Month: February 2025

Plus where she’s at in her wedding-planning process with Chock Chapple.

If the eyes are the window to the soul, then the skin around them can indicate just how old a soul we are! It’s simply a fact of life that the skin around our eyes is different. Loss of collagen and elastin translates to thinner and more delicate skin which shows signs of aging much faster. And our wonderfully expressive eyes experience micro contractions throughout our lives as we smile, laugh, and squint.

Today I’ll share with you tips on how to correct dark circles and prevent creasing, and I’ll also share with you some of the top correctors and concealers for mature skin.

No makeup is going to totally cover up or reverse these under eye challenges, but makeup can make a pretty dramatic improvement in how our under-eye area looks.

In today’s article and accompanying video, you’ll find a menu of steps you can take, but you may find that you only have to do some of these steps. So, it’s important to experiment to determine if you only need to do some of these steps or if doing all of these steps will help you the most.

Crucial First Step

A very crucial first step is to prep our skin before we apply any makeup whatsoever. I highly recommend using under eye patches to help moisturize our eyes. But because they are so moisturizing, it’s best to apply them at night before going to bed. Too much moisture under our eyes is almost as bad as too little moisture since too much moisture won’t fully absorb into our skin which can cause our makeup to crease. So, apply eye patches, heavier eye cream or heavy-duty moisturizer before bed rather than before makeup.

And there’s one other thing we don’t want to do: we don’t want to bring our foundation up under the eye area unless we’re not going to be applying concealer under our eyes. This is because the more layers of products we have on our skin, the more likely our makeup is to crease. So, skip applying foundation under your eyes and just use the products we’ll be talking about next.

Tip #1: Go Light

Use a lightweight moisturizer or a very lightweight eye cream before applying makeup.

Tip #2: Quantity and Application Matter

Take a very small amount of your moisturizer and gently press and tap it in using your third finger or ring finger. The reason behind using these fingers is that they’re our weakest fingers so we won’t be applying as much pressure to this delicate skin.

Tip #3: Let It Set

We’re all guilty of rushing when we do our makeup. Instead, we need to let the moisturizer totally dry before we apply our next product.

Tip #4: Give Color Corrector a Chance

Use a color corrector next. Color correctors help cover or neutralize unwanted discoloration such as redness, dark spots or dark circles. And the concept of color correcting is guided by the principles of color theory. Think back to elementary school art class. You were probably taught that colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel are called complementary colors and cancel each other out.

Color Theory and Makeup

This same principle applies to makeup. So, we want to determine the color of what we want to cancel out and then choose the corrector in the opposite shade.

Since the dark circles under our eyes tend to have a bluish tone, shades of peach and orange are ideal for cancelling them out. If you have skin that’s lighter, you’ll want to use a lighter peach shade, and, if your skin is medium or deeper, you’ll want to use a deeper peach or orange shade. Most makeup lines will either have a separate category of makeup called a corrector that comes in peach or orange shades, or they’ll just include these peach or orange shades in their concealer line.

Suggested Products

Some really good correctors can be found in these brands: Nars, Becca, Catrice, Bobbi Brown and LA Girl. And Doll 10 makes a good one if you prefer using a product from a clean beauty brand. One of my favorite color correctors is a drugstore brand: Elf’s Hydrating Camo Concealer in Light Peach. It also comes in a Medium Peach if you have a skin tone deeper than mine. Because this product has a big doe foot applicator – and you just want to use a small amount of this corrector – it’s best to put some on the back of your hand and sheer it out a bit because we don’t want this product to be too dense.

You can pick it up with a brush if you prefer, but I like tapping into it with my third finger and tapping it on with my fingertip since the warmth of my finger really helps this product melt into my skin. Apply it over the area just where you have darkness rather than over the entire under eye area. Then feather it down to where the dent of the cheek ends and the hollow under the eyes begins.

Be sure to check out Elise’s YouTube channel which specifically focuses on makeup tips, techniques, and product reviews for those of us 50+. Don’t forget to subscribe!

Tip #5: Let the Corrector Dry

Be sure to let the corrector totally dry. This is important because if products are still wet, they’ll absorb into each other and won’t be as effective.

Tip #6: Make It Long-Lasting

This tip is especially important if you’re going to have your makeup on for an extended period of time. Take a very slightly damp makeup sponge and spray it with a setting spray like Urban Decay’s All Nighter and gently pat it over the dry color corrector. You don’t want to rub since that will disrupt the color corrector and make it sheerer so it won’t provide as much coverage of our dark circles.

Tip #7: Choose the Right Concealer

To further improve the appearance of dark circles, apply a brightening, slightly lighter concealer under your eyes rather than the concealer that you use on the rest of your face that matches your skin tone. Since it will vary for each of us as to whether we want to use a lighter coverage concealer under our eyes or a concealer with slightly heavier coverage, let me offer a few good options in each of these categories.

