The dark circles under my eyes have always been there and always will be.  I like to think that they’re a physical manifestation of my love of ghosts, true crime, and other spooky things.  I seldom need to run around for last-minute Halloween costumes; as long as I have a Victorian style nightgown and some baby powder, I’m sure to win any contests.  Or at least make some people sad.

However, not every day is Halloween, and because I like efficiency, I’m worn out answering questions about how tired I am or whether I’m ill.  The circles are speaking for me in falsehoods – I have approximately four cups of iced coffee in my system at all times, thank you very much.   I also like my eyes and want them to pop as opposed to being sent back into a dark hole, disappearing forever.  As a result, I’m constantly searching out ways to cover these dark circles up.  My new Quest to Become Foundation-Free also makes this difficult; even if I manage to get my skin relatively healthy and take out redness, it doesn’t really have the same effect if the dark circles remain.  Even when I *do* wear foundation, the struggle continues with concealer; I can never manage to make it all one color, and I honestly don’t like those caked triangles I see all the young folk doing.  I don’t have time, and it just creases, AND I feel like I’m stuck contouring in order to bring myself back to human again.

Cue products like Alba Botanica Fast Fix for Under Eye Circles.

How I Got It: Bought by moi, cuz I’m a grown up and it was only $5.

I was running around Face Values and saw this, and the price made it quite right for me.  A word about Face Values if you’ve never been to one and/or don’t have one near you: It’s basically Ulta if Ulta would just quit trying to be Sephora and embrace what it really is.  Here, I made a chart:

I really had nothing to lose, and everything to gain.  And boy, did I gain.  This is dubbed as a “vanishing concealer,” and it’s a pretty standard yellow (to counteract the dark).  I’m exceptionally pale, and the shade was great for me, but it might be too pale for skin tones on the dark side of medium – however, you can always use it just as a color corrector and put your perfect shade of concealer over top.

The texture of it surprised me a bit: I was expecting something a bit more creamy and/or tacky, in order for it to stay put.  Instead, it was runnier, thinner than an acrylic paint, but not as thin as milk (you’re welcome).  This did not seem to affect its staying power.  Here’s a gif in which I try to show the texture of it a bit.

Now, to actually show putting it on (for which I needed very little):

I think you can tell a bit better what the texture of it is like.  I really didn’t think it’d be thick enough to do any sort of job buuuuuuuuuuuttttt check out this photo from right after one eye was covered:

I was so impressed I just slapped a bunch on and around my nose, too, hoping it’d cover all the redness or at least dull it a bit.  Here’s the before and after:

I’m going to go ahead and say that this shit is amazing, especially for the price.  I tried dabbing some on the leftovers of the pimple on my forehead, and it didn’t cover that, but hey, can’t win ’em all.  I had another color correcting-type thing that I love (that I’ll review in the future), but suffice it to say this will probably be my go-to for under eyes from now on.  They also have a Fast Fix for Puffy Eyes that’s going on my To Buy list for further reviews.

Product: Alba Botanica Fast Fix for Undereye Circles Vanishing Concealer

Price: $4.99

Where to Get It/Accessibility: High accessibility (Face Values, Target, Wal-Mart, Amazon, probably most drug stores)

Effectiveness: High

Downsides: It may not match your skin tone as a concealer, so instead you’d have to use it as a color corrector and cover over it with a concealer of your choice