Learning the best techniques to apply makeup is a process. From beginner to professional, makeup requires precision and skill– especially for your under eyes. As the most thin, delicate part of your face, applying makeup to the skin beneath your eyes may be the most difficult. You might often find that your makeup creases (or “crepes”) between your under eye folds, especially during the cooler months when skin is dryer.
Creping is when the under eye area appears wrinkled, causing the thin skin to look layered. “When you apply makeup to crepey skin, and when you don’t apply it properly, it doesn’t lay nicely and often exacerbates that appearance,” Priscilla Ono, Fenty Beauty’s Global Makeup Artist tells ESSENCE.
But how do you avoid creping? Below, Ono breaks down her techniques to give you a creaseless under eye makeup look all winter long, and beyond.
Prep your eyes
For starters, you should prep your eyes with skin care first. “To prevent creping under the eyes, make sure to hydrate with an eye cream before applying any concealer or foundation,” Ono says. “If your skin tends to be dryer, also opt for a hydrating concealer.” Maintaining hydration under makeup can keep the skin smooth and flexible, which will help avoid unnecessary layers in your eye look. “The combination of hydration and setting is the key to eliminating creping,” she continues.
Set the skin
“I always set using pressing motions with a soft powder brush,” she says, dusting off excess product to avoid stray powder. “The key here is to make sure you’re consistently dipping the brush in the product and that the brush is coated completely every time you press and set under eyes.” That way you can make sure you’re adequately setting your under eye, in a smooth, even application to keep all of your makeup in place.
Make it last
If you use the right products, you won’t have to reapply. “The combination of a hydrating under eye cream and Fenty Beauty Invisimatte Instant Powder technique will truly allow the makeup to stay put for hours,” she affirms, without fading, pilling, creping, or movement. “While I would never recommend sleeping in your makeup, I’m that confident in this technique that your makeup would even stay put overnight if you wanted to put it to the test.”
“If you really make sure to adequately hydrate the under eye area so that the skin is nourished, smooth, and plump, and then set with the above technique, you won’t have a problem,” she says. “Consistency is key– do not cut corners or skip any steps” and you’ll have your eye makeup looking its best.