A good lightweight coverage concealer is from the clean beauty brand Saie Beauty. Some good medium weight concealers are from Haus Labs, Colourpop’s Pretty Fresh Concealer, YSL’s concealer and the clean beauty brands Doll 10 and Westman Atelier. If you want a little more coverage, you might want to check out the Natasha Denona Hy Glam Concealer, the Dermablend concealer, Bobbi Brown’s Long Wear Concealer or the L’Oreal Infallible Full Wear Concealer. Please be cautious of any long-wear, fuller coverage concealer as it will be denser and you’ll need to use even a smaller amount under your eyes.

One of my favorite concealers is the medium coverage concealer from the clean beauty brand Kosas. I love how lightweight and brightening this concealer is. And a brightening concealer can be important since it reflects light and this can help areas that have more texture have a finish that’s more of a soft focus effect. Once again, I’ll apply it on the back of my hand and tap it in with my middle finger. You can certainly also use a very slightly damp makeup sponge to tap it in.

Tip #8: Setting Spray

We want to spray that dampened sponge with setting spray once again, and tap it over the brightening concealer.

Tip #9: No Creasing Allowed

This tip ensures that our concealer won’t crease. Apply a very finely milled translucent or brightening powder under your eyes so the corrector and concealer will be less likely to crease. The secret that’s important to know is to look up as you apply the powder. This movement stretches your under-eye skin which means it also stretches the fine lines and allows you to get into that area more effectively with the powder.

I like to put some powder into the palm of my hand and then work a brush into it – or you can also use a small powder puff or a slightly damp sponge – and then gently press it over the concealer once the concealer is fully dry.

I hope you’ve found today’s tips helpful, and if you’d enjoy a few other makeup artist tips, here’s a video where I’ve shared tips from some other makeup artists which I think you might find especially helpful.

Your Thoughts Matter:

Do you have dark circles? What concealer or corrector has helped you even out the area under your eyes? If so, please share it with us!

Basketball legends Shaq, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith are all leading their own squads.

If the eyes are the window to the soul, then the skin around them can indicate just how old a soul we are! It’s simply a fact of life that the skin around our eyes is different. Loss of collagen and elastin translates to thinner and more delicate skin which shows signs of aging much faster. And our wonderfully expressive eyes experience micro contractions throughout our lives as we smile, laugh, and squint.

Today I’ll share with you tips on how to correct dark circles and prevent creasing, and I’ll also share with you some of the top correctors and concealers for mature skin.

No makeup is going to totally cover up or reverse these under eye challenges, but makeup can make a pretty dramatic improvement in how our under-eye area looks.

In today’s article and accompanying video, you’ll find a menu of steps you can take, but you may find that you only have to do some of these steps. So, it’s important to experiment to determine if you only need to do some of these steps or if doing all of these steps will help you the most.

Crucial First Step

A very crucial first step is to prep our skin before we apply any makeup whatsoever. I highly recommend using under eye patches to help moisturize our eyes. But because they are so moisturizing, it’s best to apply them at night before going to bed. Too much moisture under our eyes is almost as bad as too little moisture since too much moisture won’t fully absorb into our skin which can cause our makeup to crease. So, apply eye patches, heavier eye cream or heavy-duty moisturizer before bed rather than before makeup.

And there’s one other thing we don’t want to do: we don’t want to bring our foundation up under the eye area unless we’re not going to be applying concealer under our eyes. This is because the more layers of products we have on our skin, the more likely our makeup is to crease. So, skip applying foundation under your eyes and just use the products we’ll be talking about next.

Tip #1: Go Light

Use a lightweight moisturizer or a very lightweight eye cream before applying makeup.

Tip #2: Quantity and Application Matter

Take a very small amount of your moisturizer and gently press and tap it in using your third finger or ring finger. The reason behind using these fingers is that they’re our weakest fingers so we won’t be applying as much pressure to this delicate skin.

Tip #3: Let It Set

We’re all guilty of rushing when we do our makeup. Instead, we need to let the moisturizer totally dry before we apply our next product.

Tip #4: Give Color Corrector a Chance

Use a color corrector next. Color correctors help cover or neutralize unwanted discoloration such as redness, dark spots or dark circles. And the concept of color correcting is guided by the principles of color theory. Think back to elementary school art class. You were probably taught that colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel are called complementary colors and cancel each other out.

Color Theory and Makeup

This same principle applies to makeup. So, we want to determine the color of what we want to cancel out and then choose the corrector in the opposite shade.

