By BR Kellie
I love the movie Zoolander. I can watch it again, and again, and again. It's up there with The Devil Wears Prada, The Sound of Music, and Star Wars in my watchability list.
One of my favourite parts is when Derek and Hansel are looking for the plans that will save the world from Mugatu's evilness, and they're told by Matilda to look in the computer.
"In the computer? It's so simple."
Post realisation, Derek and Hansel then start attacking the computer with whatever's on hand in order to get into it, all the while making monkey/ape sounds.
Fun times. Hilarious.
BUT... that line with all its 'how did I miss this, it's so obvious' awe sticks with me. It's the tone I use in my head when I discover something that really is so obvious I feel like an idiot for not figuring it out myself.
And it was that kind of voice that ran through my head when I came across this under eye concealer setting trick.
You see I have a rather dry under eye area. It is also prone to shadows due to the shape of my eye area. It's also very textured - I'd go so far as to say that sometimes when I look at my under eyes I wonder if I'm part-lizard. Now, the problem with having a dry and textured under eye area is that I've never had success with setting concealer. Generally the process goes:
Apply concealer.
Blend. Blend. Blend.
Powder.
Five seconds later... *expletive, ugh* ...because the powder has served to emphasise the texture and fine lines. This is before it even begins to crease.
So I got to thinking... there must be a way I can use concealer under my eye area. There must be another way to set it. Surely in all these years of makeup application someone would have figured out a way to give us dry-skinned, textured girls a chance of at least faking that bright eyed, bushy tailed look.
So I hit YouTube because, along with Google and Reddit, it contains the answers to all of life's most pressing questions. (Joking. Mostly. Sort of.)
Who should come up top of the list? Only my fave, Wayne Goss. What should he pop up with? Ways to set your eyes without powder. God, I love that man. So much. To the ends of the galaxy and back. Bless his cotton socks. So with bated breath I watched his tutorial, and you guessed it... I had my Zoolander moment.
(If you can't see the video, click here!)
'In the computer. It's so simple.'
Except in Kellie makeup-land it went along the lines of... 'Use a setting spray. It's so simple.'
So what's a person who's not a powder fan to do if they want to set their under eye concealer?
First, apply your concealer. Then, take a sponge, spritz it with setting spray, wait for the spray to absorb, then dab the sponge under your eye.
It's that simple. And it makes so much sense.
So, I picked a day when I didn't have to be anywhere in a hurry. I applied my face. Popped on my Maybelline Fit Me concealer, blended it out. Then taking my sponge I spritzed it with Skindanavia Setting Spray, and patted it on top. Then I waited a bit to see what would happen. Would it emphasise the crepe-y texture of my under-eye like powder did? Would I witness another uber lizard-skin moment?
Short answer?
No. No, I did not.
Instead I looked like me, but a brighter, more awake, less bruised under-eye version. AND... the concealer didn't crease during the day.
Stop it. Get out. Shut the front door. It's in the computer. It's so simple.
Wayne also offered other non-powder options, such as don't set at all but be prepared to re-pat and blend your concealer throughout the day when it creases, or you can buy a crease-proof concealer, or you can use eye primer under your eyes before applying concealer. All good ideas, but the setting spray rocks my party.
Going to try this tomorrow for sure