Everything I do make my dark circles look worse - help!

[Fedoos]

Just that really.

I've tried different concealers, brighteners, etc but I always end up looking more deathly than before! Where am I going wrong?

Can anyone recommend tips or wonder products?

[TragedyHands]

Drink lots of water, eye packs, and good sleep patterns.
I have the same problem and have watched all the youtube videos out there
It does happen when you get older, not sure of your age, but the skin becomes thinner. I'll see if I can find the info and post, it's likely to be a youtube clip.

[StormBaby]

The best thing I’ve ever bought for my eyes is The Ordinary; Argrilene, then Sub Q eyes in the evening, then the Caffeine one in the AM. I’ve been using it for about a year and it definitely notices.

[TragedyHands]

Here's one but not the one I meant. Still very interesting.

[GolfMad54]

Are you anaemic?
Do they run in your family?
Have you always had them?
Would you consider tear trough fillers?
Have you used red lipstick or corrector then concealer then brightener? Do you blend with a beauty blender and use setting spray?
Do you use mascara or eye liner on bottom eyes?
Do you have allergy or sinus problems?

[Girlintheframe]

Have you tried a corrector before your concealer?
I use the Bobbi Brown one. I find it very effective

[Bananaman123]

corrector helps and no baking or heavy powder. Check out skincare with hyram on youtube as he did a good video about skincare to help this

[Marmaladegin]

What's your skin colour? Mines very pale and I've found urban decay pink colour corrector to be great

[Gwenhwyfar]

"Drink lots of water, eye packs, and good sleep patterns."

Does nothing if you have permanent shadows.

[Gwenhwyfar]

@Girlintheframe

Have you tried a corrector before your concealer?
I use the Bobbi Brown one. I find it very effective

Ha! I went to Bobbi Brown and had the woman put the correcor on me herself. It did nothing.
I've watched so many YouTube videos where the women seem to have pretty bad dark circles, but theirs is covered easily by concealer whereas it does nothing for me.

[Gwenhwyfar]

The only thing I've found that helps a tiny bit is fake tan.
Foundation and concealer might conceal slightly, but they also draw attention to the wrinkles in that area so I'm not sure they're really positive.
A pp mentioned caffeine - that's for puffiness, not darkness.
The person who mentioned sleep and water - I think that's only relevant for people who have dark circles because of lack of sleep or dehydration. It's not going to help someone who's not tired or dehydrated.

[MashedSweetSpud]

Definitely try a colour corrector.

I decided to try some on my red cheeks and it’s amazing.

[Coffeepot72]

You need Sleek Colour Corrector - it’s £6.99 from Boots. It was recommended to me on this page, and the pink shade is a real game changer. It makes the greyness around my eyes disappear and I use this instead of concealer now.

[TheVanguardSix]

You need a pink-orange concealer for under the eye to conceal the bluish tones. Lots of concealers are made to match the skin colour on our faces when in fact, under the eye is a different colour.

[IndieTara]

I have dark purple under eyes, tear trough filler has helped with the shadow a bit and the lines so my concealer looks better! The only one that works for me is I.T cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye

[Gwenhwyfar]

I'm quite shocked that something as expensive as tear trough filler has only helped 'a bit'. It really seems to be the problem with no cure to me.

[GVmama]

Have you tried yellow or orange colour corrector? I have them and have had them since I was a child, I use a yellow concealer/ colour corrector and it does make a difference. I am fair skinned, I think the orange one is for people with a darker complexion and dark circles.

[Lndnmummy]

I have this problem and went to see a dr about tear through fillers. He said tear through fillers would only have a very minimal impact for people where there is no or little volume loss of the face. He suggested laser for me but then covid happened and I just couldn’t proceed with the treatment. I’m tempted to go for it though when things improve after lockdown.

[Gwenhwyfar]

@Lndnmummy

I have this problem and went to see a dr about tear through fillers. He said tear through fillers would only have a very minimal impact for people where there is no or little volume loss of the face. He suggested laser for me but then covid happened and I just couldn’t proceed with the treatment. I’m tempted to go for it though when things improve after lockdown.

I'm desperate enough to do something as well. I heard about semi-permanent makeup in the form of tattoos to cover the shadows, being done in the US apparently.

[grassisjeweled]

Fake tan. Wearing a colour that suits you against your face.

There's a huge difference between the actual colour of the skin being dark and having dark 'bags' under your eyes. Mine are there even if I'm in tip top shape, having slept for 12 hours, in the middle of summer.

[FredtheFerret]

I was just going to Google this! Following with interest.

[tofuschnitzel]

Robert Welsh has a great video addressing this, I'll add the link below. With dark circles, the impulse is often to add more and more product to try to hide them, when a less is more approach is actually much more effective. The more product you use, the worse it will look. I've used Robert Welsh's technique and my dark circles look much better. I hope the video helps.

[Gwenhwyfar]

I'm not sure his technique is appropriate for someone with bad dark circles. He only has a tiny bit of pigmentation and he puts quite some emphasis on lightening the area whereas someone with very dark circles would just want to conceal. Highlighting would probably be the last thing you should do if you have very dark circles.

He does make me wonder whether I should use a brush rather than a sponge though.

[LemonBar]

Lisa Eldridge did a fab youtube video on dark circles.

[tofuschnitzel]

@Gwenhwyfar

I'm not sure his technique is appropriate for someone with bad dark circles. He only has a tiny bit of pigmentation and he puts quite some emphasis on lightening the area whereas someone with very dark circles would just want to conceal. Highlighting would probably be the last thing you should do if you have very dark circles.

He does make me wonder whether I should use a brush rather than a sponge though.

I'm not sure how you think this method is highlighting the area. It's a method from a make up artist that I have found useful. I was offering it as a possibility for the OP, I haven't said that it will work for everyone. You can use a concealer the same shade as your skin, or a shade lighter, as suggested in the video. It's concealer, how is it highlighting?

What do you lose by trying it? Absolutely nothing.