How to Tame Dark Circles

Does anyone ever say to you,"You look tired." And you reply with, "I'm not tired, I'm just not wearing any makeup." Well, you've come to the right place! We look so tired because we have naturally dark circles under our eyes. The skin in this area is thin and tends to sink in, creating a shadowing effect. Some are worse than others, and I was cursed with these purple, sunken in, half moons from birth, pretty much. I'll be sharing my tips and tricks to not only cover these circles using makeup but how to help reduce the appearance when you're not wearing any.

You need to take care of yourself. I know, easier said than done, but if you look back at my post about the flu, you'll notice my under eyes were extremely dark. I was focused on taking care of my baby, and not taking care of myself. With these tips, I promise it'll help you look more awake and bonus, feel more awake.

• Drink plenty of water. I'll admit, this is something I need to work on, so I can definitely take my own advice. I like to chug a big glass of water in the mornings before my cup of coffee. I'm not a big fan of water, so this helps to make my coffee a reward.
• Take a B12 supplement. If you have a B12 deficiency, your blood cells will be affected, making your dark circles appear worse. If you're a vegetarian or eat a lot of junk, this could make a huge difference. 
• SLEEP. Getting 7-8 hours of REM sleep is so important. I can really tell a difference day by day when I'm not able to do this.

Add under eye remedies into your skincare routine. I consider skincare my favorite hobby, so this is my favorite part. I can tell a difference when I slack on my skincare routine for a while, which is reassurance that what I'm doing is making a difference. These two steps are easy to work into any skincare routine.

• Use undereye patches. I use the pack your bags undereye patches from tarte, once a week. They're supposed to be single use, but I use mine 4-5 times. I wash them off with face wash and stick them back in the bag with the remaining coconut-oil infused serum. I can tell the biggest difference the day after I use them. My eyes are brighter, they look more hydrated, and my fine lines are less visible. If you have a special event, I'd recommend using these the night before.
• Retinol eye cream. I've tried all kinds of undereye creams, but nothing made a difference like Retinol eye creams do. I'll admit, these aren't cheap, so I use mine sparingly and only a few times a week. The one I'm loving is by Kate Sommer. I originally got this as a sample from Sephora. It lasted 10 uses and made such a huge difference, I had to go out and buy the full size. I'd recommend going to Sephora and asking for samples, to see which one works the best for you. 

Now it's time to cover those bad boys up! This routine is fairly new, and it's the best my under eyes have ever looked. These products don't settle into my fine lines, and it lasts all day. I filmed a video on my phone of this undereye makeup routine, but I could figure out how to edit or upload onto my computer, so I decided to take screenshots of the different steps for you instead. I apologize for the poor quality photos, I'm still figuring the tech side of this out, so now I know for next time!

1. This Lancome Camouflage Correcteur is LIFE! I use this like an undereye primer before I put on any other makeup. That small dot is what I use for both eyes, so a little goes a long way. I concentrate this on just the dark circles, to help neutralize the area. I have a more medium skin tone, so I use the color Peach to balance out the darkness. If you have fair skin, you can go in with the color Yellow. Both have that orange undertone that is needed to neutralize the darkness in that area.

     2. Apply foundation like normal. I use a kabuki brush and pat in circular motions making sure to blend underneath my eyes.

     3. Apply concealer and blend with a damp beauty sponge. I start by outlining where my eyes start to sink in using Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer. If you can tell by the picture on the top left corner, this gives the illusion that my eyes are flat. After I blend that in using my finger, I'll go in with Tarte Shape Tape. There's so much hype with this concealer and for good reason. The formula is so full coverage, and a little goes a long way. Both of my concealers are to light for my skin tone, which can actually highlight the dark circles. I bought these both online and I'm trying to use them up. I would recommend not going more than one shade lighter than your foundation.

      4. Last, you want to set your under eyes using a translucent setting powder. Use the same beauty sponge you used to blend out your concealer, and gently pat back and forth until you're satisfied your concealer isn't going anywhere. I'm currently using Tarte Filtered Light Setting Powder, but I am in the market for a new one. This powder does have a slight light color to it, and it is pretty drying. It doesn't have any flash back, and feels smooth on the skin, which I love. I would recommend this setting powered if you have fair skin, and are a bit oily.

I hope these tips and tricks help you tame down those under eye circles like they have for me. If you give it a try, let me know in the comments below. Also, if you have any setting powder recommendations for me, I'd love to hear them!