The best concealers for dark circles make it easy to keep a long night—and a missed bedtime—a secret. Smoothing, brightening, and forgiving on even the most sleep-deprived and stressed of eyes, the best undereye concealers are a makeup artist’s go-to tool for making clients beam, regardless of how much they groaned when the alarm went off in the morning.
Beyond instant coverage, many of the best concealers can improve the look of dark circles over time. Infused with skin-care-grade ingredients that flood the delicate eye area with hydration and antioxidant protection, the formulas deliver benefits that go well beyond masking discoloration. So, which brightening concealer to choose?
Vogue’s Favorite Concealers for Dark Circles:
In This Article:
Ahead, find the formulas Vogue editors and makeup pros keep on hand to brighten any undereye situation, no matter how dark it gets.
Kosas Revealer Concealer
- Why We Love It: One of Vogue’s favorite undereye concealers for blurring pores and vanishing dark circles, Kosas Revealer Concealer has a long list of attributes that make it a must for anyone’s makeup bag. (After all, we have a late night to atone for here and there.) Available in 38 hues that account for an impressive range of skin tones and undertones, the concealer hydrates, plumps, and brightens the undereye area with skin-loving ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, peptides, and caffeine. Speaking of love for the skin, the formula is dermatologist-tested, noncomedogenic, and hypoallergenic. The creamy product offers buildable medium coverage with a natural finish. It looks like your skin—just a touch smoother and brighter. “My fave thing about this product is the texture,” pro makeup artist Min Sandhu previously told Vogue. “It gives a youthful glow and there is no sitting in creases.”
- Key Ingredients: Caffeine, arnica, panthenol, peptides, hyaluronic acid
- Finish: Natural
- Coverage: Medium to full
- Shades: 38
- Size: 0.18 oz.
Chanel Sublimage Le Correcteur Yeux
- Why We Love It: Lightweight and light-reflecting, Chanel’s luminous undereye concealer is a makeup artist’s favorite for mature skin. Offering buildable coverage, the formula is infused with vanilla planifolia water derived from Madagascarian beans. The ingredient is packed with antioxidants to protect the delicate skin around the eyes; in Chanel’s radiant formula, it’s cocktailed with cedar extract to brighten dark circles. And though the price tag might raise an eyebrow, even seasoned Vogue editors concede that it’s worth the investment. “I’ll be honest—I was shocked at how much I liked it,” says senior beauty shopping writer Kiana Murden. “How great can a concealer be at $110? Incredible, actually. This is seriously like a tinted eye cream. Rich is a great way to describe the texture…. A little bit goes a long way—a few dots of product is truly all you need.”
- Key Ingredients: Vanilla planifolia water, cedar extract, light-reflecting particles
- Finish: Luminous
- Coverage: Medium
- Shades: 10
- Size: 0.35 oz.
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer
- Why We Love It: “For my budget-conscious folks, this is a tried-and-true, medium-to-high coverage concealer that has a fantastic shade range, and they now offer [pink, orange, yellow, and green] correctors!” says celebrity makeup artist Kasey Spickard. To layer a concealer with a color corrector, Spickard says to use the ring finger to tap a small amount of color corrector over the dark circle. “Less is more here! You want to slowly blend the corrector into the skin,” he says. “Once you have this blended in, dust a light layer of translucent powder over the corrector.” Once the color is set, apply foundation and concealer over the area. “Be sure to use stippling and tapping motions as opposed to swiping motions, which may cause your color corrector to move or mix into your complexion products,” Spickard says. He adds that Maybelline’s drugstore gem is “not too slippery, so it doesn’t move around.” What’s more, it’s infused with Haloxyl, an active ingredient that can diminish the appearance of dark circles.
- Key Ingredients: Goji berry, Haloxyl
- Finish: Natural
- Coverage: Medium to full
- Shades: 24
- Size: 0.2 oz.
Nars Soft Matte Complete Concealer
- Why We Love It: Nars’s cult classic has an enduring hold on industry insiders. To wit: Celebrity makeup artist Michael Ashton once told Vogue: “[This is] a foolproof staple that I swear by. It has a beautiful texture that looks like a second skin, but once it sets, it will withstand even the most balmy of summer days.” Makeup artist Hung Vanngo is also a fan of the lightweight cream. “This concealer is a great choice for anyone needing full coverage,” he told Vogue. “It comes in a big range of shades and it’s good for normal-to-dry skin.” Infused with hyaluronic acid and peptides to hydrate and plump the skin, the full coverage concealer also has optimal diffusion powder. The ingredient uses light-diffusing spheres for a blurring effect.
- Key Ingredients: Optimal diffusion powder, hyaluronic acid, peptides
- Finish: Natural
- Coverage: Full
- Shades: 30
- Size: 0.21 oz.
