How to cover dark circles under eyes without concealer

You wake up, look in the mirror, and groan.  Oh, what you wouldn’t give to hide those dark circles…to go back to looking like your old self again!  Before the stress, before hectic schedules, before sleepless nights, before burning the midnight oil, before being overworked, before the “adulting” parts of life started to make an impact on your appearance… 

Sadly, those dark undereye circles can feel like a giant billboard sprawled across your face.  A billboard with bold blinking letters saying, “Ok chick…you look tired”!!

Remember that younger version of yourself, think back… she never looked tired, did she??  She could stay up all night, and wake up looking fresh-faced, and ready to conquer the world!  Oh, the memories!! 

Well, you are not alone.  Those deep, dark circles descended upon me too a few years ago.  I had been lucky enough to escape them for a while.  But that luck ran out, and suddenly, I looked tired, as the undesired result of age was finally catching up with me. 

However, Beauties, all is not lost, the great news is there are quite a few things you can do to reduce and hide them once and for all!  (Sigh of relief) 😉 But first, let’s discuss the possible causes behind these “unwanted little friends,” so to speak. 

You see, knowing the reason behind them will be the first step toward determining your best route for resolving things. So, if you have been looking for some ways to hide the unpleasantries and bid farewell to your undereye foes, we’ve got you covered ladies, from healthy lifestyle habits to makeup tricks, to skincare!

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Table of Contents For This Article

• 7 Possible Causes of Dark Circles
• Solutions: What You Can Do For Undereye Circles
• Healthy Habits To Reduce Dark Circles
• Makeup Tricks To Cover Up & Hide Dark Circles
• Skincare Treatments & Tips To Help With Dark Circles
• Final Thoughts

Why Do You Get Dark Circles Under The Eyes? The 7 Most Common Reasons…

1) Lack of Sufficient Sleep and Poor Sleeping Habits

Yep, with consistent fatigue, our bodies suffer.  You see, when we don’t get good sleep, our skin begins to pale, which in turn makes the blood vessels under the eyes more visible. 

Skin cells heal, restore, and repair overnight when you sleep, so getting your beauty rest is essential!  Especially if you want to look well-rested and bright-eyed, Beauties! *For more info on how to improve your sleep habits, check out our post!

2) Stress

Did you know that when you stress your body redirects oxygen, blood, and vital nutrients away from your skin and towards more critical areas of the body? The essential organs your body views as needed for survival benefit, but sadly, your skin misses out on what it needs to stay youthful and bright when this happens!

*Find out the many ways stress impacts your skin from causing premature aging to acne, dullness, and more… Plus, simple solutions to reduce stress!

3) Chronic Dehydration

When you are dehydrated, your skin becomes dull and pale, making blood vessels around the eye area more apparent, and thus creating dark circles. 

Additionally, water flushes out toxins in the body that can lead to those visible dark circles.  So, staying hydrated is vital!

4) Allergies

Generally, with seasonal allergies, itchy, watery eyes make an unwanted appearance in your life.  If you tend to rub your eyes more during this time, you can trigger a cycle of inflammation and broken blood vessels which lead to dark undereye circles.

5) Vitamin Deficiency

Sometimes the dark circles could be the result of an iron deficiency, but I have also heard of cases where a lack of sufficient vitamin D is the cause.

6) Age

Unfortunately, with age, we start producing less collagen and collagen starts breaking down at a faster and faster rate, resulting in thinner, less firm skin.  The skin under the eyes begins to thin, thereby making the blood vessels in that area more noticeable.

7) Genes

Sometimes the dark circles are hereditary and the result of your genes.  It could be that your orbital bone structure creates a shadow and sunken appearance to the eye area.  However, it could also be a genetic disposition towards having thin skin in that area or excessive melanin production in the area. 

Think about your parents’ eyes…do they have the same dark circles?  Do your kids have them?  Do any other family members have them too?

What Can You Do For Undereye Circles?

Now that you know how you got them, how about we delve into solutions…  Luckily you have quite a few options like adopting some new healthy habits, trying a few makeup tricks, and adding in some skincare treatments. 

Keep in mind, if your dark circles are hereditary, your best option will most likely be to use makeup to hide them. 

