Undereye Circles or "It's Rude to Tell Someone That They Look Tired" (Requested)

Hello, Beautiful Friends!

Today we are going to talk about undereye circles and what to do about them. I am fortunate that undereye circles do not necessarily run in my family (under eye bags are a different story, and I will be writing about them next.) I know it is so frustrating to be going about your business, sometimes even thinking you look extra fantastic one day,and to have someone come up to you and say "Wow, you look tired. Are you ok?" ARRRGGGHHHH! So, what to do about undereye circles? Is there some magic cream I can use to banish them permemnently?

Well, first lets talk about what undereye circles actually are, so we can divide, conquer and address your actual needs.

There are a few different reasons for undereye circles; heredity, lack of sleep, allergies, skin tone and age. There are also two different shades of undereye circles: blue-ish/purple and green/yellow/brown. Undereye circles are just blood vessels that show through the delecate, thin skin of your eyelid. Sometimes they are combined with pigmentation issues. Sometimes the blood vessels are weak, leak and darken the undereye area (like a black eye). If you are tired, have allergies or have very fair skin, usually your undereye circle are of the blue variety. If you have hereditary circles and are not fair or are above a certain age, they are usually of the green variety.

Here's the part that is going to make you want to throw your computer out a window. Ok, deep breath. If your undereye circles are not from lack of sleep or allergies (in which case you can change a habit or environmental stimuli and they will go away), there is NOTHING you can do about under eye circles. Don't waste your money on creams for circles. Any undereye cream that hydrates well will diminish the LOOK of undereye circles, because it will temporarily plump the skin and widen the distance between the upper layer of skin and the blood vessels, but NOTHING will get rid of them.

I know, I know. I'm sorry. I just don't want you to spend money on expensive creams that won't help. Now, I will tell you what actually WILL help. Makeup.

So, first things first. Go ahead and look in a mirror without any makeup on. Assess those circles. Are yours of the blue/ purple variety or the green/yellow variety? Once you decide what undertone those circles are, now you can cover them. If your circles are blue/ purple, you will need to use a concealer with yellow undertones. If you have green/yellow circles, you will need to use a concealer with pink undertones. Why? Yellow is the OPPOSITE of blue on a color wheel. Pink is the opposite of green. Choose one shade lighter than your skin. ONE not FIVE!!! You will look like a reverse racoon and it will actually call attention to dark circles.

Apply your normal eye cream and let it soak in for at least 5-10 minutes. I just brush my teeth and do my hair. I apply my concealer last, because I tend to wear quite a bit of eye makeup and don't want the fall out to get into my concealer. You can do it before or after, but I recommend after. First, make sure your fingers are CLEAN! If you use a pot concealer, you can get it out with a q-tip. Apply your concealer with your ring finger.Tilt your chin down and look up into a mirror. It will show you exactly where your dark areas are. Just take a bit and pat it on where ever you see dark, starting from the inner corners. Start with just a little and add as you go. Once your circles are covered, of you still have some darkness in the inner corners of your undereye (lots of people do ), use a highighter pencil (a concealer pencil in a much lighter color than your skin. Benefit makes one called "Eyebrite". Carmidy for Sally Hanson makes one in a pot. It's pink. So does NYX). Just draw a bit of that over the shadows ONLY, pat it a bit with your ring finger to blend it, but make sure you don't blend it completely away. Now that your circles are covered, take a bit of translucent or silica powder on a  fluffy eyeshadow brush and dust it under your eyes. If you put too much powder under your eyes or apply the powder with a puff, it will make your undereye look crepey and make you look older.

It does take some getting used to not to just slap your concealer all over your under eye area and call it a day, but trust me if you do it this way you will use less concealer and get much better results.

My favorite concealer of all time is Maybelline's Dream Mousse Concealer. I love it. It has a whipped texture and is the ONLY concealer that doesn't settle in my fine lines.They are mostly yellow based. If you need a yellow corrector, Cover Girl makes a good one with eye cream in it. It's called the Simply Agless Corrector and it only comes in one color. Maybelline Instant Age rewind concealers have a highlight on one end, a concealer on the other and are mostly pink based.

Good luck, Bright Eyed Beauties!

Love,
Thrift Store Barbie

How I'm Making My Pores Smaller and Saying "Goodbye" To Acne!

Hello, Beautiful Friends!!

I just wanted to let you all know about something very amazing I stumbled across. This is truly so cheap and so effective. Are you ready?

I wash my face with baking soda. Yup, that's it! I remove my makeup, then I dry my face. Then, put about 2 Tbs of baking soda (any brand will do, I use Arm and Hammer) in my hand or a bowl and add enough water (purified) to make a creamy paste. Then, I rub (don't scrub) my face for 30 seconds or a minute. Rinse and follow with your nighttime ritual.*

Once or Twice a Week: Put 2 Tbs of baking soda in a bowl. Add enough lemon juice to make a paste (it will foam up). Smear it on your face like a mask and leave it for 20 min. Rinse off and follow usual ritual.

So cheap, so effective and so much better than any medicine I have ever been prescribed. If your skin is dry, don't do this every night.

Baking soda has been used as a gentle exfoliant since our great-grandmothers were girls. While you are at it, why don't you sprinkle a little on your toothpaste (on a toothbrush) and whiten your smile?

You look gorgeous!

Happy Shopping!

Love, Thrift Store Barbie

*This might make you break out right at first. It's called "purging" and is totally normal. it brings all of that junk that's trapped in those poor pores and brings it to the surface. You were gonna get a pimple eventually. At least the baking soda will kill it WHILE it's coming out. Your skin WILL clear up after about a week.