Let’s talk about dark circles. You know the ones…they’re staring back at you in the mirror after a big night out, and come on hard when you’re stressed as hell (which encourages people to tell you exactly what you already knew: ‘you look tired’). Thanks for that.

But guess what guys, it doesn’t matter if you sleep for 12 hours, drink litres of water, base your diet on miracle broths, cold pressed juices and Matcha tea… those dark shadows won’t budge because, they’re natural. Most people have them.

Don’t get us wrong, saying no to that third glass of vino in favour of a good night’s sleep will help, but to camouflage them completely, you need to know how to layer your correctors, concealers, highlighters and powders.

That’s what we’re here for.

You know how brushing your teeth and and whacking in some eyedrops reduces your hangover by 50%? This gives it an extra 25%. So you can pretty much stay out all night, grab a baguette on your way to that 9am meeting, then tell everyone about your quiet productive weekend in.

Yeah, it’s not our first time.

Seriously though, this works so well we even surprised ourselves. Click through to see how it’s done.

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Step One

You don’t want concealer creasing all around your eyes, so apply a primer to the whole area. Dior’s Backstage Eye Primer is powder based, so it won’t budge.

Now you’ll need a corrective concealer (peach and salmon shades work best for counteracting dark or purple around the eyes). Benefit’s Erase Paste is pretty tough to beat. Apply it with a brush with dense bristles (like MAC’s 242 brush) where you have darkness. Tip: using a brush allows you to pile it on thick.

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Step Two

Don’t forget to colour correct on the tops of your eyelids too. Smoothing-out the tone here can make the world of difference to your overall complexion.

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Step Three

Now add a normal under eye concealer to the entire area which emulates your normal skin tone.

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Step Four

Apply a highlighting pen around the area to lift any shadows. We love YSL’s Touche Éclat for this.

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Step Five

Now set it all in place with a loose powder. Laura Mercier’s Secret Brightening Powder works really well.

Apply with a soft brush using gentle tapping motions.

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BEFORE

The real deal, before the steps.

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AFTER

See, we told you it’s good!

THE FILE
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Dior
Backstage Eye Primer
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Benefit
Erase Paste
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Mac
242 Brush
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Laura Mercier
Concealer
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Mac
242 Brush