How should I apply eye make-up?

Prone to dark circles? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one! Dark circles are usually caused by fatigue, aging, or dehydration. However, puffy or swollen eyes can come as a result of other circumstances such as smoking, fluid retention, allergies or genetics.

To fight against dark circles and puffy eyes, we recommend regularly massaging the skin around your eyes.
Ideal for the delicate under eye area, Clarins Double Serum Eye's bi-phase formula combines the tightening effect of a gel with the comfort of a cream to create a refreshing, lightweight treatment that preps eyes for immediate make-up application.

If you suffer from other issues, you may want to find the best eye treatment for yourself, and discover our tips on applying your eye cream with our eyecare tutorial.

When it comes to mastering eye make-up, concealer is a true beauty must-have! If you suffer from dark circles or uneven skin tone around the eyes, a high-coverage concealer that’s slightly lighter than your skin tone will soon become your best friend.

A step-by-step to applying concealer

1. Pat: a moderate amount of concealer on areas where it is significantly darker. Under eye circles typically have a darker hue to your natural undertone of your skin. Cover the areas of the eye contour where your thin, delicate skin is often prone to dark circles.

Begin at the inner corner of the eyes, where the skin is usually the darkest. Using a make-up sponge or concealer brush (a flat brush is the best choice so you easily can pat and press into the creases).

2. Apply: a small amount of concealer at a time – it’s easier to add as you go along than to clean off excess product. Be gentle: it’s important to avoid pulling the delicate skin around the under-eye area.

3. Blur: This step is optional, but if you are prone to oily skin to combination skin and you want your concealer to have a photo-finish or “blurring” effect, there are two steps you can take. First, apply the Ever Matte Compact Powder under the eyes and follow up with a spritz of Fix’ Makeup to increase its longevity.

Developed with the same expertise as Clarins' skincare, we harness the power of the most potent plant extracts for make-up that delivers true skincare benefits. This lightweight, high performance formula is enriched with Clarins' plant extracts:

• Horse Chestnut escin helps to target dark circles
• Organic Oat sugars visibly tighten skin around eyes
• Organic Quinoa hydrates for 24 hours and supports the natural skincare barrier

Paired with Clarins' proprietary plant-based Anti-Pollution Complex helps protect skin from environmental stressors indoors and out, including blue light.

When it comes to eyeshadow, the only limit is your imagination! From dramatic Insta-worthy looks with bold colours to subtle, natural lashes and lids, playing with eye make-up ideas is a great way to boost your beauty self-expression.

However, if you want to master application techniques and colouring types, it’s better to start with the basics. When you’re faced with an eyeshadow palette with many shades, you may be wondering, what to do. In the next section of this Beauty FAQ we give you a walkthrough of how to apply eyeshadow.

A step-by-step to applying eyeshadow
If you’re a beginner, your first pick may not be a make-up palette with plenty of shades. When applying eyeshadow, you first want to consider the following things:

• Start from light shade and diffuse into a darker one
• Select the right brushes for different stages of your eyeshadow
• Blend and blend some more!
• Use clean brushes each time

1. Prime: Prime your eyes with concealer or Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch to smooth and blur imperfections, as well as prep the eyelids so the colour can last all day. If you do use concealer, you want it to be tacky!

2. Apply: Use a soft, fluffy brush and add a neutral shade to begin. Then blend into the eye crease (this is the fold on your eyelid).
To pack on more colour for a bolder look, you may want to use a denser brush. We love our Velvet Shadow to apply across the eyelid. Its matte cream formula soothes and nourishes the delicate skin around the eye contour, acting as the perfect base. You can stop here, but if you want to add more colour, carry on to step three.

3. Shadow and centre: For a more glam look, you want to apply darker colours to the outer corners of your eyes, and add a brighter or even add a glitter shade to the centre of your lids.

4. Finish: To finish, grab your eye pencils and eyeliner pens - it’s time to let your inner artist shine by playing with eyeshadow colours and textures. With four ultra-pigmented shades for maximum wear, Clarins’ eyeshadow palettes are perfect for everything from daytime to party make-up looks. Keep in mind the most important part is to have fun and find what suits you best!

When trying to figure out the most flattering eyeshadow for your eye colour, checking out the interactive colour wheel can allow you to pick colours that contrast your eyes for a finish that compliments you.

