How To Correct Dark Circles ?

Every morning we wake up and we see our faces in the mirror. We do this every single day of our lives and somewhere through it all we get to know our faces. For me, I know the cut above my eyebrow, a few leftover scars from chicken pox , the red dot on my nose, the mole on my chin and a couple others. I know these well enough that when I look at the mirror they blur out and my eyes see an overview of my face. And I like the face that looks back at me. I'd like to think I know it well.

But somewhere along all this back and forth with my mirror, the overview just got zoomed out so much I failed to notice a lot more things. We all go through this - we overlook a few things here and there and then one day - Bam ! You realize the face you see in the mirror is very different from what others see.


I hadn't noticed the dark circles until I took a picture of myself for the blog. Dark circles are notorious for making one look stressed out, dull, tired and unhappy. I wasn't feeling any of those things but my dark circles decided to make an appearance getting me the " Are you okay ?'s"

Raise your hand if this sounds familiar to you.

I use concealers regularly and found a few that work well for me. At least they did for the me I was seeing. But it wasn't till I took this after picture that I realized I looked so different. There was a marked brightness. Like my eyes that were hibernating two inches behind my face were suddenly out and bustling with happiness. Like someone had reached in and pulled them out. They were no longer hiding behind a hollow dark space. I looked so different even to my own eyes. Eyes that see me every single day.


The Orange Dark Circle Primer

This is what I had used - The Khuraira Dark Circle primer + Khuraira Age Control Concealer. Since then I have tried the primer with couple of my other favorite concealers and they seem to do this pulling out and shine through thing very well. The real star is here was the bright orange dark circles primer. I understand why they chose to call it a primer - you apply it (sparingly) on your dark circles prepping them for concealer. The more common term for it is a corrector. I have seen a few correctors but none this strong. On using it I also realized why so many readers write to me saying the very popular Bobbi Brown correctors weren't doing much for them. I guess we just need a strong dose of correction.


Why Orange ?

After trying the product I requested for a mini interview with the founder, Khuraira to ask a couple of basic questions - Why orange and what does this do ? She told me it helped by "neutralizing discolorations through the breakdown of the blue caused by broken capillaries. Worn under your concealer, this prevents the darkness from penetrating through". The last few words resonated with me - the one about not letting the darkness seep through. That is what was going wrong for many of us - our concealers just weren't designed to be strong enough to make a barrier of sorts.

Left - dark circle primer applied directly over skin. Right - Smashbox HD Concealer (medium) applied over the dark circle primer

Reasons Behind Dark Circles

This article here from the New York Times speaks about how finding a remedy for dark circles is one of beauty industry's top concern today. The reason for a relative lack of success in this field, I think could be the myriad of reasons that lead to dark circles - everything from hormonal changes, obesity, diabetes, stress, lack of sleep, alcohol can lead to dark circles. But for many of us, it doesn't end there - " Chronic dark circles, dermatologists say, is excess pigmentation in the skin. Dark circles are prevalent on all skin colors and types, but they especially trouble African-Americans, Southeast Asians and Southern Italians " .

Its in (some of ) our genes now ? I guess with that I can just about forget a cure for dark circles. My only option for now, is to slather stuff on to make them invisible. For now I am happy I found this heavy duty corrector for my industrial strength dark circles. With this I now join the league of stars like Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, Karina Smirnoff (Dancing with the Stars) and Nicole Scherzinger who at one point or another have depended on this product to get rid of that nasty stuff called dark circles.

Other Choices

Since trying this corrector I did some research and found a few other brands that make orange color correctors - Georgia Armani Master Corrector, NYX Orange Corrector, MAC Pro Studio Finish Skin Corrector , Laura Mercier Under Eye Perfector. These are a few options other than the one from Khuraira that I tried. If you have had a history battling dark circles and havent been satisfied with anything yet - I'd highly recommend finding one of these bright orange correctors and giving them a try. Chances are you'll love what it does !


Argh, all this depressing talk about you know what. Time to go grab some oatmeal raisin cookies.

Oh make that cup cakes with cream cheese frosting. Whoz comin along ?

No. Wait.

Heaven forbid, donuts.

Wait - donuts - obesity - dark circles. Dadgummit. It keeps coming back.

Love,
Indian Girl

This article contains a sample product sent for consideration by PR. For more details on the disclosure policy please refer to it at the bottom of the page.

We've Got A Situation

and we put it to rest. Err...test.


Love,
Indian Girl

Milani HD Advance Concealer : Review & Swatches

Good Morning Ladies !

Hope you had a great weekend ! If you are a Mad Men fan, I'm sure it was. So good to get back to knowing what Don Draper has been up to.

I am in a really sunny mood today. I think, finding quality products at the neighborhood drugstore does this to me. Its the Milani HD Advance Concealer ($6.99) y'all. I not only love this product, I feel so good about it that I am recommending it to everybody !


Yellow Yellow Sweet Little Fellow

The Miani HD Concealer comes in a click pen model looking all bright and blingy in its gold packaging. One of the biggest concerns I've had with drugstore concealers has been the lack of yellow pigment. Most of them are pink or just plain beige. You pat it under your eye and they sit there staring into space ...doing nothing to hide your dark circles. This is why Milani gets much of my love - its truly yellow based. Check that out !

Nobody can complain about the lack of warmth. Its exactly what a warm skinned person like me needs to look bright and fresh !

Key Ingredients :
• Rona Coated Pigments that disguise dark shadows
• Invisaskin moisture base which keep the eye area hydrated,soften expressions lines and wrinkles
• Grant X Gamma Amino-Butyric Acid that plumps out creases, lines and imperfections
• Granactive RD 101 to help brighten and gently resurface the most delicate skin

Alicia Keys & I - Concealer Best Buds

I saw that the shade Medium Honey was used in Alicia Keys so I decided to try the same. Its perfect on my NC 40 (medium tan) skin tone. I almost feel like Alicia and I are best buds ! We use the same concealer , that's got to mean something !

One more major good thing about the concealer is the formula. I can never wear concealer and head out without applying some foundation because I feel like the concealer is too obvious. But with Milani HD one the formula sinks into your skin and merges with the top layer so well that I look naturally dark circle free. So now I don't have to add foundation just coz I did the concealer ! And for someone who likes to keep it as less as possible with makeup - this racks up huge points in favor of the concealer.

I am not the biggest fan of the click pen but really this isn't a complaint. I assume many women love it given that one of the best selling concealers of all times YSL Touche Eclat is a click pen.


Now all I want from Milani is to add a lot more shades so my deeper toned girlfriends get to try this too.

Love,
Indian Girl

This article contains a sample product sent for consideration by PR. For more details on the disclosure policy please refer to it at the bottom of the page.