Since the dark circles under our eyes tend to have a bluish tone, shades of peach and orange are ideal for cancelling them out. If you have skin that’s lighter, you’ll want to use a lighter peach shade, and, if your skin is medium or deeper, you’ll want to use a deeper peach or orange shade. Most makeup lines will either have a separate category of makeup called a corrector that comes in peach or orange shades, or they’ll just include these peach or orange shades in their concealer line.

Suggested Products

Some really good correctors can be found in these brands: Nars, Becca, Catrice, Bobbi Brown and LA Girl. And Doll 10 makes a good one if you prefer using a product from a clean beauty brand. One of my favorite color correctors is a drugstore brand: Elf’s Hydrating Camo Concealer in Light Peach. It also comes in a Medium Peach if you have a skin tone deeper than mine. Because this product has a big doe foot applicator – and you just want to use a small amount of this corrector – it’s best to put some on the back of your hand and sheer it out a bit because we don’t want this product to be too dense.

You can pick it up with a brush if you prefer, but I like tapping into it with my third finger and tapping it on with my fingertip since the warmth of my finger really helps this product melt into my skin. Apply it over the area just where you have darkness rather than over the entire under eye area. Then feather it down to where the dent of the cheek ends and the hollow under the eyes begins.

Be sure to check out Elise’s YouTube channel which specifically focuses on makeup tips, techniques, and product reviews for those of us 50+. Don’t forget to subscribe!

Tip #5: Let the Corrector Dry

Be sure to let the corrector totally dry. This is important because if products are still wet, they’ll absorb into each other and won’t be as effective.

Tip #6: Make It Long-Lasting

This tip is especially important if you’re going to have your makeup on for an extended period of time. Take a very slightly damp makeup sponge and spray it with a setting spray like Urban Decay’s All Nighter and gently pat it over the dry color corrector. You don’t want to rub since that will disrupt the color corrector and make it sheerer so it won’t provide as much coverage of our dark circles.

Tip #7: Choose the Right Concealer

To further improve the appearance of dark circles, apply a brightening, slightly lighter concealer under your eyes rather than the concealer that you use on the rest of your face that matches your skin tone. Since it will vary for each of us as to whether we want to use a lighter coverage concealer under our eyes or a concealer with slightly heavier coverage, let me offer a few good options in each of these categories.

A good lightweight coverage concealer is from the clean beauty brand Saie Beauty. Some good medium weight concealers are from Haus Labs, Colourpop’s Pretty Fresh Concealer, YSL’s concealer and the clean beauty brands Doll 10 and Westman Atelier. If you want a little more coverage, you might want to check out the Natasha Denona Hy Glam Concealer, the Dermablend concealer, Bobbi Brown’s Long Wear Concealer or the L’Oreal Infallible Full Wear Concealer. Please be cautious of any long-wear, fuller coverage concealer as it will be denser and you’ll need to use even a smaller amount under your eyes.

One of my favorite concealers is the medium coverage concealer from the clean beauty brand Kosas. I love how lightweight and brightening this concealer is. And a brightening concealer can be important since it reflects light and this can help areas that have more texture have a finish that’s more of a soft focus effect. Once again, I’ll apply it on the back of my hand and tap it in with my middle finger. You can certainly also use a very slightly damp makeup sponge to tap it in.

Tip #8: Setting Spray

We want to spray that dampened sponge with setting spray once again, and tap it over the brightening concealer.

Tip #9: No Creasing Allowed

This tip ensures that our concealer won’t crease. Apply a very finely milled translucent or brightening powder under your eyes so the corrector and concealer will be less likely to crease. The secret that’s important to know is to look up as you apply the powder. This movement stretches your under-eye skin which means it also stretches the fine lines and allows you to get into that area more effectively with the powder.

I like to put some powder into the palm of my hand and then work a brush into it – or you can also use a small powder puff or a slightly damp sponge – and then gently press it over the concealer once the concealer is fully dry.

I hope you’ve found today’s tips helpful, and if you’d enjoy a few other makeup artist tips, here’s a video where I’ve shared tips from some other makeup artists which I think you might find especially helpful.

Your Thoughts Matter:

Do you have dark circles? What concealer or corrector has helped you even out the area under your eyes? If so, please share it with us!

The stress of choosing between paying off debt and building savings can wreck your sleep. You’re juggling your all-day, every-day bills, trying to pay down that remaining debt, WHILE saving for your future. It’s A LOT to think about, and hard to know which thing to prioritize first.

Traditional financial advice can make it feel like this is an all-or-nothing situation. And that if you make the wrong decision, it could be devastating. That rigidity isn’t helping and certainly isn’t taking your personal financial circumstances into consideration.

What a Balanced and Empowering Approach Debt vs Savings Could Look Like for You

Fortunately, your financial life is probably a whole lot more resilient than you might think. That’s why that black-and-white thinking may have struck you as incomplete or overly simplistic.

