the concealer colors in small circles until they are completely blended in. This brush is amazing & does not take long to blend in!
Once blended, I did the flat side of the same brush into the medium shade (right center of photo) and pat it into the 'bag' area above the curved line, making sure not to place any of the skin toned shade on top of the colored shades. With the fluffy side again, I continue making small circles across the under eye area from inner corner to outer corner into well blended. Now, taking the fluffy side of the brush you used to apply foundation to the under eye area, lightly swirl it across the entire bag area from the curved line up to the lower lash line and from the inner corner to the outer corner. This takes the foundation residue and adds a very, very, very light coat to the concealer making sure it matches the rest of the face, but leaving it a little lighter for a brightening effect. (You will have to read my review & tutorial with this palette here to see what the benefits are to applying the concealers this way!)
Step Seven: Seal That Baby In!!
Chose a setting powder that meets your needs. If I didn't love my mixture of products for under eyes so much, I would use e.l.f. Studio Hi-Def Under Eye Setting Powder (pictured above) or Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder hands down. The e.l.f. product is great, especially for $3! It doesn't leave my eyes dried out so they look cracked & cakey. But my problem is that it doesn't last long. An hour or two later, it is gone which means my concealer starts to wear off too because there is nothing locking it in & protecting it from sweat, weather, etc.
The Laura Mercier powder is great for the hotter months, when my skin is normal. But during fall & winter, I can't use it at all because my skin is super dry during this time and the Laura Mercier product really adds to the dryness, leaving my under eye area looking worse than it did before the concealer. But here is a little hint to my perfect under eye setting combo: it contains the Secret Brightening Powder! I have more needs than brightening, though, which is why I made a combo of products, each one hitting a specific need my glory bags required!
I use the second best concealer brush ever (yes, I use two of these brushes for hiding my under eye bags) and swirl it in the setting powder twice. Then, I tap off the excess on the side of the container and make once swift movement across the under eye area from the inner corner to the outer corner and down 1/4 inch below the eye bag. Do not go back & forth. Do not apply more than one layer. Those two things will cause the area to drying out, crack and cake.
There ya go!
I hope this helped you get an idea for creating those smooth, flawless, what-eye-bag? look we all knew years ago & wished we had back!
If you have any requests for makeup tips & tricks, product reviews, love or leave it, tutorials or any other kind of post, email me your requests at missienicole1231@aol.com!
<3 Missie <3
Have a great day beauties! Come back tomorrow for Part Four!
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