How annoying are those half moon areas of dark pigmentation that invade our face? As a makeup artist, one of the most frequently asked questions I get asked is how to cover and conceal dark circles. 

Women from ethnic backgrounds are more prone to this area of hyperpigmentation around the eye area with varying degrees of severity. 

Dark circles are extremely common in men and women, but as women have thinner skin to men they generally tend to look darker and can often be accompanied by their equally unwelcome counterpart: eye bags. Both tend to make you appear older and fatigued.

There are a number of factors that contribute to dark circles and unfortunately if you do suffer from either they are notoriously difficult to get rid of.

What causes them?

Sleep, age, eyestrain, allergies, dehydration, sun exposure and genetics all play a part in the visibility of a darker, under eye area. Like most things some of us are just more prone to them than others, and it could even be down to your natural disposition. 

At times there are self help measures you can do in order to reduce the dullness such as making sure you have enough sleep, staying hydrated, being mindful of sun exposure and taking regular breaks from technology to avoid eye strain. 

Whilst it can be a bit of a pain to live with, often affecting your confidence of facing the world with them, there is a temporary ‘fix’ in the form of makeup that can really help to cover and conceal them. 

Whilst it might not be a cure, it can certainly help to camouflage them. By following the process below, it will enable to you to conceal and set your under eye area perfectly without looking ashy and dull.

Steps to conceal and set the under eye area

1. Apply moisturiser and a hydrating eye cream as normal. If your cream is particularly emollient, allow 10-15 minutes if possible for the product to be absorbed into the skin otherwise it may be ‘too wet’.

2. For dark under eye areas, peach/orange correctors work best depending on the severity. As a rule I generally prefer a more orange toned corrector for Asian skin tones. My favourite is the LA Girl orange corrector from Beautybay and the best bit is that it’s only £5!

Asian Image:

3. Apply a few strokes of the corrector to any areas of the face that has the same toned pigmentation, generally around the nose, mouth and chin area and blend either using your ring finger or with a brush. Sometimes blemishes from acne can benefit from a little orange coverage prior to foundation as well.

4. Wait a few moments to let the product set and dry a little on the skin before applying your foundation. 

5. Apply your foundation in a stippling manner with a brush so that the orange corrector doesn't move about and merge with the foundation, undoing all the work you’ve done. 

Asian Image:

6. Get a concealer of your choice. I love the Maybelline Age Rewind in nude which I liberally apply to the under eye area and highest points of my face such as the nose and forehead. Use a fluffy brush such as the real techniques setting brush and gently blend into the skin. 

7. As a means to check that there are no brush strokes a light dab of a damp beauty blender to those areas will ensure that you have a seamless and flawless finish.

8. Finally finish with a setting powder. You can use a damp beauty blender for this and my go-to powder is the Laura Mercier translucent setting powder. Depending on the finish you are after you can either apply a soft sweep of powder to set the under eye area or, if you want a more baked and budge proof result, then apply a liberal amount and allow to ‘bake’ for anywhere between 2-10 minutes. 

9. I only leave the setting powder on for a few moments, as it can make the under eye area look a little dry and dehydrated if left on for too long, especially on slightly more mature skin like mine.

You can follow Fatimah on Instagram (@fatimah_vadia) or contact  (Text only) 07968 816098.