As promised, I will be revealing my 3 essentials in concealing my dark circles. I know there are probably many others with worse dark eye rings out there but mine are bad enough for my 24 years!
A picture of my dark circles and eye bags, with and without concealer.
Actually, if I were perfectly honest, there are not 3 but 4 Holy Grail products involved in this transformation! Here goes...
1. The base- The Eye Cream
I have tried many eye creams, serums and gel, having worked in the beauty industry for over 5 years. The best that work with a heavy-duty creamy concealer is Paul & Joe Eye Treatment Cream. This product works so well hand in hand with my undereye concealer that I NEVER have to touch up at all. The longest wear up to date (with concealer on) is 16 hours, in humid and sunny Singapore.
P&J Eye Cream has beaten so many highend brands hollow when it comes to acting as a base for both a thick creamy undereye concealer, as well as my P&J Eye Color Primer. It is rich but not to the point of being oily and I have never experienced creasing of my shadows with it on.
Enough said!
*Note: I do not use this eye cream at night. I only reach for this when I am going to use my HG undereye concealer.
2. The cover up- The Undereye Concealer
It's tragic. Stila Undereye Concealer has been discontinued. I have yet to find a replacement and have yet to use one that is as good as it in almost 10 years of searching. Too many tried, tested and failed products. Too much money wasted.
I have tried a variety of high and low end brands. But they always either give me way more wrinkles than I have or do last on my undereye area at all. =(
Fortunately, you can still purchase Stila Undereye Concealer off the internet! Ebay, Strawberrynet, Stilacosmetics (vintage), Yahoo, etc. Good luck in your search for this! You won't be disappointed.
I got 2 backups of this treasure (in 1- Light) off some auctions a couple of months back and store them in a cool, dim drawer.
*Note: One tiny pot of this can last a long time. I have used my lil' pot for about a year now (daily) and have yet to hit pan/ pot.
3. The tool- The Concealer Brush
I use Stila #2 Under Eye Concealer Brush and swear by it. The concealer will definitely not work as well for me without it!
I swirl the brush in the tiny concealer pot and gently dab it under my eyes. No tugging, pulling or jabbing. This brush enables me to get to the concealer without making a mess on my fingers and nails, spread the concealer evenly and do a good job overall without hurting my delicate eye area!
I personally prefer the short handle version and have 2 of these.
Note: Every makeup skill requires practice. You might not do a good enough job the first couple of times but do not give up! Once you get the hang of it, you can't do without it. =)
4. The finishing touch- The Pressed Powder
It's really beat up! I know!
I hit pan! =((
Like many other makeup addict out there, I went through a major 'pressed and loose powder' phase. Bought loads from so many brands and found some lil' gems.
The best that work on top of my heavy-duty undereye concealer is Rimmel Double Act Pressed Powder in Translucent. Just like it's buddy, my Stila Undereye Concealer, it has been discontinued as well. =( The cosmetic companies just keep doing this!!!!!!!!
I only use this pressed powder on my under eye area (I use specific and different products for my under eye and face). I have used my Double Act powder for quite some time. Okay, quite a long time. Don't ask how long! I don't want a lecture on when one should toss products. It's still good so why toss? Right? =p
I am currently trying to find a replacement. My good friend, Carey, from the US, has picked up Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder (it's supposed to replace Double Act according to Rimmel) for me and I cannot wait to try it. *Please GOD let this work out*
I will most definitely do a post/ review on the Rimmel Stay Matte once I have tried it (not any time soon).
* Note: The Rimmel Double Act can still be purchased off the wonderful internet but I refuse to pay the jacked up prices!
To end this post, here's the BF's wallpaper of me on his MAC book.
Thank GOD for makeup. Alleluia!~
Thursday, June 5, 2008
The Magical Weapons against my cursed dark circles!
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8 comments:
Hi, nice blog u got here. I'm from SG as well :) I saw u on Stila Girl of the week :) Got to know of your blog from Lotus Palace's blog.
Oh don't worry about your dark eye circles. I've got even worst very dark eye circles. Seriously. I suffer from sinus and stay up late very frequently plus a bad habbit of rubbing my eyes. Hence, I've fine lines on my eyes even when I'm just 20 :( Fine lines + Dark Circles ages me tones :'(
Concealor always cake on me no matter what kind of eye cream I use. I'm currently using ZA concealor as it does not cake that much on me as compared to other concealors.
Too bad that the products u recommend are discontinued already. Do post on new concealor finds!
gracie :)
Hello Gracie!
Thanks for the comment. =) I actually like the Revlon Botafirm concealer before I fell for the Stila. It's coverage is about 7/10. Good but cakey unless you find a good eye cream.
I understand what you mean about dark circles aging u. There is another concealer that I love- Averine Concealer Kit. This is a multi-purposes concealer. You can use it on both sensitive complexion as well as dark circles. Tried and tested by me as well. =) However, lasting power is definitely not as good as the beloved Stila. =(
I have tried the ZA tube concealer as well but it does not cover my circles at all. I actually pile on a lot of concealer to cover them up. =/
Will definitely look out for more worthy concealers!
♥SeReNe
Hi Serene, yup I agree about the ZA concealor. It doesn't cover enough of my dark eye circles. My dark eye circles look "muddy" under the ZA concealor hence looking for a new concealor.
gracie :)
Hi Serene! I came across your blog through Lotus Palace :) I've seen your makeup setup before (lovely girly pink!) but hadn't realised you had a blog.
You're so pretty and your eyes are lovely! I love the Stila concealer brush too and appreciate the fact that it's pliable and reach the corners! I even reviewed it on emakemeup.com ;)
Wow - that's an amazing difference! You've really found your HGs there! I usually don't bother with undereye concealer... I think because I haven't found the right one yet, but I think you've just set me on the search for mine, lol. Thanks for showing what a huge huge difference it can make!
Can i ask which shade u use for the stila concealer?
you dont have much dark circles.. you can put almond oil at nite before sleeping. it defintely helps.
my recent post loreal-hot-straight
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