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Underslept? These Are The 9 Best Concealers For Covering Dark Circles
Meet the very best solutions for tired eyes
Knowing how to cheat a full night’s sleep using your make-up bag (invaluable, as life skills go) starts with finding the best concealer to cover your dark circles. Sure, you could try actually getting a full night's sleep - but you dialed in ELLE UK's beauty team for a reason, so here's everything we know about using make-up to freshen tired eyes.
The best concealers that actually cover dark circles
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Meet The Expert
- Victoria Bond, make-up artist
How To Cover Dark Circles
It's a three-step process, says Victoria: 'Firstly, don't apply any concealer without using an eye cream first. The product needs something to hold onto, and it'll also help prevent creasing throughout the day. My favourite is Chanel's Hydra Beauty Micro Crème Yeux.'
'Next is finding a colour corrector that works for you. Apricot tones (ranging from a light to deep shade, depending on your skin tone) are ideal for cancelling out dark shadows, but I see most people using them wrong. After blending it in, the dark circles should have disappeared, but you shouldn't see the corrector itself.'
'Finally, the star of the show: concealer. To truly banish dark circles, you need one with solid coverage and a semi-matte finish that doesn’t demand heavy setting. Go overboard with powder, and you risk creasing - or worse, an ashy, dull look that gives you away.'
How We Test
These days, just about every beauty brand has a concealer in its line-up. But how do you separate the game-changers from the duds? You don't; we do. We put the latest concealers to the test, from their instant ability to cover dark circles to how they hold up through the daily grind. Our picks aren’t just good on paper - they’ve been tried, tested, and survived real life. So to discover our favourite high-coverage, non-cakey concealers (plus a few colour correctors) that stay flawless from morning to night, scroll on...
The Best Concealers For Banishing Dark Circles
This is one viral product we can confirm lives up to the hype. Finding a high-coverage concealer that doesn’t look cakey is no easy feat, but this luxury tube truly delivers. You only need a few dots to fully cover dark circles, and the finish looks as airbrushed on camera as it does in real life.
Infused with reflective microspherical powders, it helps to blur and brighten dark areas for up to 16 hours, so you can trust you'll still look bright-eyed on your evening commute.
Product Specifications
| SHADES: | 22 |
|---|---|
| BENEFITS: | Full coverage, natural finish |
Anyone with a TikTok account will have seen this gem in the hands of a bright-eyed beauty guru, raving about its ability to instantly erase any traces of a sleepless night. Its available in 5 shades and designed to be layered beneath or over your concealer to provide an instant brightening effect, and it really works.
Product Specifications
| SHADES: | 5 |
|---|---|
| BENEFITS: | Instantly brightening, can be used beneath or over concealer |
A supercharged concealer created solely with the under-eyes in mind? Yes please. Expect serious coverage that punches above its formula's weight, which feels light, silky and more like an eye serum than make-up.
It performs like one too, thanks to the inclusion of arnica, tremella mushroom extract and hyaluronic acid, which work together to smooth the look of the eye contours, while a HydroRelief complex helps brighten and create a well-rested appearance. Also, in the extensive shade range, you will find a few peachy tones perfect for color correcting.
Product Specifications
| SHADES: | 20 |
|---|---|
| BENEFITS: | Full coverage, skincare ingredients |
NARS know all about good concealers. While the Soft Matte pot concealer is king for making blemishes go *poof*, the viral Radiant Creamy Concealer is unbeatable for breathing life back into tired eyes.
What makes it so special, you ask? It uses light-diffusing technology to illuminate the skin, while balancing powders help to smooth and blur (and create a soft, satin finish that won't require much, or any, setting).
Product Specifications
| SHADES: | 30 |
|---|---|
| BENEFITS: | Illuminating, blurring |
Kosas Revealer Super Creamy and Brightening Concealer
Some users find Kosas' concealer a little too full-coverage, but this is music to the ears of anyone with dark circles. Better yet, you can forgo the eye cream with this one, as peptides and hyaluronic acid work in tandem to hydrate and plump the skin, while caffeine and pink algae revive and brighten the skin. You might even notice an improvement in the condition of your bare skin over time.
Also take note of the impressive 38-shade range - you'll absolutely find your match here.
Product Specifications
| SHADES: | 38 |
|---|---|
| BENEFITS: | Skin-loving ingredients, full-coverage |
NYX Professional Makeup Pro Fix Correcting Concealer Stick
Dare we say this is the best dark circle solution you’ll find on the Highstreet? Concealer sticks are infamously dry and prone to dragging the skin, but not this one: hyaluronic acid makes for an incredibly creamy formula that blends into the skin with ease and provides high-coverage without the cakey finish.
It comes in 6 targeted colour-correcting shades, including ‘yellow’ or ‘apricot’ to treat dark areas (i.e. dark circles) on a range of skin tones, plus 18 skin-matched shades to go over top. It’s a safe blind-buy.
Product Specifications
| SHADES: | 24 |
|---|---|
| BENEFITS: | Affordable, high-coverage formula |
Shiseido rarely misses, but this concealer is a true standout. Make-up artist Victoria swears by it for her clients and says how the inclusion of Smart Correcting Powder helps to achieve a smooth finish that won't require setting power over top. It’s perfect for oily skin, but honestly, anyone can enjoy this formula.
Plus, its dual-tip applicator lets you control the amount of product you deposit, so you never overdo it.
Product Specifications
| SHADES: | 16 |
|---|---|
| BENEFITS: | Shine control |
For maxed-out coverage, a reliable stick concealer is your go-to option. Victoria also loves this one from Clé de Peau Beauté, praising its ability to mask everything from dark circles to stubborn acne marks. She also notes that that its thick, creamy formula works best on a well-hydrated base - so don't skip the eye cream.
Product Specifications
| SHADES: | 13 |
|---|---|
| BENEFITS: | Very high coverage |
High luminosity intensity pigments instantly conceal signs of a late night (or an early morning) by scattering light to visibly brighten and diminish dark shadows. Plus, great news for those with dry under-eyes: the formula’s sunflower and castor oils deeply nourish delicate skin, ensuring a fresh, supple finish that lasts all day.
It's designed to be used as a pre-concealer brightener or colour corrector, but the effect is pretty all on its own for some light coverage. It's a favourite of Group Beauty Director Katy Young's, and it's bound to be one of yours.
Product Specifications
| SHADES: | 3 |
|---|---|
| BENEFITS: | Instantly brightens and smooths |
Chloe Woodland is the Group Beauty Assistant at , , and , working across print and digital features. She’s worked in the industry for two years, beginning her career writing for trade publications and Professional Beauty. When she’s not demystifying the science behind growing your hair, gathering the best make-up products of all time or investigating buzzy skincare ingredients, you’ll most likely find her rewatching Modern Family for the thousandth time or trying to tame her two working cockers (who’ve never worked a day in their lives).
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