While concealer for the general areas of your face should match your skin tone, under-eye concealer should be one or two shades lighter than your natural coloring. Using a lighter concealer for your eye area helps cover up under-eye circles and creates a brightening effect.
"Always go a shade lighter than your foundation." The lighter tone will cancel out dark discoloration, but be careful not to go too fair. Concealers that are more than one shade lighter than your skin tone can leave you with a ghostly shadow.
To conceal dark under-eye circles, choose one shade lighter than your foundation shade match. Learn more about the best concealers for dark circles.
Since dark circles are primarily blue, reach for shades in the orange family. If you have light or fair skin, use a more peachy color. If you are more in the light to medium skin tone range, look for a bisque color corrector. If you have a dark skin tone, reach for an orange-based concealer.
“You can't have a concealer that's too light,” she said, adding that women should choose concealer that's one to two shades lighter than the color of their foundation. “One to two shades … the right color blends itself.
Orange, the opposite of blue, is the perfect corrector for bluish-toned imperfections. "Orange color corrector is intended to neutralize dark spots, scars, under-eye circles, areas that may turn gray under foundation, or other stubborn and relatively cool-toned blemishes," Scott explains.
"For under the eyes, I always recommend something with a peach undertone (for lighter skin) or an orange undertone (for darker skin) to cover," she says.
Applying foundation first creates an even base to reduce overall redness, discoloration and minor blemishes. If you apply your concealer first, you may end up wiping some off when you apply foundation or using a lot more product than necessary, which can create a heavy, cakey look.
You'll use the lighter shade around the areas of your face that naturally catch light (like your cheekbones and T-zone) and the darker shade in softer areas (like your forehead and jawline). Blend it all out with a buffing brush for a smooth, natural finish.
If using concealer to highlight your facial features, apply a concealer that is 2 shades lighter than your natural skin tone. To contour, sculpt and add definition, apply a concealer that is 1 shade darker than your natural skin tone.
If your concern is dark circles, lean towards “warmer” shades to avoid obvious white circles around your eyes. Blue-tinged and purplish dark circles are best concealed using an orange to yellow based concealer that is one shade lighter than your skin tone.
White Cloth Test: Put a white cloth next to your bare face and observe what cast your skin takes on. Skin with warm undertones will appear yellowish, while skin with cool undertones will seem blueish or pinkish.
The simplest solution for dark foundation is to add a light concealer to the mix and blend it out. This is because the concealer we use under our eyes tends to be lighter.
The reason concealer alone cannot address dark circles is that it often creases and makes the issue much worse. Moisturizing and applying color corrector can help minimize the look of dark circles.
DON'T wear mascara on your lower lashes. Playing up your lower lashes can make your eyes look droopy and draw attention to dark circles. It makes the eyes look older and accentuates the under eye wrinkles.
Cream or liquid formulas are your best bet; they'll help hydrate dry skin and be a little more flexible. One of the best undereye concealers is L'Oréal Paris Infallible Full Wear Concealer. It's a full-coverage creamy formula that erases any darkness and imperfections.
Finding your undertone: The colour of your veins
Take a look at the veins on the inside of your wrist. Do they appear more blue or green? If your veins appear more blue, you're cool-toned but if you see more green, you're warm-toned. If you see a fair amount of both both green and blue, you have a neutral undertone.
Flip over your arm and take a look at the inside of your wrist. If your veins appear to have a blue or deep purple tint, you likely have cool skin undertones. If they look more greenish, you likely have warm or olive undertones. If you can't tell one way or the other, you may have neutral undertones.
MYTH: You should always use a concealer one shade lighter than your foundation. Truth: If your goal is to brighten dark circles, then yes, choose a lighter concealer. But for blemishes or scars, you need a yellow-based shade as close as possible to that of your foundation.