Makeup for Older Women: How to Deal with Eye Bags and Dark Circles

When the mirror reveals that yet another day will pass with those horrendous dark circles under your eyes, you know it’s time to take the matter seriously. Join us in discussion with makeup artist Ariane Poole who is ready to share her secret on having a more vibrant and well-rested appearance. Enjoy the show!

Margaret Manning:

My guest today is celebrity makeup artist Ariane Poole. Ariane is a great friend of Sixty and Me, and she is very interested in positive aging and using makeup to enhance our wonderful life in our 60s. I’m so glad to have you here, Ariane.

Ariane Poole:

Oh, I’m thrilled to be here with you and your fantastic community. I absolutely love them.

Margaret:

As always, when I shared with the community that you will be on the show, they came up with a list of questions. Their number one item on the list, as usual, has to do with eye bags and the wrinkles around our eyes. What do we do with them in our 60s?

Ariane:

That is such a good question. I know we’ve answered similar ones before, but the reason why these questions pop up so often has to do with the concealers we used when we were younger. Now that we’re past 60, these concealers are too heavy for our delicate eye area.

That can literally drag our eyes down, giving us bags when we didn’t have any or emphasizing the ones that we do have. And that’s not the effect we want to accomplish. We want to make that eye area look a little bit fresher, more alive and alluring.

I did a makeup session for a bride and the mother of the bride just recently, and they’re Asian, from India. The mama said, “I’m going to be behind my glasses. I don’t want anybody to see these terrible dark circles.”

So, I showed her how to conceal them, and she was ecstatic. She said that throughout her whole life she’s had those circles and had never been able to hide them.

We did the trial in her kitchen, and she was dancing around, showing her husband the new her. She was euphoric, and that is so good. The right kind of concealer will take you out of hiding and will give you the confidence that you need.

Now, let me tell you that the area underneath the eye gets very dry because we have no oil (sebaceous) glands there. So, I would suggest that you use a good eye cream the night before.

I know that not everyone uses a cream but, as we get older and pass the 40s, it becomes part of the daily routine. I, too, am reaching for that eye cream on a regular basis.

Sometimes, though, you need a little bit more, even during the daytime. So, I would suggest two great products. One comes from my own line. It’s a firming cream concentrate for eyes that you can put on under your makeup and it really helps.

The other one is an Estée Lauder one which helps lift and smooth that area. It’s called Estée Lauder New Dimension Expert Liquid Tape.

Margaret:

Is it like a cream or is it a gel?

Ariane:

It’s a silky cream.

Margaret:

Does it have a flat applicator?

Ariane:

Yes, it does. So, I’d squeeze out some cream on the back of my hand and then tap it gently underneath my eyes. I’ve got foundation on already, but you would put on the cream prior to applying your foundation.

Margaret:

The tap is one of your great techniques.

Ariane:

The reason why I like doing the tapping is, if there’s any fluid build-up underneath your eye from sleeping, as some of us sleep on our tummy or on our side, tapping will help disperse that fluid.

Margaret:

That’s incredible. Your eyes are really lovely, and I cannot see any heavy dark circles under them. So, I guess tapping really works.

Ariane:

That’s the whole point. After application, you will notice that the crinkling has gone away. Then you put on the foundation of your choice. I use my Ultimate Face Tint, so I would pop that on. Then I would add a concealer, and I would go for my concealer pen.

Margaret:

Is this a concealer pen or a highlighter pen?

Ariane:

This is my Mineral Illuminating pen. It is a highlighting pen and a concealing pen. It’s my magic wand that I use for so many things. But it’s not just about the product. It’s actually about the technique.

There are lots of similar products out there, so if you’ve got one already, fantastic! The technique here is, first apply your eye cream, then your foundation. When that’s done, take a mirror, put your chin down and look up into the mirror.

Margaret:

You can see a little bit of darkness there when you look down.

Ariane:

Exactly. Then draw short lines from your eye toward your cheek. Put your head back up, and gently pat it in. You can see how that freshens up and brightens the area underneath the eyes.

Margaret:

It makes a big difference. Actually, Ariane, I don’t use a concealer under my eyes any more. I’ve come to the conclusion that the only thing I really need is a highlighter, because it’s not heavy. I use yours and also another one from Maybelline, it’s called Age Eraser.

Ariane:

Yes, a highlighter is much more lightweight in texture. It is not heavy like a concealer. But let me share something. My manufacturer sent me a heavier concealer the other day for me to test and see whether I like it. I just said no. My teenage daughter, though, who is 19, tried it and loved it.

Margaret:

Exactly. She’s got a different perspective.

Ariane:

Yes! And I thought, “Point proven.” But, the pen really makes a difference, and the lines and wrinkles that were visible before application are now a lot smoother.

Margaret:

It’s really different. I think one important thing you’ve mentioned before is to not try and use a light color to neutralize the dark circles. That will only give you panda eyes.

Ariane:

No. So, if you’re somebody who has really dark circles, the kind that’s bluish-purple, use something with a peach tint to it. Otherwise, you are going to get those ashy colored eyes.

I know that one of your ladies asked about getting that ashiness out from underneath the eyes. Here’s what I would suggest: use a peachy, orangey color. When people see me putting that on, they literally think I’ve lost my mind.

But, I put this on that mother of the bride I mentioned earlier. When she saw it in the mirror, I could read on her face she was thinking, “I’m going to look horrendous.” Afterwards, she was so happy because it didn’t look horrendous. It looked great.

That’s because the orange-y tone knocks out the purple. Purple and orange are on opposite sides of the color spectrum, and so they knock each other out.

Margaret:

I think this is one of the items that you might want to spend a little bit more money on because the lower-end ones tend to be very thick and heavy.

So, your message here is, don’t stress about wrinkles when you get older; they are part of the aging process. But you can definitely play with lighter weight products like a cream and a highlighter. Your technique of patting the product underneath the eye is excellent and gives a great effect.

I’m using some of your products because I’ve noticed that my eyes have a dark patch underneath. In my case, it’s got to do with not getting enough sleep. That’s something we should consider, though, if we want to take a holistic approach to our appearance.

Ariane:

Right, but it rarely happens because our sleep is always interrupted. We can never make those eight hours.

So, the same technique can be applied with the Estée Lauder highlighter. Just draw several lines from the place where your eye socket and eyeball meet toward the cheek, but not reaching the cheekbone.

Margaret:

Yes, this is a different technique from what we’re used to. So, if you’re wondering why you tried to use highlighter concealers before, and it hasn’t worked, you may have been putting it too close to your eye. This idea of applying it lower and tapping it in pumps it up a little bit and smooths over the area.

Ariane:

It lifts your eyes and makes you look more vibrant. It makes you look well rested.

Margaret:

That’s amazing. Your products are great, and I know you ship all over the world, so your line is accessible from anywhere. But I also love that you share other brand names too; it keeps an open mind, really.

Ariane:

There are so many great products out there, not just mine. I love my own products, but I love other people’s products as well.

Margaret:

But it’s not just the product, as you said. The technique is equally important. What you’ve shown us today was really helpful, especially as it answered many of our women’s questions about dark circles. Thank you, Ariane, for another great discussion. See you again soon. Bye, bye.

Have you been bothered by dark circles for years? Have you found any way to deal with them? Or did you just get used to having them under your eyes? Are you willing to give it another go, this time using the appropriate products and technique? Please join the conversation below!