My Secret to Cover Dark Circles Under eyes! (Detailed Guide)

Do you have dark circles under your eyes?

If so, don’t worry – you’re not alone!

Many people struggle with this issue, including me.

In this guide, I will show you how to conceal dark circles and achieve a flawless under eyes.

By following these simple tips, you will be able to cover up those annoying dark circles and look more awake and refreshed!

I’ve wanted to share this makeup tutorial for a long time now. 

If you are looking for a way to ay to finally conceal and hide your dark under eyes ( no matter the undertone of this darkness), this is the definitive tutorial for you. 

I have so many tips and tricks to share about this; by the end of this article,

you will know exactly why your dark circles still show no matter how much concealer you use and how to finally cover them (without the need of excessive product) 

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My makeup concealer technique to cover dark circles under eyes 

The only way to properly conceal dark under the eyes is by using the color theory of makeup and the color wheel. 

No matter how much full coverage concealer you apply under your eyes, if we do not fix the color first, the dark under the eyes will still show. 

It will only look brightened because of the color, but the tone can look kind of grayish. 

Let’s begin with this step-by-step dark under-eyes tutorial 

How to cover dark under eyes: Step 1. Identity the undertone of your under eyes 

We talked about darkness under the eye, but this darkness can have hints of blue, green, and purple, and some are darker than others. 

For example, I have medium to tan skin, and I normally experience medium dark under eyes with hints of purple/blue. 

How to cover dark circles under eyes: Step 2. Finding the complementary color 

Did you know that you can CREATE virtually ANY foundation/skin color based on the color wheel? 

The color wheel for makeup is a powerful tool that teaches us what are complementary colors.

And we need to find the complementary color of the undertone we found in our dark under eyes. 

In my case, I found a purple hint. 

Based on the color wheel, the complementary color of purple is yellow, and for blue, it’s orange.

So by now, we found that the complementary color of my purplish dark under eyes is YELLOW. 

If you want to know more about the theory of color for makeup and the color wheel for makeup, I highly recommend you to read my post on how to fix any wrong foundation shade and undertone using the color wheel.

(some days, I feel it more blueish than purple, so let’s say that ORANGE is also a complementary color for my under eyes)

Now that we have this info, we can follow the next step.

How to cover dark under eyes: Step 3. Correct the color

Let me explain why it is important to color correct first before concealing the under-eye area.

In our under eyes, we might have fine lines/wrinkles, which lead to our concealer settling on those lines and creases. 

I have a guide on how to finally stop your concealer from creasing. However, one thing that leads to creased concealer is the excess of product. 

If we apply too much product, this heavy layer of makeup on our delicate under eyes ends up in a messy concealer settled in our fine lines. Which nobody wants! 

If we are trying to cover our dark under eyes, applying more concealer to cover them sounds like an appropriate thing to do, but IT ISN’T

Well, the thing is, no matter the quantity, quality, AND coverage. We won’t cover our dark under eyes by only using our regular concealer. 

We can make them look less notorious but definitely not hide them all. 

Correcting the color first with the technique I’m teaching in this guide will also prevent us from applying too much concealer without being this necessary. 

Back to the tutorial, we are now paying attention to the exact area where we have this darkness. 

It’s usually on the very inner corner of our eyes where the deepest color is concentrated. In that area, is where we concentrate our color concealer as well. 

Blend your color concealer with a sponge, a brush, or fingers. I personally use a combination of brush and fingers. When working with clients, brush and sponge is my way to go. 

Best Color corrector for dark circles

We have talked about the best shade of color corrector for your under eyes is the exact complementary color (or a combination of two or more if you find different hints in your under eyes)

Now that we know the color, we need to talk about the right shade and formula.

In general you want to seek a color corrector shade with the deepness of your skin. For example ,if you have fair/light skin tone, you’ll need a light yellow, light peach, light salmon if any of those were your complementary color.

And if you have a medium skin tone, a regular yellow, orange, sor salmon shade can do the work. While if you have a deeper skin tone, you want to go with an intense orange, and even a reddish shade.

This color-corrector palette is my top recommendation for, I dare to say, almost every skin tone because it has two different shades of orange and a lighter yellow/beige to mix if needed.

It also includes a green concealer and even a lilac powder for other color correction steps on your makeup. So this is a great palette to have if you want to perfect your under eye concealer game.

Now that we talked about the color and shade of our color corrector let’s move on to the formula.

You want to avoid anything too drying because it will accentuate any fine lines in your under eyes. Instead, try a soft matte formula.

I like creams and liquids. But especially prefer creams for color correction, while for concealer, the liquid is the best way to go.

Creams are easier to sheer out and build-up, which is what we want for our color-correcting step. They also tend to have a more emollient and hydrating texture.

Liquids, on the other hand, will give you a little more coverage, which is great for our next step but not precisely for color correction.

Now that we applied your color concealer, it’s time to go in with our regular concealer. 

How to Hide dark circles Under eyes: Step 4. Apply your concealer

I like to use a doe-foot applicator because I feel like I have more control of the product.

However, you can use whatever you’re most comfortable with, whether it be a brush, sponge, or your fingers.

of course, if you are working with clients, fingers are not the most hygienic option.

The trend years ago was to apply your under eye concealer in a triangle shape, and I did used to like to apply my concealer that way. I even have a tutorial on that.

