Good Morning and Happy Friday Friends! Today, on Face It Friday, I want to talk about brightening the undereye. If you’re like me and work late into the evening, a brighter, wide-awake eye can make a world of difference in the morning. I’ve tested and tried many brighteners, correctors, and concealers and feel I’ve gotten my routine pretty much down to a science. I discovered using yellows, purples, and light concealers really do make a difference. I’m pretty fair so I usually choose the lightest shade in every brand, but as a rule of thumb, I would suggest using a concealer a shade lighter than your skin tone. 

The first thing I like to do before foundation and after primer is to neutralize any darkness under my eye. Lately, my favorite is the yellow shade from the NYX Color Correcting Concealer Palette. I wish I’d known about it sooner because it makes such a difference! It’s a great consistency and quite opaque so a little goes a long way. I also use the green square on any breakouts where my skin is looking red. If I’m not using my NYX palette I either use my NYX Dark Circle Corrector or a similar product by Becca Cosmetics. The Becca Undereye Brightening Corrector comes at a higher price point but I would debate it’s a superior product with a more luminous finish. BUT it has a stickier finish and must be set with a powder once you’re done concealing. The NYX version is really affordable and has a more matte consistency. 

After foundation, I like to apply a purple toned product, under the area near the corner of my eye to bring about starker brightness. It seems sort of white at first, but once you apply concealer on top, it will tone it down. The purple helps to create a “wide awake” appearance and is a step up from only using concealer. Neutralize, brighten, conceal, set…that’s how I like it! Of the two products above the YSL Color Corrector is a little lighter and a little more luminous while the NYX Hi Definition Photo Concealer Wand is more opaque and a little thicker. I like to use YSL when I’m wearing a lighter foundation and NYX when my foundation is more full coverage. It’s great for photos for all you Instagrammers YouTubbers, and blogger out there. 

Three of my four favorite concealers are drugstore…yayyy! My go-to lately has been the NYX HD Studio Photogenic Concealer. It gives fantastic coverage, a great color range and it’s so affordable! The only downside is that I feel like there isn’t much product in each tube and I repurchase more than any other product I own. Luckily, it’s only a couple dollars. My oldie but goodie is MAC’s Prolongwear Concealer. You can’t go wrong! I found I don’t use it day to day, but mostly when Justin and I are going out for date night or to an event with friend’s and I don’t want my undereye makeup to budge – and trust me it won’t! For the price, this product lasts a very long time. I actually need to replace mine because I’ve had it too long and the consistency is off. And lastly, Maybelline’s Instant Age Rewind in a concealer version and one specifically for brightening (it has a bit of a purple translucent tint). These are by far the easiest products to use and look beautiful on. Great for travel and a superior product for the drugstore! 

You might be wondering what brushes I use for application and blending. Going from left to right I use a Sigma F70 Concealer Brush when applying my MAC Prolongwear, a MAC 159 Duo Fibre Brush when blending concealer or brightener into the creases under my eye, a Real Techniques Sculpting Brush for pressing product into the skin (this is my favorite and very affordable), and a Sigma F86 Tapered Kabuki Brush when I’m not using my sculpting brush from Real Techniques. I use my fingers when applying and blending the undereye correctors from the beginning of this post. 

After all that work correcting, brightening, and concealing, make sure you set your undereye. This is such a crucial step – please don’t skip it! Even if you feel like powder sinks into fine lines and crevices, a light dusting is better than nothing. Keep in mind, it’s best to set as soon as possible after applying product before it can start to crease. You’ve probably heard of baking and it’s such a fun technique. Basically, you dip a sponge (I’ve been using the EcoTools EcoFoam Facial Sponge) into a generous amount of loose translucent powder and pack it under the eye. You want to have excess powder and yes, it will look funny, but after a couple of minutes use a fluffy brush to wipe it away. It will ensure you’re undereye makeup stays on all day. 

And if you’d like to take it a step further, because why not, you can make the area under the inner eye even brighter. I’ve been obsessed with Ben Nye’s Super White Professional Powder. I dump a small amount onto the back of my hand and pick it up onto my Real Techniques Setting Brush. Then I place it on the area from the inner corner of the eye to about the middle of the nose and the middle of the eye (does that make sense? I feel like I should draw a picture hahaha). 

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