Beauty Clinic: Camouflage dark circles

Q I have pronounced dark circles under my eyes. I work in the performing arts so am used to slapping on heavy concealer to go on stage. But I need something more subtle when I am not behind footlights. Could you recommend a product please? A We are huge fans of Charlotte Tilbury make up in general but, in particular, of her product The Retoucher Conceal & Treat Stick. It’s a wonder for pretty well anything you want to camouflage. The creamy texture, delivered via a push button wand brush, makes it easy to pat in on the delicate under eye area. We also use it on eyelids and, after a tip from a make up artist, instead of foundation on ‘nearly bare’ days, or to touch up quickly at the end of the day. The Retoucher comes in ten shades (Sarah mixes 2 and 3 to get exactly the right colour), £25.

We also get asked a lot about puffiness, which in fact seldom goes with dark circles. But you can use the concealer to brighten the whole eye area and then blur the crease from puffy eye bags by ‘filling’ with a spot of concealer.

One of the best tips we were given years ago by make up artist Trish McEvoy (do consider her Instant Eye Life line filler and under eye brightener, £31 from Selfridges.com) is to apply concealer/corrector under eyes in an upside down triangle. So – you trace the brush along under the eyes, then down to a point just above the cheekbones. Pat in gently, et voilà – the eye area looks magically brighter.

While we think of tired puffy eyes, we have two other long time tried and tested tips. Damp warm chamomile tea bags are marvellous for reducing puffiness and rejuvenating tired eyes: lie down, pop them over your eyes and have a little rest. Secondly, tired sore eyes – often the product of too much screen work and not enough sleep – are often dry and itchy too. In which case, a product such as Optrex Intensive Eye Drops for Dry Eyes will help solve the problem quickly, £4.40 at Boots.com.