The first step to beating dark circles is to sleep with head slightly elevated. This stops the blood from pooling and causing purple circles. The next step is to use an eye cream with retinal, vitamin K or Hydroquinone. These help get rid of the melanin buildup that is caused by the sun. Getting a good night’s sleep is also a big help.

Be gentle when applying makeup and when taking it off. (See article “How to Remove Makeup”). Pulling and tugging on the delicate eye area can also contribute to circles.

The next step is camouflaging. Choose a concealer that is a yellow-tone of you have bluish circles and a peach one that matches your skin if you don’t. Always start with clean skin and apply eye cream using a gentle patting motion with your ring finger. (This applies the least amount of pressure). Put eye cream on first, it won’t penetrate your face cream so if you do it last, it’s not really getting into the skin.

Using a creamy concealer, apply it using 3 small dots applied with a concealer brush. Pat your rings finger to blend the dots. Follow up with powder around they eyes. Setting the concealer with powder helps to keep liner and mascara in place so they don’t smudge.

Great eye creams: BENEV Eye Cream (amazing for circles), Bliss All-Around Eye Cream, and Korres Evening Primrose Eye Cream.

Great concealer to try: Dermablend Smooth Indulgence Concealer Nude, Philosophy Supernatural Concealer- Dark, and CoverBlend Multi Function Concealer Light.

Step away from the baby wipes!

I’ve read countless times in fashion magazines that baby wipes are the best way to remove makeup. Baby wipes are gentle but they don’t get the job done with makeup. You need to use a makeup up remover. For the entire face I like to use a gentle lotion to remove makeup before cleansing. My favorite is: L’Occitane Milk Make-up Remover. I use a bit on a cotton pad and gently wipe it on to my face. You can also pour a bit into your hand and gently massage it onto the face, eyes and lips to loosen the makeup.

Be kind to your eyes. The eye area is so delicate it requires a special technique. You should use an eye makeup remover if you wear waterproof mascara and liner otherwise the ones for the face in general are enough. Put some remover on a cotton pad and gently hold it on the eye for about 30 seconds. (You may need to leave it longer depending on how much and what type of makeup you use). If you have to scrub at it leaves the remover on longer. This will loosen up the mascara so you don’t need to keep wiping and tugging. Gently sweep the cotton over the lids and down the lashes. Once the makeup is off of the top lid, fold the pad in half and look up. Gently sweep the pad under the bottom lashes. Repeat with the other eye and a fresh pad.

A great eye Makeup remover is: Pevonia Eye Make-Up Remover

Follow up with a gentle cleanser. You don’t need a harsh cleanser because the hard work is already done.

I suggest: Obagi Nu-Derm Gentle Cleanser or Jan Marini BioGlycolic Facial Cleanser (for all skin types)

It’s a great idea to have two shades of foundation. One shade for summer, one for winter and you can blend them for the seasons in between.

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Remember when the only mascara everyone used was the famous green and pink Maybelline?

That mascara has stood the test the time and many makeup artists I know still consider it a staple. So why change a good thing? Well you don’t have to, but it may be fun with so many new formulas, cool tubes and weird springy wands.

COMMON MASCARA MYTHS
Fair haired and skinned people should wear brown mascara.

So not true! As a makeup artist I tell everyone to wear black. Black mascara defines the eyes and makes them open up and more visible. I use “blackest black” on everyone.

Always buy the mascara that is all-purpose.

Not true. You should buy the mascara for the purpose that is unique to you. If you need length buy a lengthening one, if your lashes are sparse, buy a volumizing one etc. I have often used different formulas at the same time such as a lengthening one first and then a volumizing for the second coat. My reasoning is that like skin care products, one product can only do so many things. I would never use a cleanser that claims to wash, tone and hydrate.

Mascara should be the last thing you put on.

Sort of true. In my opinion, I always put on last, but other makeup artists I’ve worked with like to put one coat on first so they can fix smudges without ruining the rest of the makeup. I still put mascara on last.

Put a coat of mascara on first before using your eyelash curler.

I remember reading this in a magazine once. They said to do this so that your lashes will hold the curl better, but in reality mascara will stick to the curler and actually pull out your lashes. Never do this.

Always pump your mascara to get the most product on the wand and then wipe the tip off on the bottle.

First of all pumping dirty air into your tube is not a good idea, it also dries it out. Always roll the wand in the tube to pick up product. Wiping the tip on the tube means that the big clump you just rubbed off will stick to the wand when you dip it back in and cause more clumping. Wipe excess off on a tissue.

CHOOSING MASCARA
As I said before, choose a formula based on what you need, be it length volume or definition. I prefer to use waterproof providing you are prepared to actually remove the mascara with makeup remover at night (oil based works best on waterproof mascara and liner). Leaving mascara on the lashes not only dries them out and cause breakage, but the next morning you’re going to end up with clumpy lashes when you go apply more.

The proper way to remove eye makeup and mascara is, to soak a cotton pad in remover and press it gently to the eye. Hold it for about 20 seconds letting the solution set in and lift off the makeup. Gently wipe away. Never pull on the skin or lashes.

Some great eye makeup removers are: Pevonia Eye Make-Up Remover, June Jacobs Gentle Creamy Eye Make-Up Remover and La Roche Posay Toleriane Eye Make-Up Remover (This one is actually really great because it comes in single dose ampoules which are great for traveling and easy to use).

Mascara wands come in all shapes and sizes and some are now even flexible. As for which design is best, they all have their good points. I choose a wand based on the lashes and the effect I want. I find that straight wands with lots of bristles are good for depositing even amounts of product but can be hard to maneuver. Curved wands tend to be more easy to use and the comb type I find hard to apply without smudging and depositing too much product. For an all around good wand I look at eh bristles. For volume I want a lot of bristles that are spaced close together. For definition I want the evenly spaced “comb” type one (some combs are easier to use than others I like L’Oreal Telescopic Lengthening and lash by lash separating mascara). You may need to try a few different wands before you find one that works best for you.

Lastly, mascara should be replaced every 3 months or so, so don’t invest too much. Bacteria swarms in mascara so it should be replaced regularly. I was going to give the old tips about how to get a dried mascara to work again, and what to do when it becomes too thick, but I decided against it because by the time you are having these problems with the mascara, it is probably time to throw it out. If these problems occur when the mascara is new, don’t buy it again.