The Cure for Panda Eyes: Concealing Your Dark Circles

Like many people, I suffer from chronic panda eyes. Whether you have dark circles because you stayed up late the night before or because panda eyes run in your family (thanks, Mom!), I have a few fool-proof tips and products that can help you virtually eliminate their appearance. Of course, nothing works better than getting a good night's rest and implementing a good skincare routine, but if you're in need of a quick fix, look no further.

Tip # 1: Hydrate your undereye area with your eye cream of choice. At the moment, I'm using the Origins Plantscription Anti-aging Eye Treatment. I wouldn't recommend slathering this on as you would in your night routine because you want it to be fully absorbed by the time you put product in that area. You do, however, want to moisturize the undereye area so that the product goes on more smoothly. No product in the world will look good on dry, crepey skin. After I have this on, I usually move on and do my hair, brows, and eye makeup before coming back to it.

Tip #2: Apply an orange based concealer directly to the problem area. How severe your dark circles are will determine how saturated in the orange pigment the product you use should be. For instance, those with only slight darkness underneath their eyes should use a lighter salmon concealer, whereas those with darker circles should use a concealer that is closer to a true orange color. By matching the dark circles in their intensity, you will be effectively canceling them out. Today I will be demonstrating with the Mac Prep + Prime Highlighter in Peach Lustre because I prefer it's more liquidy consistency in comparison to the creamier products on the market. And yes, I'm fully aware of how crazy this looks at first, but once the concealer is placed on top of it, it's completely undetectable. 

Tip # 3: Apply a concealer of your choice, whether it's your skintone or more brightening. You'll notice that after using the corrector, you won't have to use quite as much product or as high coverage of a product. However, on days that I need this to last for a longer period of time, I still use the Mac Pro Longwear Concealer in NC15. I find that it stays the whole day and I don't find my inner panda returning unexpectedly.

Tip # 4: I've really been embracing not powdering down my skin, but this is one area that I will not skip out on powdering. Setting your concealer is the key to keeping this magical concoction from fading. I have two different suggestions on how to set this area depending on your undereye concerns. If you have little to no wrinkling underneath your eyes, I would recommend a loose translucent or brightening powder, such as the NYC Smooth Skin Loose Powder in Translucent. However, if you do experience more wrinkling or creping underneath your eyes, I would not recommend a loose powder as you run the risk of applying too much, which can emphasize your wrinkles. Instead, opt for a more finely milled pressed powder, such as the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders. For even more brightening, I like to top it with Bare Minerals Well Rested Powder.

So those are my top 4 tips and product recommendations for concealing those pesky dark circles. Do you have any tips or tricks you use when concealing yours? Any skincare products you use to help treat them? Leave them in the comments section below!

XO ♥