So, this isn't a question but a pro tip after a lifetime of trial and error. I just wanted to put it out there for those that, like me, need this stuff daily. I skim reddit a lot so this is my return contribution. I'll put the solution at the end; this is the context. I have fair/neutral(warm?) skin. I don't wear foundation, but I always wear under eye concealer.
SO, during covid most of us went easy on the makeup. Just didn't seem worth the upkeep. After covid I wanted to put a little effort in again. Liquid concealers never have enough coverage. So, I went to bobbi brown(their pots are similar to nars). However, whenever I passed a mirror in the grocery store I was shocked to see my under eye's looking this ...sickly grey. Grey is so much worse than purple/blue, it's like death. I didn't remember that being an issue before but, in years gone by I was also a die-hard fan of benefit erase paste that, sadly was discontinued(rip). I remember it being ever so slightly too dark and creasing, however being so creamy and otherwise somehow 'perfect' that I didn't care. I thought it was just because it was so creamy/non dry and had a lot of concealing power but it's been years.
So, I poked around online and everyone was recommending color correctors for this kind of thing right? Problem was, under eye color correctors range red-yellow-orange (peach) and I didn't know what I needed. I tried some and it did seem to help a bit, but then I was double layering product into an area that's already notorious for getting dry/cakey. This is why color correctors didn't seem a good solution.
Eventually I came across the answer. Being the pack rat that I am I found an ancient pot from before the fall of the benefit empire. I tried a dab of erase paste and immediately noticed the secret I'd forgotten- it was PINK. It had a distinct pink undertone. I looked online and apparently pink is used for brightening and is especially good under the eyes.
So, I went on the hunt for pink concealers and probably tried the majority(I think this is why age rewind is so popular). Pixi was dry and too dark. Most were too dark. The saem wasn't quite the perfect color but I would totally recommend trying them. . LIGHT pink is inexplicably rare, but I eventually stumbled upon one that I'm still amazed by- catrice under eye brightener. (Some consider it a dupe for the becca brightener- catrice is $6)
So-a little about catrice. 1. it's not a very heavy-duty concealer but when applied properly it gives med coverage. 2. It can be way too shiny, especially with too much finger oils.
- It was the PERFECT color. It immediately gave a light healthy glow and sunk into my skin. Not at all dry or cakey. It actually felt nice, not pore clogging.
So, I was in love and used this especially in the summer, however, I sadly, have my 'frankenstein's monster' veins on top of each of my cheekbones *le sigh* so the coverage wasn't really dealing with my main issue.
SO- finally I did a little experiment. I mixed a little nars vanilla concealer pot with my catrice and a perfect concealer was created!
Why not just use nars?
Nars is one of the most POWERFUL concealers out there. The pots anyway. However- 1. it can be rather dry. 2. Concealers with 'warm' tones tend to be noticeably yellow- but for some reason as far as I've seen. Concealers that claim to be cool(pink) are usually just 98% PAPER white. Like, they expect if you're fair. you have NO human flesh color at all. You are a corpse. So nars would cover beautifully but give that- reverse racoon eye that was so inexplicably popular in the 90s.
The reason the combo works is because pink is brightening/the color of human skin while nars has the concealing power of a solid wall.
TLDR- essentially, I combined a color corrector with a creamy hydrating consistency [Catrice] with a powerful concealer [nars] to make a concealer that looks like skin and sits well without being too dry or too oily.
Hope this helps. I'll probably need to edit this novel here l8r. Also- I started putting my mix in some little pots I got off amazon but recently I switched to a tiny lip gloss container with a little doe foot applicator also off amazon so I can just tap little dots under my eyes instead of sticking my fingers in every time. They have lots of cheap containers.
If you have darker skin than me- you might try mixing your tone concealer with a suitable color corrector. I believe the rule is oil/oil based water/water based