Fake A Good Night’s Sleep: How To Banish Under-Eye Bags And Dark Circles With Makeup

Whether it’s from your three sleepless nights in a row or it’s a facial feature running in your DNA, we can all agree that eye bags and dark circles are nothing but hideous. The puffy and tired eyes can make you look sick, stressed, and years older than your real age.

Before caking your eyes with loads of concealer makeup, check out these expert tricks for getting rid of eye bags and dark circles and making your eyes look fresher and brighter (as if you’ve had a good night’s sleep).

1. First things first: De-puff your eyes

Eye bags aren’t just caused by sleep deprivation, stress, and heredity – one common cause is having too much fluid building up underneath the eyes. That’s the primary reason why your eyes are swollen after crying yourself to sleep or when your body retains fluid due to dehydration.

No amount of makeup can banish the puffiness if you don’t de-puff them first with home remedies. Before applying anything to your face, make sure to reduce the swelling.

• Use chilled spoons. Cold compresses are effective vasoconstrictors. If you don’t have the time to slice cucumbers, simply grab two spoons, chill them for a few minutes in the freezer, and gently press them against your eyes for a few minutes. You may also wash them with cold water or use a washcloth dipped in cold water to reduce swelling.
• Grab a cool tea bag. Moist tea bags with water then refrigerate. Unprocessed green or black tea is recommended. Once chilled, let them rest on your eyes for 3-5 minutes and let the caffeine do its magic on your blood vessels. Wash your eyes and face with cold water, then pat dry.
• Gently tap. If you suspect that the puffiness is caused by water retention, try gently tapping your under-eye area to help get rid of the fluid buildup underneath.
• Try an eye roller, A good eye roller has everything your puffy, tired eyes need: an icy metal ball, a caffeine-infused serum, and a pressing motion, which work together to de-puff and brighten your peepers.
• Consider under-eye patches. Eye masks are packed with ingredients that tackle puffiness, dehydration, dark circles, and fine lines – no wonder why they’re now all the rage in the beauty community. Gently place the mask on the under-eye area and leave for 10 to 15 minutes and see how it makes a difference.

2. Color correct like a pro

We’ve all been there – you’ve covered your raccoon eyes with tons of concealers, hoping it would make your peepers look brighter. But instead of camouflaging them, they become cakey and ashy, drawing more attention to the bags underneath.

If your eye bags and dark circles are severe, experts suggest using a color corrector.

Think about the color wheel: the colors opposite to each other can neutralize the appearance of each other.

• If you have bluish tones underneath your eyes, you should use a peach or salmon color corrector to cancel out the dark circles. Go for orange if you have a deeper skin tone.
• If your dark circles look more reddish than bluish, go for green correctors, which help neutralize redness.

Apply the slightest amount over the under-eye area. Then take a damp beauty blender and lightly dab to blend the product well.

3. Cover up puffiness with a good concealer

Once you’re finished neutralizing the dark circles, it’s time to use your favorite concealer.

Pick a creamy concealer that matches your undertones and at least one to two shades lighter than your skin tone. Take a flat concealer brush and apply it over the corrected area. Makeup courses and beauty vloggers love to apply them in an upside-down triangle method to brighten the entire area under around the eyes. Next, use a makeup blender and use it to pat the concealer for a flawless finish.

4. Blend well and set with a setting powder

Of course, you don’t want to go out with a greasy under-eye area, so make sure to set everything. Opt for a good setting powder that’s finely milled. Next to giving you a mattified look, the setting powder helps prevent creasing. Just make sure all the fine lines you have are blended out before applying the setting powder.

5. Brighten your eyes inside out

If you’re done banishing eye bags and dark circles but your eyes still look and feel sleep-deprived, consider brightening them up. Try using white or nude eyeliner on the waterline to open up your eyes. You may want to use eye drops for red, dry eyes to fake fully-rested eyes

6. Make your eyes pop with makeup

Long lashes give the illusion of lifted, awake eyes. Finish off your look with a nice voluminous mascara. Skip the lower lashes to avoid any product smudging your eyes.

Feeling a bit extra today? You may want to try Napoleon Perdis’ 3-minute smoky eyes tutorial. Your eyes won’t just look fully awake and refreshed – you’ll also take your usual day makeup up a notch with this stunning look.

Author Bio: Mina Natividad is a passionate writer for Napoleon Perdis Makeup Courses, a leading luxury makeup brand in Australia, which prides itself in delivering top of the line cosmetics and makeup courses. Sticking to the heart of the cosmetics brand, she aims to empower women with articles about style and beauty.