Available in six shades, each Clarins Colour Eyeshadow Palette comes with four intensely pigmented velvet, satin, foil, and metallic eyeshadows, and has everything needed to prime, shade, line, and define your eyes —delivering intense colour payoff and long wear, for eye make-up that stays put. Its 2-in-1 formula is enriched with the priming properties of natural Bamboo Powder to keep your eye make-up fresh, crease-proof and flawless for a full 12 hours.

Discover your perfect eyeshadow shade with Clarins’ Virtual Try-On Tool!

When it comes to achieving the perfect eyeliner flick, there’s two ways to go - you can either use a waterproof eyeliner pencil or a liquid eyeliner.

Eyeliner pencils are ideal for achieving a smoky eye, as they’re easy to smudge and blend. If it’s definition you’re looking for, opt for a liquid liner - but beware, you may need to practise before getting that line just right! Clarins Graphic Ink Liner Liquid Eyeliner pen is an easy-to-use felt tip eyeliner that follows the curves of your eye contour, making it possible to create any type of line with precision, from thin to thick. Ideal for a look that lasts from day to night, its quick-drying formula is long-wear and transfer-proof, with a rich and intense black pigment.

Whether you’re aiming for a natural eye make-up look or a dramatic effect, a swipe of mascara is the perfect finishing touch. So, what’s the best mascara to use?

First and foremost, prep your lashes with Clarins SOS Lashes Serum Mascara to protect, strengthen and enhance lashes before applying your mascara.

Clarins Supra Volume Mascara is a double volume effect mascara that creates an intense, full, fanned-out lash look in one quick coat for day wear. The gentle formula of this mascara is enriched with Cassie Flower and Panthenol to visibly thicken and smooth your lashes.

If it’s drama you’re after, Wonder Perfect Mascara 4D takes lashes to bold new dimensions: visibly lengthening, curling, defining and volumizing eyelashes for a captivating, wide-eyed look. Its unique formula combines intense carbon-black mineral pigments with filmogenic Rose Wax for long-wearing colour and hold. Clarins’ exclusive Lash Boosting Complex of Sphingony and Panthenol helps to protect and promote visibly thicker, longer-looking lashes.

First and foremost, never pump the mascara wand in and out of the tube, as this introduces air that can dry out the formula.

1. Begin at the base of your upper lashes and move the wand in a zigzag motion from side to side, working towards the tips of your eyelashes.

2. Leave to dry and apply a second coat for a more dramatic eye make-up look. If you plan to apply several coats to your lower lashes or you don’t have a steady hand, place a tissue under the lower lash line before applying your mascara to catch any smudges.

When choosing eye make-up for day or night, take the occasion as well as the ambient lighting into account.

In broad daylight: Go for a natural eye make-up look. When applying eyeshadow for daywear, use a single natural eyeshadow shade that complements your skin tone. Opt for a gentle peach pink eyeshadow if you’re very fair-skinned, or neutral colours that match the undertones of your skin, such as light browns from our Ombre 4-Colour Eyeshadow Palette or taupe for medium to darker skin tones.

For night make-up: often bolder than day make-up. For special occasions or party make-up, you can create an intense smoky eye make-up look by blending a trio of eyeshadows across the eyelid for a dramatic finish.

Begin with the lightest shade in the inner corner of your eye, winging out towards the outer corner with the darker shades. Finish with a swipe of our 3-Dot Liner or a waterproof eyeliner pencil.

Once you’ve mastered your eye make-up look with eyeshadows, pencils, liners and mascara, the next step is eyebrow make-up!

If you have thick, well-defined brows, simply shape them with Clarins Lash & Brows Double Fix’ Mascara to keep them in place throughout the day.

For thinner brows, fill in with a brow pencil, using small feathery strokes, and blend with a brow brush.

The answer: gently do it!

1. Soak a cotton pad with Clarins Instant Eye Make-up Remover, and press gently over the eye contour for 10 seconds.
2. Smooth your cotton pad downward over the eyelid, before moving up and gently lifting the eyelashes. Fold the pad and swipe across the tips of the lashes. Always use enough product to easily remove all traces of eye make-up - if in doubt, apply a second swipe of your micellar water or eye make-up remover.
3. Finally, never press down hard on the eyes or drag the skin of the delicate under eye area.

Discover our range of eye make-up today specially formulated to suit all skin types and ages!