So, before we dig into strategy, take a minute to think about what you WANT. What would your life look like if you had control over your money? What would you be able to do if you had savings you could rely on WHILE paying down your debt at a rate that is comfortable for you.

Would that look like less anxiety? More brain-space and capacity to do the things you love? Or maybe it’s just being able to sleep a little better at night.

On the financial side, maybe it looks like more trust in yourself regarding money, but also preventing new debt, reducing interest charges, and overall long-term stability.

Also read, How to Make Your Savings Stick Around a Bit

How to Find the Right Strategy for You

Step 1: Assess Your Debts

List out all of your debts, even your mortgage, if you have one. You’ll need the current balance, interest rate, and what you’re paying each month (you can include the minimum if you’d like).

Step 2: Examine Your Savings Goals

List out your savings goals. For each “allotment” of savings, try to answer the questions “What is the purpose of this savings”, and “How would I know when to use this savings?”

Step 3: Play with Scenarios

There is no one correct way to pay down debt and/or build savings. What kind of debt you have, interest rates, and balances change from situation to situation, so finding the best way to pay off your debt may require some initial experimentation.

My clients and I use this free calculator.

I recommend playing with each of these options for paying down debt:

Highest-to-Lowest Interest Rate

Pro: This strategy is likely to save the most on interest.

Con: Difficult to build momentum. If the highest interest rate debt is also the biggest, it can take years to see any progress, which may lead to falling off any payment strategy, which may inadvertently lead to more interest accrued.

Shortest-to-Longest Payoff Period

Pro: Easy to build momentum with most debts. Momentum makes it easy to feel successful in this strategy, and easier to stick with. Very often, but certainly not always, the difference you’d pay in the interest rates of the highest to lowest strategy vs the shortest to longest strategy are negligible.

Con: Depending on the composition of the debts, you may pay more in interest rates.

Lowest-to-Highest Balance

Pro: Just like shortest-to-lonest payoff, this strategy is great for building momentum, as you’ll likely see more success early and find it easier to keep going. This strategy can end up feeling like a game!

Con: Again, you might end up paying more on interest, but the difference may be small.

Highest Priority First

Higher priority debts are paid off first (sorted by emotional impact, interest rate, or balance) while all other debts only get interest paid, once the first debt is paid off, the next one is paid off, etc.

Pro: You get to decide which debts are most important.

Con: It can be frustrating just paying the minimums on the debts that aren’t the current focus, which can lead to the whole structure breaking down.

See which of these options works best for YOU and your budget.

Step 4: Make the Savings/Debt Paydown Strategy Part of a Larger Whole

It’s always best to build savings and/or pay off debt within a customized, easy-to-use, adaptable framework (i.e. budget). Paying off debt should be a strategy WITHIN the larger strategy of your budget as it increases the likelihood that your strategy will be successful.

But just trying to comply with a premade budget template will not be enough. Your goals, spending priorities and desires are unique, so custom-building a budget that thoughtfully prioritizes debt payoff is critical. Also watch out for a budget that is either too restrictive or too loosey-goosey. You need structure to carry forward your goals, but flexibility to handle emergencies, opportunities, and change in general.

Also read, How and When to Use Your Emergency Fund.

Step 5: Choose Whether You’re Going to Focus on Debt First, Savings First, or Both-And

One of my favorite concepts is treating savings goals as debts. Using the debt calculator above, run through all possible scenarios. Include your savings goals as debts in the calculator, with a 0% interest rate, and then play with how much you think you might save each month.

I’m sure you can see the recurring theme here… play, play, play. The more of these scenarios you run, the greater your comfort will be, and the more confident you will be with whatever plan you choose.

More About Savings

Carefully strategize on your savings too. Savings is the anti-debt. Over time, a carefully built savings strategy (incorporated with the kind of budget described above) can prevent future debt. I know you’re hearing advice like “just save $1,000”, or “save 6 months worth of expenses”, and that’s fine, but how do you know when to use your savings and when not to?

By carefully naming your savings allotments (and I do recommend having at least three), you know when to use it and when not to. For example, if I name my savings “emergency fund”, how the heck do I know when something rises to the level of an emergency and when it doesn’t? If I name that same savings “income drops by 20%” I not only know exactly when I should use it, but I’m also less likely to use those funds for something else and regret it later.

In Conclusion

I know this one sounds obvious, and yes you’ve heard this before, but by 1) carefully structuring how you pay off your debt, 2) building and adapting a customized budget, and 3) carefully structuring your savings, you can prevent taking on more debt in the future.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Do you think it’s better to build your savings or pay off debt? Have you heard of any strategies to balance both? What strategy have you used/are you using?