Pat McGrath Labs Sublime Perfection Concealer
- Why We Love It: Made with a proprietary Vita-Serum Complex that moisturizes the eye area, Pat McGrath’s full coverage concealer also has diffusing pigments to give the skin a blurred, softly lit look. With a velvety texture and a matte finish that still has a bit of radiance, the formula is a favorite of celebrities like Addison Rae. Though it offers full coverage, the creamy concealer has a lightweight feel, and its sterling reputation spans continents. The beauty team at British Vogue has deemed the formula “magic in a bottle” for “filter-like flawlessness.”
- Key Ingredients: Vita-Serum Complex, Flex Form Matrix, optically diffusing pigments
- Finish: Radiant matte
- Coverage: Full
- Shades: 36
- Size: 0.16 oz.
Clé de Peau Concealer With SPF
- Why We Love It: Enriched with SPF 27 for sun protection, Clé de Peau’s full coverage concealer conceals dark circles in a swipe. The formula also delivers skin-care benefits over time, harnessing hyaluronic acid, argan oil, and botanical extracts to hydrate, smooth, and brighten the skin after about four weeks of consistent use. “This concealer is a favorite of mine for my mature clients,” Spickard says. “Off the bat, it does feel like it has more grip or stickiness. But once you warm it up on the back of your hand, it becomes workable and provides fantastic coverage without settling into fine lines and wrinkles—a must for mature skin.”
- Key Ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, argan oil, zingiber aromaticus extract, chestnut rosa fruit extract
- Finish: Radiant
- Coverage: Full
- Shades: 12
- Size: 0.17 oz.
Hourglass Vanish Airbrush Concealer
- Why We Love It: Adored by bright-eyed celebrities, Hourglass’s crease-resistant concealer is a staple in Julianne Moore’s beauty bag. Mindy Kaling is another loyalist, and Samara Weaving uses the product to keep her naturally dry skin dewy, fresh, and bright. Made with microspherical powders that reflect light to create a smooth, airbrushed finish on the skin, the celeb staple is waterproof and designed for lasting coverage. (According to the brand, it can stay intact for up to 16 hours.) Other A-list perks? The applicator is angled to prevent tugging on the skin, and the 22-shade range includes color correctors.
- Key Ingredients: Reflective microspherical powders.
- Finish: Natural
- Coverage: Full
- Shades: 22
- Size: 0.2 oz.
Ilia True Skin Serum Concealer
- Why We Love It: A type of makeup that Hailey Bieber, for one, is quite fond of, serum concealers offer coverage with a side of skin care. The hybrid products have ingredient lists that read like the labels of top-shelf skin care; Ilia’s lightweight, medium coverage concealer is no exception. Made with vitamin C to brighten the undereye area, mastic to refine pores, and bark extract to smooth the skin, the concealer has a soft, natural finish and comes in 20 shades. When sharing the benefits of serum concealers with Vogue, pro makeup artist Lauren Martinez explained that the products can “help prevent the skin from looking dry and cakey throughout the day.”
- Key Ingredients: Vitamin C, mastic, Persian silk tree bark extract, aloe leaf juice
- Finish: Natural
- Coverage: Medium
- Shades: 20
- Size: 0.16 oz.
Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat Awakening Concealer
- Why We Love It: Yves Saint Laurent’s 1992 classic is a silky brightener and concealer in one. Dispensed via a gilded click pen—one that can always be found in Jennifer Lopez’s beauty bag—the lightweight product is a Vogue editor’s secret for awakening tired eyes. With a second-skin finish, the concealer can be worn alone or as the last step of a glow-boosting makeup regime. Sofia Richie Grainge, another celebrity fan, once described the cult product’s appeal on TikTok. “Honestly, the coverage is natural, really light, glowy, and beautiful,” she said, summarizing its perennial popularity in four adjectives.
- Key Ingredients: Marigold, Moroccan calendula extract
- Finish: Radiant
- Coverage: Light
- Shades: 14
- Size: 0.1 oz.
Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Perfect Glow Concealer
- Why We Love It: “I like Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk for dark circles because it contains tiny synthetic mica particles in the formula, which is a light-reflecting ingredient [that helps] brighten and camouflage [discoloration],” makeup artist Jenna Scavone previously told Vogue. Made with caffeine to depuff the skin, glycerin for lasting hydration, and vitamin E to brighten dark circles, the hydrating concealer is like a shot of espresso for tired eyes. Blurring and smoothing, it has an appropriately luminous finish and offers buildable medium coverage.
- Key Ingredients: Caffeine, vitamin E, glycerin
- Finish: Radiant
- Coverage: Medium
- Shades: 22
- Size: 0.4 oz.
Westman Atelier Vital Skincare Concealer
- Why We Love It: Gucci Westman’s quick-setting concealer instantly evens out the skin tone, and it’s packed with serum-strength actives that help fade dark circles and hyperpigmentation over time. Its hyaluronic acid has a small molecular weight—all the better to penetrate the skin and deliver deep hydration—and the concealer is also infused with peptides to soften fine lines. What’s more, a blend of botanical ingredients including licorice root and coffee leaf extract firms and brightens the skin around the eyes. (No wonder Westman calls the latter ingredient the “Vital Wakeup Complex.”) Clinical tests suggest that the product can reduce dark circles in four weeks—and in the meantime, the concealer wakes up the eyes with light-bouncing pigments that blur imperfections.
