As we grow older, our skin goes through significant changes. Aging causes all sorts of worrisome creases, wrinkles and spots. Another condition your skin may undergo is dark under-eye circles. These can be unflattering and difficult to hide. Factors like poor sleep, bad diet and disease can exasperate dark circles. Making some lifestyle changes can help to even out skin tones and diminish those dark circles. In the meantime, hide dark circles with makeup and makeup application tips.
- Fresh Skin
- Before applying makeup, you should start with clean, moisturized skin. This will make your foundation go on smoothly and give you better coverage. Often, puffy, dark under eyes will have a scaly or bumpy surface that makes the dark circles look worse. Clean skin will take away some of the small bumps and smooth out the rough finish. Use a creamy cleanser with no grit or scrub ingredients in it. After you’ve washed and rinsed, pat your skin dry with a clean towel. You should use a moisturizer that contains cooling agents like cucumber or aloe. Cooling agents reduce under-eye puffiness and swelling. A cooling agent will also make your skin feel lighter and fresher.
- Concealers
- Choose the right concealer to apply to your under-eye circles. Yellow-based concealers work best, as the yellow pigmentation offsets the brown or black discolorations. Squirt a small dot on the tip of your middle finger. Using the middle finger is better than using the index finger because it is weaker. You don’t want to make your under eye look worse by tugging on it too much. Dab on your concealer by smudging it on, covering the dark circles. Gently smooth in the concealer. Don’t worry about blending it into your skin, because you will be applying foundation next.
- Highlighters and Foundations
- Your foundation choice should help you cover your trouble spots. Powder foundations may not offer you enough coverage to completely conceal dark spots. You may need to go a little heavier in regard to your foundation. You also may need to use a mineral powder foundation or a cream-based foundation to get the best cover. If you use a liquid makeup, apply it with a sponge by dabbing it on. After you’ve applied your foundation, use a highlighter powder. This should be applied on the outer edges of your eyes. Highlighters pull your eyes toward something, away from trouble areas. Use your highlighter powder across your nose or to your cheeks for some added facial distraction.