A few skincare treatments might help for excessive melanin production and a genetic disposition towards thin skin in the area, but not if the cause is bone structure. 

Additionally, if age is the culprit, makeup tricks and targeted skincare are going to be your best bet. 

However, let me just add that regardless of the cause, trying some of the suggested healthy habits in this article can’t hurt.  They may not help the dark circles per se, but they may improve other skin concerns and improve your health overall.

Related: Best Concealer For Dark Under-Eye Circles | 10 Expert-Approved Picks

Healthy Habits to Reduce Dark Circles

Improve Your Sleep Habits:

Make sure you start getting a minimum of 7+ hours of sleep a night.  The best option is to get 8-9 hours a night for your general health.  But in addition to getting enough hours, you want to get good, quality sleep, not restless, toss and turn kind of sleep. 

Check out our tips for getting better sleep starting tonight!

Stress Management:

Find some ways to manage your stress levels.  You can start practicing some weekly self-care habits to help you relax. 

I find simply a soothing bath or some weekly beauty routines help me to unwind, relax, and recharge. Try a lavender soak in the evening to help with unwinding.

*Find out how self-care practices and beauty routines can help with stress management.

Water Consumption:

Make sure you are drinking enough water daily! What I like to do is every morning take out 4-5 bottles of water and set them aside on the counter. 

It works as a visual reminder to myself to drink them throughout the day, and I try to make sure all are empty by the end of the day. Better yet, try using a water bottle with time-marked reminders like this.

Seek Medical Advice to Rule Out Contributing Factors:

• If your dark circles are allergy-related, you will likely want to talk to your doctor about some anti-histamine over-the-counter options.
• Check your iron levels and make sure you don’t have an iron deficiency.  If you do, your doctor will likely suggest a supplement to help.  *Always consult with a doctor before taking an iron supplement. 

Makeup Tricks to Cover Up & Hide Dark Circles

Concealer is your BFF when it comes to covering dark eye circles since it will give you much heavier coverage than your typical foundation.  So Beauties, you have two options…

Option 1: Foundation First

To minimize the amount of concealer needed, you can try applying your foundation first to your full face and to the undereye area.  Then follow secondly with the concealer under your eyes.  Often you find with this option a great deal of the undereye darkness will have been masked by the foundation. Therefore, you won’t need to use as much concealer.

Option 2: Concealer First

Alternatively, you can apply the concealer first under the eyes and then use your foundation (on the full face and under the eyes) second. 

One thing to keep in mind with this option, is you need to make sure when applying your foundation second near the eyes, that you do not sweep.  You want to tap and pat (a stippling technique).  This ensures you don’t majorly disrupt, remove, or move around the previously applied concealer too much.

After applying the foundation to your full face and undereye area, and blending out, you can then see if the dark circles are still sufficiently hidden.  If not, go back in and add more concealer as needed. 

Here are the essential makeup tools and products you will likely need to get down and dirty wrestling those eye circles ladies…

• Concealer – Keep reading, more on selecting the right concealer below.

• Basic Concealer Brush – Generally the classic style for this is a flat, rounded brush with synthetic bristles. I recommend this Sigma brush if you are more comfortable with a classic style brush. It’s small and very effective for covering blemishes, flaws, imperfections, and most importantly undereye circles. Not to mention, it’s perfect for reaching those areas around the eyes (inner corners) and nose that need a more precise application of concealer.

• Optional – A possible add-on brush with a less than classic style to it is the Pro Airbrush Concealer Brush #57. The bristles are fluffier than a classic concealer brush, which makes for perfect blending as well as smooth application.

• Foundation

• Wedged Sponges or Beauty Blender

• Loose Translucent Powder for Setting – Pro Tip: Rather than settling for a basic setting powder try one that is made for brightening the undereye area like this one from Laura Mercier. You won’t have to worry about your dark circles peeking through from under your concealer with this gem, as it takes your coverage to a whole other level! It’s light-reflective and super lightweight!

How Do I Choose a Concealer for My Dark Eye Circles?

There are two things you want to look at ladies… the formula and the color!

Choosing The Right Formula:

First, things first, do not pick a formula that gives coverage that is too sheer.  The darker your circles, the fuller the coverage needed.  Generally, you have four options, cake, stick, cream, or pen.  I would suggest using a stick, cream, or pen. 

