Concealer Series Part 4: Upside Down/Reversed Triangle Method For Concealing Under Eye Circles

Hi beauties!

Here is part four in the concealer series: concealing under eye bags with the upside down triangle method.

I have basically told you everything there is to know about concealers so I am just going to jump straight into this concealer method.

The benefits to this triangle method is all about illusions. Kinda like reverse contouring. When contouring the face, you add a dark color to the areas of your face that naturally 'shadow' to give you the illusion of prominent cheekbones, slimmer nose, slimmer face, etc. But when the areas of the face that do not naturally shadow are discolored, the give the skin in that area a darker look that is not natural. For these areas, we use a light product to create the illusion of natural brightness and to draw the area away from darkness.

Here is the brush I use to apply my concealer, especially for the reverse triangle method because the flat, thin, semi-domed brush (end one at the top of photo) is perfect for holding a larger amount of product needed for the method & for drawing the lines of the triangle. This is honestly the best concealer brush ever. Click here to see why I love it! The opposite end (lower end of the picture) is a medium sized, semi-domed, fluffy blending brush similar to an eye shadow blending brush but larger. It is PERFECT for blending out concealers in the under eye area!

                                    

 

 

 

 

This is my current favorite affordable concealer. This is the Hard Candy Nobody's Perfect Concealer Palette. But it has to be used a certain way to reach good results. Now, notice that dark color in the right lower corner? That color is a thick, gooey, unusable concealer. I have emailed Hard Candy for an explanation, after several readers emailed me to say that their palette had the exact same problem. But all of the other shades are great, if you know how to use them. Click here for a quick run down of  how I use the palette & click here to see a full review & tutorial. 

 

                    

Now, for the reversed triangle method to sending those under eye bags into oblivion! It is super quick & easy. One thing I would like to clarify before we start is that if your under eye area has very severe discoloration, you may want to skip the triangle method and chose instead color correcting method, using the color wheel.

1- Apply moisturizer to a freshly cleaned face. For a beautiful makeup application, your skin should be clean, free of makeup & dry patches. And it should be HYDRATED! Even if your skin isn't prone to dryness, moisturizing your skin will give your foundation & concealer a smoother, more even
appearance. Allow your moisturizer to completely dry to ensure your skin has absorbed it completely.

2- If you use a primer, apply it now. Make sure to wait several minutes between your primer & foundation. If you add your foundation before your primer has had time to set, when you blend in your foundation, you will rub off the primer.

3-Apply your foundation. I apply my foundation to my face & my eyes separately. This allows me to control how much foundation is applied under the eyes, which should be thinner than the rest of your face because heavy foundation, topped with concealer  & set with powder will leave the thin skin under the eyes appearing thick, caked & cracked.  But you can apply your foundation whichever way works best for you.

4- Now to create the upside down triangle. Dip your concealer brush into your chosen concealer. Depending on how much concealing you need & the type of concealer you use will determine how much product you need. Because the triangle covers a larger area than just the under eye bags, you may need more than you normally use.

Photo courtesy of http://www.shefinds.com

 

5- Create the reverse triangle, which will look similar to the above photo with a few differences. You will drag the brush across your lower lash line, getting a little closer to the lashes than the photo shows & dragging it up toward the inner corner of the eye, again just a little further up than the photo example.

6- From the inner corner of the eye, drag your concealer downward, following along beside your nose. The photo shows the line running downward to a point that runs parallel to the end of the nose. You do not need to go this far. Instead, as you reach the crevice that signifies the start of your nostril, bring the concealer inwards toward your cheek for about a quarter of an inch.

7- Now, move up to the end of your first concealer line that is at the outer corner. Starting at the point, draw your concealer line diagonally until it reaches the end point of the second line that ran parallel with your nose. You have now created your reversed triangle.

8-For the final step, you have two options. For light concealer coverage, use you ring finger or your concealer brush (I don't use my fingers, it thins the product out too much & prevents a good coverage. Click here to see why!) add pat the triangle lines inward, blending them in to fill in the center of the triangle. For a fuller coverage, pat on a light coat of concealer into the entire center of the triangle & blend in completely.

*Here's a tip. Because this triangle method uses a large amount of concealer because of the large area it is covering, you may need to pat on a very light layer of foundation to avoid looking 'too light' in this area.**

You are all done! Give it a try. Let me know how you like this method & if you saw any difference between this triangle method & your normal method.

Have a great day!

<3 Missie <3