Remember that a few weeks ago I suddenly realized that I’m old? At least – my face looked older. Concealer settled in lines I didn’t knew I had, eyeshadow vanished from lids a bit more hooded than before, and foundation sat weirdly on my 40-year old skin. I’ve since started to come to terms with the fact that I do need new application methods and tricks, and some new products. I’m a beauty junkie, and thus faced the challenge with an arsenal of loaded brushes and a credit card. As you do.
In this post, we’ll tackle a few products and my concealer creasing hacks for the dreaded phenomenon of under eye concealer creasing. The secret is (as with all makeup that’s supposed to stay in place) – LAYERING.
My concealer creasing hacks
Prep
The first important step is to find the right eye cream for your skin type. Is your skin dehydrated and that’s the reason for your fine lines? Find a hydrating one. My skin around my eyes isn’t particularly dry, and that’s why I go for a lightweight formula with a bit of shimmer (Clinique pep-start eye cream, or, right now, Olay resist eye lifting serum).
Primer
While I bought a special under eye primer (see below), you don’t need to. Choose a hydrating primer and use a minuscule amount. Spread it gently and let it set. I find Estée Lauder’s Genuine Glow Priming Beauty Balm (review) and Too Faced’s Hangover Replenishing Face Primer excellent for this purpose. Silicone-based primers like Smashbox Photo Finish foundation primer don’t work for me – they seem to accentuate the cakey-ness after a short time.
Concealer
Say it with me: less is more. Do not, ever, think YouTube vids show the amount of product you need in real life. Use a small amount and use it strategically. Most of us have the most amount of darkness around the inner corners of our eyes, so start your application there. Do not go near the lashline, either (you’ll apply liner or shadow there anyways, right?). The thicker the texture, the more it’ll crease. I like a light formula like Clinique’s airbrush concealer or Maybelline’s Fit Me concealer.
The thicker the formula, the more it benefits from applying it with your fingers – the warmth makes the formula more emollient. For thinner textures, I use either my trusty Sephora x Hakuhodo concealer brush, or a mini beauty blender.
Concealer setting how-to
Again: less is more. While setting your concealer is a great way to prevent creasing, do not! Ever! Bake. Instead, wait until your concealer HAS CREASED. As it likely will. After that, blend it out again. And then you set it with a minimal amount of translucent setting powder, either on a damp beauty blender or on a soft brush like MAC’s duo fibre 286. Done! Your concealer won’t move again.
Smashbox photo finish hydrating under eye primer – quick review and worth it?!
What is it?
A light, slightly pink-tinted primer with anti-aging properties. It comes in a tube with a small nozzle, and the slight shimmer vanishes when you layer your concealer over it. It’s supposed to ‘combat puffiness and dark circles while keeping concealer looking fresh’.
Formula/ingredients
Even Auntie Paula at Beautypedia can’t find fault with the formula that contains caffeine that de-puffs, anti-oxidants and peptides that have anti-aging properties. The texture is lightweight, and easy to spread – no tugging of the sensitive under eye area! (Also, no fragrance or alcohol.)
Results?
Concealer goes on very well over this. I can notice a very distinct difference between not-using it and using it – my concealer just looks smoother when I used this product. Even if you can use a different (face) primer on your under eye area, I like the ingredients in this one, that gives my skincare regimen a welcome boost.
It’s $29.00 for 0,33oz./10 ml at Smashbox.
Any under eye concealer tricks you want to share?
Please note that this review is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods, or money, for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.
Thanks for your information! I have particularly dry under-eye skin so I love the hydrating and super silky consistency of this under-eye primer by SmashBox. And the best part is that even if I use a lot of the product, it never gets cakey—just smooth and silky to hydrate my skin.
Hi Zoe, happy to hear that it works for you! – D.