Cake Concealers: A cake concealer will give the heaviest coverage; however, it can be far too dense for most people and needs to be applied with caution for that very reason.   

Stick & Cream Concealers: Sticks and creams fall next in line as far as thickness, and both give great medium to heavy coverage.  The difference, however, is sticks work best on oily skin or in warmer months. 

When it’s hot outside, sticks tend to stay put and won’t rub off as easily.  In contrast, creams work better in colder months, as well as on dry and mature skin.  Of the two, creams are the most moisturizing.

Pen Concealers: Lastly, we have pens, which provide generally light to medium coverage.  If you have very dark circles, they might not provide enough help with hiding. 

A plus, however, is that pens do work quite well if you have fine lines under your eyes.  Being a thinner formula, they won’t build up too heavy, and thus, they won’t settle too much into your fine lines.

Making The Right Color Choice:

TIP 1: To steer clear of your concealer leaving a grey cast under your eyes, you want to avoid a color that is too light and use one that is roughly just a ½ shade to 2 shades (at the very most) lighter than the skin color right below your eyes.

TIP 2: It’s important to note that most people who are looking to hide dark undereye circles may have to use a different concealer for their eyes than they use on other parts of their face. 

Many concealers have undertones that work perfectly at canceling out the unwanted color visible in dark circles.  So, paying attention to the subtle tint and color of your undereye darkness is key.

• Take a look at the natural undertone of your dark circles first.  Do your dark circles have a hint of purple to them?  If so, that means they have a purple undertone, in which case, you should use a concealer with a yellow or golden tone to cancel out the purple. 
• If you notice some redness, you want to look for a concealer with an olive tone to cancel out the red.  But you can also try one with a yellow tone and see if that covers sufficiently. 
• If your dark circles have a blue or brown undertone, look for a concealer with an orange or peach tone. 
• Darker skin tones will do better with orange.  Lighter skin tones do best with peach.  More on selecting concealer undertones…

TIP 3: A third alternative could be opting for an actual color-correcting cream or primer as opposed to a concealer that happens to have a subtle undertone.  You would need to use it along with a regular concealer that is close to the color of your skin. 

In that instance, you would apply the color corrector cream before foundation & concealer. 

Related: Best Concealer For Dark Under-Eye Circles | 10 Expert-Approved Picks

What is the Best Way to Apply Concealer to Hide Dark Circles?

1) First, always prep the skin using an eye moisturizer, allow it to settle into your skin for a few minutes.  An eye cream always helps with a smooth application.

2) Optional, you can apply your foundation next (full face and under the eyes) or wait until after having applied your concealer.

3) Next, swipe some of the concealer on the back of your hand to warm it up a bit.  The natural heat from your hand will soften it and make for better blending. 

4) Using your concealer brush, apply the concealer in the shape of an upside-down triangle.  Just think of the base of the triangle as resting below your eye. 

What I like to do is create the outline of the triangle with my brush, then I will go back in with my brush and semi-fill it in with a few lines, dots, or dashes.  When filling in, concentrate the majority of your concealer under the eye where the dark circles are most prominent.

5) You may also want to apply some concealer to the part of your eye close to the bridge of your nose (inner corner).  This area tends to get a bit shadowy and doing so can brighten and open up the eye area. 

6) Don’t forget to blend beauties!  You can do so by using a brush, sponge, or your fingers (the warmth from them can sometimes help). With whichever option you choose, you can go in, gently patting and tapping.  Always tap and pat, never rub.  You want to do this gently and with a very light hand to prevent picking back up too much concealer from the darkest areas. 

If you decide to use the Pro Airbrush Concealer Brush #57 for blending the brand recommends using “small strokes or small circular motions”. The fluffy bristles are the key to helping you achieve more of an airbrushed look and finish!

PRO TIP When Using Concealer:

If after applying your concealer you notice an obvious undertone that doesn’t look natural (or looks very light in contrast to the rest of your face), you want to continue to use your foundation to balance the concealer’s tone out more. 

