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I have always been a little insecure about my dark circles. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I would go somewhere without covering them, so much so that I’d often travel with a tube of concealer in my purse “just in case.”
Oftentimes, we wear makeup to make our skin “look better”—airbrushed pores, smoothed fine lines, evened discoloration can all be achieved with the right foundation or concealer. And when it comes to those pesky dark circles, I figured a brightening concealer would do the trick. A well-known makeup trend over the last decade, I’d sweep on a concealer two to three shades lighter than my actual skin tone to the under-eye, followed by an equally as vivid banana or whitish setting powder. The idea being that the lighter and brighter the shades, the less visible my pigmentation would be—thus, illuminating the under-eye. This worked to a certain extent—only if I found just the right shade to cover my pigmentation. But if I chose a shade too pale or with the wrong undertones, my under-eyes suddenly appeared gray or blue. At first, I chalked it up to just a poor shade match on my part. Then at some point, sitting fresh-faced in a makeup artist’s chair, I realized nary a brightening hue in sight. I was skeptical, naturally, but I left her chair forgetting dark circles lie beneath my flawless look.
To make my look appear more natural, she instead used an under-eye color corrector. “Dark circles aren’t created equally,” says celebrity makeup artist, groomer, and esthetician Britty Whitfield. “Everyone’s complexion is different; therefore, the blood vessels around the eyes will emit different hues due to the sheerness of your under-eye skin.” This is where color correctors come in—working to counteract this pigmentation. I liken it to an artist painting with a color wheel. It may seem complicated but it’s actually quite simple. “For lighter skin tones, a warm peach will cancel out the blueish purple in under-eye darkness, and a true orange/red will work best for darker complexions,” says celebrity makeup artist Nick Lennon who counts Charli XCX as a client.
And as any good makeup routine does, prep starts with proper skin care. “I neutralize darkness under the eye by first beginning with an eye cream,” Lennon says, who is partial to Caudalie’s Vinoperfect Dark Circle Brightening Eye Cream. Whitfield agrees, though she is partial to an eye serum like Osea’s which “has a rollerball built in for massaging, depuffing, and [boosting] circulation for the lazy girlies.” She says massaging the eye are is key, with the applicator, gua sha, or cryo ball, “to manually provide circulation around your orbital bone to break apart the dense capillaries beneath the thin under-eye skin.”
Next, you’ll want to go in with your corrector. “Once the [eye] cream is about 50% absorbed, I take a fluffy brush, and in light layers, depending on how dark the eye is, I add a color corrector,” explains celebrity makeup artist Dom Della. From there, layer with your favorite concealer—Lennon’s tip is to go a half-shade lighter than your skin tone, let it dry for a few seconds, then blend to brighten and illuminate the under-eye. Finally, lock everything in place with setting powder to avoid any creasing or cracking.
I had always been intimidated by the idea layering these hues, but fortunately trying this was honestly simpler than I initially anticipated. As instructed, I applied Osea’s eye serum with the rollerball, then massaged the product in with Tata Harper’s gua sha spoon for good measure. To counteract the dark circles on my deep skin tone, I opted for an orange-ish hue by LA Pro, let that dry down, then applied a moderate layer of Saie’s Slip Tint concealer—just slightly lighter than my complexion. The result honestly felt like magic. For someone who wants that “no concealer” look, this is the ultimate way to go, as my dark circles had vanished—expertly evening my skin tone without making the under-eye overly bright.
Below, the best under-eye color correctors to consider, according to our experts and my personal tests if you’d like to test the technique for yourself.
Tarte
Maracuja Creaseless Liquid Correctors
Whitfield says these Tarte correctors never leave her side. “They’re packed with coverage, so you can get away with mixing a sheer or more natural concealer with them to create a lovely coverage, particularly for my natural-skin enthusiasts or people who want to minimize texture under the eyes.”
Bobbi Brown
Skin Color Corrector Stick
“These are very emollient and have an incredibly inclusive corrector range,” Whitfield says. “Although I tend to prefer liquid correctors, these are so creamy I can scrape a bit off with a spatula and still mix with my preferred concealer shade. They blend like a dream!”
Stila
Color Correcting Palette
This palette is genius—giving one the versatility to color correct various tones around the face with a single compact. It’s also great for a beginner who isn’t quite sure which corrector is best for them and wants to test several hues. There are five creams to play with, plus two finishing powders to even the skin tone of virtually anyone.
NARS
Radiant Creamy Concealer
Two experts cite this NARS concealer as an excellent corrector—but only in a few shades. “The shades Honey, Amande, and Truffle are true staples!” says Whitfield. Lennon adds that shade Biscuit is great as well: “You can build up coverage, and they wear beautifully on the skin throughout the day.”
Exa
High Fidelity Balancing Color Corrector
Anyone fond of a more creamy, skin-care-like concealer will be a fan of Exa’s High Fidelity formula which achieves generous coverage without weighing the skin down across its six tone-evening shades. Plus, it’s packed with active ingredients like amino acids, kaolin clay, marshmallow root, rice bran, and licorice to hydrate and absorb excess oils.
Meet the Experts
- Britty Morrison is a celebrity makeup artist, groomer, and esthetician whose clients include Tinashe, Queen Latifah, and Joan Smalls.
- Dom Della is a celebrity makeup artist who often works with Paris Hilton, Helena Christensen, and Tiffany Haddish.
- Nick Lennon is a celebrity makeup artist whose clients include Charli XCX and Tove Lo.
