What is your favourite dark circle under eye concealer that lasts?

May 26, 2021 1:59 PM

It's hard to say what colour they are - I would say my dark circles are maybe purple/blue. I have tried everything. I'm looking for something that lasts and also isn't too thick. Help!
posted by Tziv to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (14 answers total)

Tarte Shape Tape is the best rated; Maybeline Age Rewind is a drugstore version that is often cited as a dupe (I don't like the formula as much.)

It can also be an application issue rather than a product problem. Are you using a beauty blender to apply? Are you using a a color corrector underneath? If you use concealer with a full face of makeup including foundation, are you powdering and/or using a setting spray?
posted by DarlingBri at 2:13 PM on May 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

I have dark circles like that and use Laura Mercier Secret Concealer. It is not cheap.
posted by plonkee at 2:14 PM on May 26, 2021

I use this. With a little blending brush, you can mix the palette together. Yellow is needed to correct for purple, so maybe you'd mix a little yellow into one of the flesh tones to get decent coverage, then wait for it to dry, and put foundation over it. It's a tap tap tap application as opposed to a 'smear it in' type of coverage.

I buy some cosmetics high end but I think some are aces in the 'cheap as chips' category and this is one of them.

Part of it I guess is the art of it, the mixing and application of colors, the little brush--so relaxing and satisfying.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 2:32 PM on May 26, 2021 [2 favorites]

Also, because you're putting it in such teensy amounts on your face, it lasts forever.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 2:33 PM on May 26, 2021

Despite my skepticism, I have to admit that using a damp beauty blender type sponge was a game-changer for getting undereye concealer to behave itself on my 47-year-old face.
posted by desuetude at 2:35 PM on May 26, 2021

(Same with spots -- mix a little green in with an appropriate flesh tone, tap tap tap it smooth, then foundation.)

You can nerd out on color theory. The trick is that it is thick, so you use tiny amounts and build if you want to. Could probably thin it with moisturizer, too, depending on your preferences.

(I enjoy the 'personal customization' aspect of make up.)
posted by A Terrible Llama at 2:36 PM on May 26, 2021

I use this NARS concealer for everything and it’s amazing. Not too thick but very opaque and lasts all day. It’s lasted me over a year at this point and there’s still a lot left — a little goes a long way.
posted by mekily at 2:38 PM on May 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

The concealer alone isn't cutting it for me anymore, so I've upped my game considerably with a tinted primer that is designed to counteract the blue/purple colour of undereye circles.

My favourite is Bobbi Brown. You dab it on very very lightly with a pinky/ring finger before applying concealer. It makes a huge difference.

My fave drugstore concealer to put overtop is definitely the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind mentioned above, it goes on really really light but still has good coverage, and is cheap enough that you don't mind tossing it when it gets old.

I also like the Clinique Beyond perfecting concealer.

But the real winner is the tinted undereye primer. It will tone down that blue/purple shade that your skin-tone concealer is struggling to hide.
posted by dazedandconfused at 3:02 PM on May 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

My dark circles worsen when pollen kicks up my allergies, and I've heard from several allergists that there's a correlation. It's a medical insider's tip when treating children, apparently, to refer those with dark circles for allergy testing. When I'm very regular with my antihistamines the circles do seem to be slightly less prominent, but I'm an "n" of 1, so this is one person's observation.
posted by citygirl at 3:04 PM on May 26, 2021

When I used to wear concealer for my hereditary, very dark undereye circles I liked Benefit Boi-Ing Industrial Strength Concealer for the right balance of good coverage and not settling too much into fine lines. Though I always start with undereye moisturizer right before, as it can be a bit drying.

(BTW, I say "used to" because I intentionally used the pandemic WFH period to get more accustomed to my dark circles and now it's so normal to me that even when I'm wearing other makeup I don't wear concealer anymore. In fact I put it on for a special event a few weeks back and thought my face looked weird and lacking depth and interest. I actually think it looks cool and kind of badass, which is something I haven't thought about my face since I first absorbed the message that I looked bad as a preteen over 30 years ago. Nothing at all wrong with concealer or makeup, just my personal experience that it's very freeing to reach that "you know what this is just my fucking face" breaking point.)
posted by misskaz at 4:49 PM on May 26, 2021 [9 favorites]

I'm 56, I have fair-medium, combo-oily dehydrated skin, and I use Laura Mercier Eye Basics in Linen. It is not inexpensive, but it has lasted a long time because a) I use a very small amount; b) I put it only on the darkest part of my undereye, which is right under my tear ducts, and c) I haven't used it as frequently during WFH.

Oddly enough, applying very little of the stuff to a very small area seems to make the rest of my undereye shadows less apparent. Or maybe I'm only fooling myself! But for whatever reason, I like what I see in the mirror, so I'm not going to argue with it.
posted by virago at 6:53 PM on May 26, 2021

I’ve been into Pixi Correction Concentrate lately. The peach is good for light skin tones, and the apricot is good for medium and deep skin tones. I apply Maybelline Age Rewind foundation first, then Pixi Correction Concentrate, then Maybelline Age Rewind concealer.

And yeah, a damp “beauty blender”-type sponge is great for application and blending. It need not be the name brand; drugstore generics work fine. (Top tip: they’ll come clean much more easily if you wash them with bar soap, not liquid soap.)
posted by snowmentality at 4:24 AM on May 27, 2021

I don't know how helpful this answer will be, but I use the Becca Undereye Brightening Corrector as my sole undereye product now. Sadly, though, Becca is going out of business. I have heard great things about the Beauty Pie Superluminous Undereye Genius, which is supposedly a dupe. I will try it in a few months when the Becca runs out.

I have spent most of my 35+ years trying to cover my hereditary dark circles, until I finally had them fully erased at a good makeup counter and it looked so weird to me, I felt like my face lost all its personality. What I love about the Becca is that it softens my dark circles with very light correcting coverage, and it has a highly luminescent finish that gives me an 'awake', healthy, natural look. So the dark circles are still there, but they don't make me look sick or tired.
posted by guessthis at 6:24 AM on May 27, 2021

An undereye color corrector is a game changer. If you just just cover up the dark circles without them peeking though, so a bit of color correction goes a long way, and you’ll need less concealer on top. Becca did have a good one but Charlotte Tilbury Magic Vanish Color Corrector is also a good choice too!
As for concealer- if you want full coverage that looks natural and doesn’t move... Cle de Peau stick concealer is unbelievable (and unbelievably expensive) but it can’t be beat. You can buy a sample trio pod on eBay before you commit to a full size, so you try it out for yourself first! Oh, and if you aren’t doing a light dusting of powder at the end of your concealer, it’s not going to last as long.
posted by Champagne Supernova at 6:19 PM on May 27, 2021