When working with clients, I used the same technique but with a brush.

But updated concealer trends, have shown us that like I always say in makeup, less is more.

The latest best way to apply concealer is by applying a little bit on the inner corner of the under eyes, and a tiny bit on the outer under eye.

After you applied your regular concealer, blend it in tapping motions to blend it well and cover the color corrector we just applied.

Common mistake: If we used a peach, orange, yellow or even red, color corrector to concealer our dark under eye, the last thing we want to do get is a orange, yellow, red under eyes.

So once you applied your regular concealer, make sure you go in with a clean brush or sponge only on the areas where we have this color corrector to blend everything together.

And to get a skin-toned color without any orangy, redish hints.

If you are still seeing your undereyes orangy or red, you used too much product.

Next time, try using less color corrector and/or another color corrector shade.

For example, a peach instead of a orange and an orange instead of a red.

Here’s how it looks with color corrector + my regular concealer blended

Now let’s talk about the best concealer to cover dark circles

Top concealers for dark circles

Because we involved a no-skin-toned color corrector under our regular concealer, the best way to go with this is with a medium to full coverage concealer to make sure the color is covered.

The way it works is that the undertone of our dark circles gets concealed with the color corrector of the complementary color, but on top of that, we need a high coverage concealer to even the skin with the color of the rest of our face.

For this, I’m gonna recommend my all-time favorite Tarte shape tape concealer.

You have probably seen many beauty bloggers recommending/wearing this concealer and all the hype about it all over the internet, and let me tell you something. There’s a reason for this.

It’s literally the best concealer I have used EVER. If you have been hesitant to buy this concealer or not, you should buy it.

And I have tried all types of different concealers, from creams, liquids, high-end, drugstore cheap ones, etc.

Not all concealer in the market of course, but a large variety enough to make me able to rank this Tarte shape tape concealer the #1.

Another good option is the matte elf camo concealer. I say the matte because the hydrating one has caused me creased concealer over and over again, while the matte one stays in place ALL DAY.

As long as your concealer is full coverage, it can be either a cream concealer like this one or liquid like this one here.

Concealers to avoid:

• Sheer or light coverage concealers
• Hydrating concealers (tend to mix in a bad way with the color corrector underneath)

– If you have dry skin, apply a tiny bit of hydrating serum or cream before applying any products instead of using a hydrating concealer.

How to cover dark circles: Step 5. Brighten your under-eyes

The next step is to add a little bit of brightness under your eyes.

For this, you need a concealer shade that is 2 or 3 tones lighter than your skin tone and at least 1 shade lighter than your regular concealer.

This step is optional, but I love doing it because it really makes my under eyes pop and look awake.

Apply this highlighting concealer on the innermost part of your under eyes, going a little bit above your tear duct area and blend it out.

For this, we are doing a double concealer trick. This means we are using two different shades of concealer (well, 3 if we count the color corrector) to 1, conceal the tone and undertone of your under eyes, and 2, brighten the area.

I like this concealer technique for the soft glam or full glam makeup occasion, I do not recommend it for every day, though.

How to cover dark circles: Step 6. Set your under-eye area

The setting powder is always a great step to do to set your concealer.

It will give you a matte finish, which is amazing for pictures and getting your concealer to stay in place all day.

However, my pro tip is:

Wait 5-15 minutes for your concealer to mix with your skin, settle into fine lines and only after that, take a CLEAN sponge, remove the excess product that has been settled in our lines, and THEN, and only then, SETTING with translucent setting powder.

This will ensure a creaseless concealer over the day.

It’s one of my most important hacks to prevent creased concealer under eyes, you can check the complete guide on this here.

Let’s make a quick recap:

• Conceal dark circles under eyes with a color corrector of the shade of your complementary color on the color wheel as deep as your skin tone.
• Use a full coverage concealer on top
• Avoid hydrating sheer or light coverage concealers
• Use a second concealer that is 2 or 3 tones lighter than your skin tone to brighten the under eye area
• Apply setting powder to keep the concealer in place all-day
• Avoid foundation on your under eyes (we really don’t want another product on this area)

And here’s the final result with the rest of the makeup:

Conclusion on how to hide dark circles under eyes

Here’s the before and after!

I know there should be more ways to conceal dark circles under eyes, but the technique I described in this post is my absolute favorite.

The key steps to cover dark circles under eyes are using a color corrector, high coverage concealer, a lighter concealer to brighten and setting powder.

I’ve found that this combination helps to hide the tone and undertone of my dark circles while brightening the area under my eyes.

If you follow these steps, your dark circles should be concealed all day long!

Let me know in the comments if you have tried any of these concealer tips before? I’d love to hear from you!

Also, don’t forget to subscribe to get your FREE makeup guide for beginners ebook and receive exclusive makeup tips and tricks, updated trends, and be part of this makeup lovers community! By clicking the red button below.

Bye bye!
Valeria H.

What’s Next? More concealer-related posts:

• 15 of the BEST Concealer hacks you don’t want to miss!
• Can you use concealer as eye primer? Here’s what you need to know
• 10 Best CHEAP & HIGH QUALITY Drugstore concealers to try!
• Best CONCEALER for Cut-crease eye makeup!
• Concealer vs Foundation: When to apply each and How

How to cover dark circles under eyes