This can be done by lightly stippling (tapping or patting) on the foundation gently and blending out any visible transitions between the undereye area and the rest of the face.  Do not sweep or rub. Using a stippling brush like this one can also help.

Tips for Setting the Eye Area After Concealer Application:

• Cake concealers don’t need powder and using powder over them can look, rather dense and not at all-natural.  So, skip this step with cake concealers!

• With stick concealers, you can sometimes get away with not setting with a powder.  However, this can depend on the brand and consistency of the formula.  Generally, though, you want to set stick, cream, and pen concealers with powder. 

• Always use a loose translucent powder when you set the makeup under the eyes as opposed to a pigmented powder. Pigmented powders tend to darken the area back up again, which you most certainly don’t want.

• If you have fine lines under the eyes go very lightly with powder in that area.  Too much powder can make them more visible.

Additional Makeup Tips and Tricks To Help With Dark Circles:

• On the lower lash area, do not use heavy eye makeup, as doing so can bring more attention to dark circles.  Also, do not use dark eyeliners in the lower waterline area.

• To make the eyes look brighter and less tired, try using a white or nude liner in the lower waterline of the eye.

• To draw attention away from the dark circles, add a pop of color to your cheeks.  You want to use a bright, warm pink or rosy blush on the apples of the cheeks below your orbital bone. For ideas on blushes to try for this trick check out this article with helpful makeup blush tips.

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Skincare Treatments and Topical Options to Help with Dark Circles

1) Eye Cream

Start using an eye cream with targeted ingredients designed to address dark circles.

• Caffeine is a great ingredient to look for in an eye cream, as it causes the blood vessels to constrict, making them less visible and thus making the dark circles less noticeable. 

• Also, ingredients like peptides help with the thinning of the skin by firming up the area and boosting collagen production which helps to thicken the skin. 

• Additionally, you want ingredients like hyaluronic acid and glycerin which will help with dehydration.  They can increase hydration and moisture retention for the area. 

• You also want antioxidants in your eye products like Vitamins C & E.  Vitamin C protects against free radicals that damage the skin and assists in collagen production.  Additionally, creams with Vitamin C can help with excessive melanin production and brighten the eye area.  While Vitamin E, like C, also fights damage caused by free radicals. 

• Lastly, you want to include topical Vitamin A in the form of retinol to help brighten the skin.

Not sure what a free radical is?  According to Webster, it is,a “…reactive atom or group of atoms that has one or more unpaired electrons…especially: one that is produced in the body by natural biological processes or introduced from an outside source (such as tobacco smoke, toxins, or pollutants) and that can damage cells, proteins, and DNA by altering their chemical structure”.

• Tips on targeted skincare ingredients for other skin concerns.

2) Cucumbers

As a relaxing skincare treatment, you can apply cool cucumber slices to your eyes. 

• Cucumbers have natural astringent properties plus; the cool temperature will make your blood vessels constrict and less visible.  And being made up of predominantly water, they can help to moisturize the skin as well.

• Generally, you want the cucumbers to have been in the refrigerator and allowed to cool first for 15-20 minutes.  Then apply them to closed eyes and let them sit for 15-20 minutes.  Give this a try for a few weeks.

3) Tea Bags

Another possible treatment would be to apply cool chamomile tea bags to your eye area.  The caffeine in the tea will help constrict the blood vessels.  And chamomile, in particular, has anti-inflammatory properties. 

• After boiling the tea bags, squeeze out excess liquid and refrigerate to cool them (about 20+ minutes). 
• Apply them to closed eyes and let them sit for around 15-20 minutes. 
• Lastly, be sure to wash your face to remove any tea stains left behind on the skin. 

PRO Tip: Don’t have chamomile tea??  Green tea is also an excellent option to try!

Final Thoughts

Yes, they can be bothersome, but luckily there are some simple solutions you can start implementing today to hide your dark circles, Beauties!  You can make a few healthier lifestyle changes, try some new makeup tricks, or look into some easy skincare treatments.  Give these options a try and see what works best for you personally. 

Related Articles:

• Beginner Makeup for the Everyday Woman
• The Best Guide to Women’s Essential Skincare Tips
• Tired-Looking Eyes: 13 Fixes You’re Sure To Love!
• The 17 Best Tips And Products For Better Sleep

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