dark under eye circles

[summer111]

Forgive me if this has been covered before but I can't seem to find any relevant thread.
I have pretty dark shading under my eyes coupled with pale skin...resulting in me looking like death warmed up I have always used under eye concealer - touche eclat up until a few years ago until I changed to a heavier clinigue concealing product. I find that the heavier concealer just emphasises creases under my eyes - something which the touche eclat didn't do but with it, the darkness wasn't concealed very well. I'm torn between lighter concealer that doesn't emphasise wrinkles but shows the circles or heavier concealer that hides the circles but highlights the creases!!!
Anyone tried any good products recently? It's quite costly buying stuff to try out if it doesn't do the job. Is there any other product similar to touche eclat that provides better coverage?
Thanks for any advice you might have!!

I can't type quick enough! Now I'm having second thoughts re the benefit products . Like you ClaireDeLoon, I have a sort of purple/blue tone to my upper lids that foundation covers...finding a vein in my arm is VERY easy, my skin is that transparent!!!

So the No7 pen sounds cheap and cheerful, maybe I'll give that one a go...ahhgh!

summer - if your skin is that pale, definitely get the ivory (pale), not the rose, it will cover beautifully. I have tried the clinique concealer pen, and although it is good, I much prefer the N.7 pen. Sorry to rave but I searched for a long time and tried lots and lots of concealers, lots of tears as my dark circles made me feel so old, and when I found No.7 one I felt much fresher straight away

I'm going to try the no7 now, thanks SomeKindofWonderful

Does the no7 make up base you mention even out the skin tone? I tend to pinkishness.

Barbara Daly at Tesco does a great eyelid concealer which takes all the colour out of your eyelids and stops one looking ghoulish.

Make sure you put your concealer right on the shadows at the outer and inner corner of your eyes, and not just on the shadows themselves.

Hope I'm not teaching Grandma to suck eggs here.

SomekindOfWonderful, that's exactly how I feel about my dark circles...I am currently using clinique all about eyes concealer and their super fit foundation. I'm going to go with your advice and give the ivory NO7 concealer a go first.
whatsthestory, my diet is pretty good on the fibre front and I'm very regular but don't go as far as inspecting my no 2's!! I have never been a great water drinker so I guess that's going to have to change now

Thanks everyone for all your helpful advice which has hopefully saved me another small fortune!

whatsthestory - I remember you saying about congestion and dark circles - I have had 4 sinus infections this year, and seriously suffered from congestion for a long time. The Dr just wont take me seriously - he says, oh sometimes people just get lots of sinus infections - its your weakness - I am always stuffy!
ClaireDeLoon - yes, the No.7 make-up base evens out skin tone for pinkish skin. It is great, as you can either use it just to even your skin tone, with no foundation, or as a base for foundation, sort of reminds me of an undercoat!!! It is green in colour, only use a tiny bit as otherwise you will get a green tinge to your face....my MIL used some on my wedding day as we got ready, she put it on like foundation and her face was very green...I almost did not tell her!!!

Mrsmaidemess - I agree with you about the application - you have to blend it into the normal skin just outside the dark circles.

summer what did you buy in the end?

summer, I started a thread like this last week and went and actually tried some products - I brought the No 7 ivory pen which works well. The benefits products just seemed to heavy and highlighted the creases

On another point, when I was on my juicing diet last month my dark shadows got a lot better so I think it could be a toxins thing. Might be worth trying to fit a fresh juice in a day as well as lots of water. I am going to get juicing again actually because I could wear my contact lenses without everyone I met telling me how tired I looked!

Watsthestory - how can we do it, if we perhaps say, don't like water? I tried it last time you said about it...you advised me once when I did a thread just bit like this (pavlov), I asked why we get them and how to get rid of them...I tried drinking more water, but I just find it sooooo hard...does it have to be water? Can it be juice/squash (I am guessing alcohol does not count?! )

Watsthestory - perhaps its an allergy. I also broke my nose 4 times when I was younger and had a major nose op, so I have always wondered if there is damage there of some kind. But my Dr just can't be assed, he never refers anyone to anything for any reason, no way would he refer to an allergy specialist, he clearly does not get paid enough for the paperwork!!!- I asked to go see an ENT consultant, he said I can't just refer because you ask me to refer you, I need reasons...er, sinus infections!!! He gave me some cortison spray (or something that was probably just saline) and said start here first, see how that works....I was not happy to spend 7 quid on something seeing as I already had an armful of antibiotics to take .

I do drink too much coffee. That is a contribution I am sure. Apparantly white tea is as nice as green tea and a little less caffeine.

And I do apply lotion over my eyes er, I did!!! Is concealer ok then?

summer sorry to have hijacked your thread...
Hoochie - oh god I hope it is no a gluten intolerance...I live on it {which also makes it more likely eh?] - my diet consists largely of bread and pasta! shock]

Can I recommend Aloe Vera Gel? I've a job lot in our house after DH burnt himself on holiday! My dark circles have disappeared and my whole face has improved in texture and lines/softness etc.

Well ladies, I escaped to my local Boots today all ready to buy their ivory concealer only to find they didn't have any...is it similar to the Touche eclat ie in a pen form? All they had was a concealer 'lipstick' style one that came in three colours, ivory not being one of them. I'll have to try a larger store at the w/e I think!

SomeKindofWonderful, no worries, sure I'll take any advice going! You never know, I might wake up with a major congestion issue one of these days - I seem to wake up to everything else degrading on my face at the moment

thequietone, I have aloe vera plants sitting in my kitchen. Do you reckon it's worth a shot in my trying it neat on my face or should I mix a bit of the sap with some aqueous cream?

Summer, my SIL had constant sinus congestion for as long as I've known her, it made her life a total misery. She was referred to an ENT specialist, and had surgery last year, I think they basically broke her nose and reset it (she broke it as a child and it was crooked, causing her sinus problems). It was painful, but has literally transformed her life.