Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Style and beauty

Looking for style advice? Chat all about it here. For the latest discounts on fashion and beauty, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

Original poster

Concealer for SERIOUSLY bad dark circles and fine lines..advice pleease??

33 replies

MalloryKnox · 20/02/2010 16:48

Hello people, I would be most grateful for any advice you can give me.
I have the worst dark circles under my eyes, I look like death, I am not exaggerating...I have always had this drug addict look.. My eyes look really sunken, I have tried so many undereye concealers...I use Bobbi Browns concealer kit, with the yellow powder, which hides them really well....but it looks soooo cakey and dry and wrinkley...I have very fine lines around my eyes and this stuff just makes them look 10 times worse, ...I use MD Formulations Vit A Plus Anti Aging Eye Complex on my panda eyes at night, and I use Liz earls wrinkley eye repair cream in the morning, yet my concealer still looks obvious, cakey and dry, I have tried the MAC primer also, but it still looks bad,...Ive tried YSL touche eclat..i found it crap...Ive tried Benefit Erase paste, it wasnt strong enough and looked dry, .... Can anybody recommend something???.....My lines are very very fine, but with concealer,(which I need)...I look double my age..im only 27, what am I doing wrong????

OP posts:
BarbaMamma · 20/02/2010 17:04

Try this and this for starters and lose the powder?

ThatVikRinA22 · 20/02/2010 17:08

i buy touche eclat and its fine for me but my DD pinches it all the time as her dark circles are worse than mine...and it doesnt do as much to cover hers as mine i have to say.

id go round all the counters in a big dept store and test them all.

not sure if there is anything you can do for dark circles other than eat/drink and sleep well and cover up!

do you use an eye cream for the fine lines? skin is much thinner round the eye so id use a good eye cream on a night.

coldtits · 20/02/2010 17:10

get a pair of statement glasses

Original poster
MalloryKnox · 20/02/2010 17:11

I have tried many times without the powder, but the texture of the bobbi brown concealer is strange, and doesnt 'set'...it looks really wet and shiney...and creases in the fine lines...Hmm...That Clarins stuff seams cheap enough, I will give it a go....Im sure though with all the money I spend on these creams i could pay for plastic surgery....Thank you

OP posts:
rosieposey · 20/02/2010 17:12

Boi-ng from benefit - its been called industrial strength concealer i havent used it for a while but i do use the Tesco make up one in a square black box with see through lid its fab and just as good.

I second VITT's idea about the moisturiser, It will stop the cakey look.

Original poster
MalloryKnox · 20/02/2010 17:14

I suppose statement glasses will look alot better than cakey eyes, your right...

OP posts:
Clure · 20/02/2010 18:57

not used this but it has good reviews

essenceofSES · 20/02/2010 19:04

I suffer like this too and have tried a variety of products. I currently use a combination of No7 concealer (like YSL Touche Eclat) with Benefit's Erase Paste.

However I know the one thing that always helps is if I drink more water. I hate the stuff and I know that if I have a few days of drinking more than a litre a day, my dark circles fade.
Can you try drinking a bit more water to see if that will help?

Wildones · 20/02/2010 23:50

Hi MalloryKnox I understand totally what you'e saying. I too suffer from awful dark circles and fine lines and always look like I haven't slept for a week. I've tried loads of concealers and the only one that vaguely works a tiny bit is Bobbie Brown, I don't use the powder cos I'm allegic to it. I use a soltan sunstick under the concealer to moisturise the area. Can't use YSL Touche Eclat cos allergic to that as well.
Tried to mix the Bobbie Brown with Dermalogica but it wasn't that great either.
If anyone comes up with anything please please let me know.
Good Luck!

tigerbear · 21/02/2010 00:00

Maybelline Pure Cover Mineral Concealer is amazing, imo. It isn't a mineral powder, it's a creamy liquid with a sponge applicator. Does the job better than the £30++ so called 'miracle' Laura Mercier cammouflage palette all makeup artists and beauty editors seem to rave about.

The Maybelline stuff is only approx £6.

Perhaps use a serum under your moisturiser to create a better base.

