How do you set your concealer under your eyes?

[Bashley18]

I need help finding the right technique to set my concealer. It seems to crease or take mascara smudges from my top lid. I have dry skind and I currently use sephora collection's setting powder, but it looks cakey. Please help! Suggestions/recommendations

[makeitup305]

@Bashley18 I use the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder with the Beautyblender POWER POCKET PUFF™ Dual-Sided Powder Puff for Setting and Baking and then a brush to wipe away the excess if necessary. I often won’t set my concealer, though. Sometimes it’s just easier to tap away the creases to keep the area looking more radiant.

[nida03]

The key to ceaseless under eyes is keeping them super hydrated. I use olehenriksen banana eye cream and then use the tatcha silk canvas primer to keep them soft and supple for concealer which tends to dry it out. I use the nars creamy concealer and lightly set it with the Laura mercier translucent powder. 

[WinglessOne]

@Bashley18  I start by making sure my dry undereye skin is extra hydrated and moisturized. This gives me a good starting canvas. 

Spoiler

My AM skincare routine includes hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid, sodium PCA, various peptides, polyglutamic acid, trehalose, carrageenan, etc. I always bring my full face hydrating serum up onto my undereyes. I also make sure all my skin (including my undereyes) is damp before I apply moisturizer, so I seal in hydration instead of dryness. 

If my undereyes look/feel dry after one layer of moisturizer, I tap a bit of water or hydrating mist on that skin and apply a second layer of moisturizer. In winter, it’s not unusual for me to apply up to 4 layers of moisturizer. I’ll even top everything off with a thin layer of a petrolatum-based balm (usually Aquaphor Ointment, but sometimes CeraVe Healing Ointment) if it’s frigid cold and windy outside, to protect my skin from chapping and windburn and really seal in all that hydration. 

You can try using a face or eyeshadow primer under your eyes to hold concealer in place. 

Spoiler

A hydrating or silicone face primer could work. (I wouldn't use a matte primer on my undereyes.) Smashbox makes a product they market specifically as an undereye primer... trying to tag it... Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Under Eye Primer 0.33 oz/ 10 mL . I've used it mostly to help concealer play nice with the bumpy alligator skin in my tear troughs. 

Some folks use an eyeshadow primer under their eyes for extra grip. I don't like to do that, but if you've got a shadow primer that doesn't dry out your skin, that's another option. 

Whichever primer you choose (if you go this route at all), remember to give it a couple minutes to set before applying concealer over it. 

Use just the amount of concealer you truly need under each eye. 

Spoiler

No concealer is truly “creaseless”: they’ll all fall into your lines/wrinkles. Primer can reduce that. So can avoiding your lines while applying concealer—but that’s not always possible, depending on why you use concealer in the first place. Even if you apply concealer to your entire undereye area, try not to slather too much on. Less product often results in less caking. 

I usually just mask the dark shadows caused by my hollow tear troughs. But sometimes my whole undereye area is dark thanks to allergies or lack of sleep, and then I have to be even more strategic about applying concealer and avoiding as many lines as possible. I usually apply with a small brush and then use my finger to finish blending. 

A minute after application, I gently pull my undereye skin down to open my lines. If I see lots of concealer pooled in them, I very gently buff it out with either a brush or my finger. I do this before setting concealer. 

Even if you used primer, you’ll probably want to powder-set your concealer. Use the tiniest bit of powder necessary. 

Spoiler

I dip a fluffy eyeshadow brush in a tiny bit of By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra-Powder* (the loose translucent version) and then tap off any excess, til there’s just barely any powder visible on the brush. I use that to set one undereye. I repeat the process for the other eye. By Terry’s powder is so good, that teeny amount is all I need. I'm sure there are other good loose powders out there, though. 

No matter which powder you use or what method you use to apply it (some folks prefer a sponge to apply), try not to use a ton of it under each eye. 


*This By Terry powder is pricey, but it comes in a mini size that can last a very long time if you use it as sparingly as I do. I also have the pressed version of this powder and, for me, it doesn't perform as well as the loose version. 

[carolinarios22]

1. Apply your concealer 
2. Using a dry Beautyblender Beautyblender® pro one pro beautyblender  dip into a small amount of theHourglass Veil™ Translucent Setting Powder - Talc Free Translucent and press into the under eyes while looking up
   1. Thats the trick with setting your under eyes! You need a finely milled setting power and you want to use as little as possible while pressing it all into the skin. You do not want to bake or leave excess powder because it will crease
   2. It is also important to look up/ set your makeup in the position you want it to stay in. For some of us, our skin is just going to fold where it folds and there isn't much we can do to fight it but we try our best!
3. For mascara application I start with my bottom lashes while looking up
4. Then coat my top lashes while looking down and wait for them to dry before returning to a normal position. 

I hope this helps! Other alternative powders would be the HUDA BEAUTY Easy Bake Loose Baking & Setting Powder Sugar Cookie 

[SportyGirly125]

@Bashley18 I set my Cle De Peau concealer with Hourglass Veil™ Translucent Setting Powder - Talc Free Translucent with a setting brush from Real Techniques.  I have dry/combo skin.

[heartsmyface]

@Bashley18   Hello!  A little primer will help to both fill your creases so they’re not so deep and help keep your concealer in place. 

What also helps is to apply your concealer with your fingertips slightly pressing upward to melt it into your skin.  

then use a fluffy brush to apply a small amount of powder to your undereyes to set it.  tapping over the powder with a slightly damp beauty blender will press the powder into the concealer and remove any excess product that may eventually end up in your creases.  
less product is more for your undereyes and any mobile areas of your face. 

If you’re applying a lot of product to cover darker circles you may want to consider a color corrector under your concealer to neutralize the color.  Blue and purple under circles benefit from a peach to salmon shade for example.  

Which mascara do you use?  

[Bashley18]

Thank you so much! I'm using Rare Beauty's mascara.

[heartsmyface]

@Bashley18   That one seems pretty decent.  My first guess is you’re blinking before it’s had time to fully dry (try not to blink until you can touch your mascara and have no transfer on your finger) but it could also be oily lids are a culprit- or extra long lashes.  

A little trick to avoid black smudging if your eyelashes hit your cheeks when you blink, is to apply a layer of clear eyebrow gel over your mascara.  That way any smudging will be clear;)