- Key Ingredients: Vital Wakeup Complex, hyaluronic acid, peptides
- Finish: Natural
- Coverage: Medium
- Shades: 16
- Size: 0.20 oz.
Merit Beauty The Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Stick
- Why We Love It: Part of Martha Stewart’s radiant-at-83 makeup look, The Minimalist’s easy-glide stick is a one-product stand-in for concealer and foundation. Infused with fatty acids to moisturize the skin and sea daffodil extract to quell redness, the buildable formula disguises dark circles while letting the skin breathe. Plus, it’s incredibly easy to use: “The small rounded bullet is about the size and shape of a finger, which allows you to draw on coverage like you’re using a skin-perfecting stylus,” contributor Katie Becker wrote. “Draw under the eyes, over redness around the nose, on top of brown spots or pimples, and then blend with your finger or a dense brush.”
- Key Ingredients: Fatty acids, sea daffodil extract
- Finish: Natural
- Coverage: Light to medium
- Shades: 30
- Size: 1.59 oz.
Valentino Beauty The Very Valentino Concealer
- Why We Love It: Decked with a gilded V, Valentino’s concealer doesn’t just have lavish packaging—it also tackles dark circles with a luxe ingredient. Infused with the brand’s Roma-Light Complex, made with ultrafine, light-reflecting pearls, the formula boosts the skin’s radiance with a lit-from-within glow. Ophthalmologist-tested and safe for sensitive skin, the formula also contains caffeine to depuff the eyes, vitamin E to brighten, and amino-acid-coated pigments that offer full, your-skin-but-better coverage.
- Key Ingredients: Roma-Light Complex, caffeine, vitamin E, glycerin
- Finish: Luminous
- Coverage: Full
- Shades: 20
- Size: 0.2 oz.
Everything You Need to Know
What concealer cancels out dark circles?
“Dark circles typically have a blue or purple undertone, so you’re going to want to look for something with more peachy or salmon undertones to correct your dark circles,” Spickard says. “I like to use a deeper, peachier concealer first, then go in on top of that with a lighter concealer in the client’s undertone to brighten [the undereye area].”
What to look for in a concealer for dark circles
When it comes to choosing a concealer, “You’re going to want one that has a high pigment load. This is what is going to actually conceal your discoloration,” Spickard says.
For color, celebrity makeup artist Vincent Oquendo previously told Vogue that it’s best to choose shades that align with the skin’s natural tone. “When your undertones are mismatched, the concealer starts to look ashy or just stands out too much,” he said. Warmer skin tones should look for yellow or orange undertones, while cooler skin tones will find pink shades most flattering, he added.
In terms of formula, look for something that sticks, so that dark circles don’t start peeking out again throughout the day. “I like something that isn’t too drying or stiff, but also not something too slippery that is going to move around,” Spickard says.
How to cover dark circles with concealer
Below, Spickard outlines the pros’ method for using concealer to disguise dark circles:
Skin Prep: “Start with a hydrating undereye cream and let that dry down and absorb into the skin,” he says. “I love the Goldfaden MD Bright Eyes Radiance Concentrate.”
Concealer 1: After the eyes have been moisturized, it’s time to go in with a color-correcting shade of concealer. “Take a peachier-toned concealer and tap on three to four dots, starting under the inner corner of the eye and working outward,” Spickard instructs. Let the color-correcting shade dry down until it gets a bit tacky—one to two minutes should do the trick—and then blend it out using a tapping motions with a damp beauty sponge. “Evaluate if you’ve counteracted your darkness and add any additional coverage as needed; then let it dry down and get tacky, and again lightly bounce your beauty sponge onto the product to work it into the skin,” Spickard says.
Concealer 2: After color correction comes brightening. Take a lighter concealer that matches your undertone—cool, warm, or neutral—and place one to two dots of the product under the eyes, from the inner corner to the pupil. “We want this to be concentrated toward the center of the face,” Spickard says. As above, let the second concealer dry down, then tap a wet beauty sponge over the product to blend it out.
Set: To set, Spickard recommends using a velour triangle puff with loose setting powder. (His pick is the Givenchy Prisme Libre powder.) After tapping the sponge into the powder, “rub the puff into the palm of your hand to evenly distribute the powder into the puff,” he instructs. Next, press the powder over the top of the concealer to lock it in and dust off any excess with a brush.
Do you need a color corrector to cover dark circles?
“You don’t always need a color corrector to cover dark circles,” Spickard says. He adds that using a peachier or salmon-toned concealer can often suffice to counteract discoloration or darkness under the eyes. “However, if you are going to use a color corrector, you’re definitely going to want to use a concealer on top of it,” he says. “You don’t want to be running around with orange product on your face!”
- Kasey Spickard is a celebrity makeup artist whose clients include Jenna Lyons.