AngelaChase · 21/02/2010 17:53

I don't know about fine lines but for dark circles I swear by Body Shop Lightening Touch. If I don't wear it I look exhausted.

newbaglady · 22/02/2010 14:55

All of the above concealers are great, but if you have really dark circles like me, then take a leaf out of Marilyn Monroe's book. She used a white matt pencil over the dark circles underneath her concealer. I use Barry M's as it's completely matt and then a dab of Lightening Touch or YSL if I've been through duty free.

MinnieMude · 22/02/2010 15:44

Hmmm...thanks newbaglady , im off out to get me some, lets hope it doesnt highlight my wrinkles..

SloanyPony · 22/02/2010 17:42

Try this one

Its the most pigment-dense concealer I have ever come across, with the best texture so as not to enhance lines.

Why try this one over the others - because you can send it back if you dont like it, even if you've used it - due to QVC's no quibbles returns policy. You have nothing to lose.

barkfox · 23/02/2010 11:36

I bought a Bourjois Brush Concealer this week (that's its actual name) - same sort of thing as Touche Eclat, but I like it a lot more! and is only £6. It seems to 'conceal' more than illuminate, altho it does claim to do both. It comes in 2 colours, a pinky one and a more olive-y/brown one.

I used to find Touche Eclat needed so much blending, I think I was just wiping most of it off.

(FWIW, my dark circles are so extreme, even when I'm pretty well rested and hydrated, that the last time I met my mother, she asked me if I'd got a black eye! Thanks, mum... That's what sent me streaking off to find a better concealer...)

Wildones · 24/02/2010 19:13

SloanyPony what's the name of the concealer because my silly internet doesn't show what you've recommended?

diddl · 26/02/2010 11:12

OP, have you found anything yet?

I think it´s just a case of trying them out.

I found one this morning in a "Superdrug" type shop.
Only a couple of Euro!
You twist it until some appears on the brush-thought that was only the expensive ones!

Also found a cheap tinted moisturiser,just enough for red patches on cheeks this time of year.

I´m a happy bunny

angelsfield · 27/02/2010 20:05

Have really bad dark circles under my eyes too. Found that using bit of enchanted eye cream from lush then lily lolo yellow powder concealer works really well and lasts for ages. Doesn't cake and stays put. I use it with their mineral foundation which blends it well, not sure how it would be with normal foundation.

shonaspurtle · 27/02/2010 20:10

I second the Tesco Makeup one (little square black box). It's the best I've tried and my dark circles are dreadful.

The trick is to dab it on and build up gradually as it does crease a bit if you use too much, but it's pretty pigment-dense so you shouldn't have to.

I can't use anything powder-based or I look about 80.

Whitetara · 28/02/2010 20:10

I have the same problem as well, and have been using the no7 version of touch eclat (which I incidentally found useless) and keep powder to a minimum.

I'm also on the look out for better formulations and have found that more don't work than do. I'm still looking.

Whitetara · 28/02/2010 20:10

I have the same problem as well, and have been using the no7 version of touch eclat (which I incidentally found useless) and keep powder to a minimum.

I'm also on the look out for better formulations and have found that more don't work than do. I'm still looking.

Whitetara · 28/02/2010 20:10

I have the same problem as well, and have been using the no7 version of touch eclat (which I incidentally found useless) and keep powder to a minimum.

I'm also on the look out for better formulations and have found that more don't work than do. I'm still looking.

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 28/02/2010 20:40

I use the Bobbi Brown concealer set - but I also use the hydrating eye cream underneath it, just the smallest smear stops that cakey look.

MeAndMyMonkey · 28/02/2010 20:50

I was born with dark circles, and dd has inherited them. Seriously, I don't think there is anything you can do.
Puffy/bags etc a different matter - am working my way through eyecreams and so far am liking Clinique, Chanel, and even No 7.
Touch eclat was rubbish for me.
Go with the flow I say and pretend you are a Parisienne intellectual or something .

purplepeony · 28/02/2010 22:01

I use Bobbi Brown concealer but find that if you overdo it, it creases. I don't use the powder- i think the poweder is really to be used for spots etc as it does make the under eye area look dry.

I think you have to tackle the two problems separately. Try something to fill in the lines- there are loads of things out there- L'Oreal etc etc. You can't disguise lines with concealer- they look worse.

Touche Eclat is a highlighter and makes bags etc more noticeable. I found it too light/pinky and I am very pale- use BB Ivory concealer.