My Anastasia Eye Lift

If you've been following the "what can I do about puffy eyes and dark circles" Q&A on RealSelf.com you might feel tired eyes are something you just have to accept. 

With the medical experts chiming in with answers like, "Treating dark circles is almost impossible" and "Dark circles are VERY hard to treat", it's a dose of reality you might not want.

What's the upside? All that truth may keep you from spending money on would-be wonder creams and focusing on things that actually help. Like makeup.

First, there are corrective concealers, and they can work wonders (brands like DermaBlend and Cover FX). But a little attention to your brows can also help lose the tired-eye look and provide a frame for the rest of your face.

My "a-ha" moment with brows came years ago when I had the good fortune of having Joey Mills do my makeup as I interviewed him (Mr. Mills has done Princess Caroline, Iman, Diana Ross, Brooke Shields...and also wrote "New Classic Beauty").

When he did my face, it was as if the rest of my face didn't exist—he kept telling me that my brows were the most important feature and to never forget to do them. Ok Joey, duly noted.

As we get older, our brows can become more sparse. This, combined with graying, diminishes the brows' natural frame for the face and can also create a more tired look.

Enter Anastasia Soare's new Highlighting Brow Kit. It's a compact 2-in-1 kit that includes a terracotta baked trio of brow colors (to take you from blonde to deep brunette) along with a trio of highlighting shades in shimmery sand to copper tones, and retails for $32.

The brow powders are great for definition and filling in; the mirrored Highlighting Brow Kit does not include a brush (I wish it would as a normal brow brush won't fit in the kit), but Anastasia's brow brushes provide great, precise application, wet or dry. The highlighting powders are subtle, and a fingertip touch just beneath the brow helps open up the eyes.

If you haven't ever had your brows professionally shaped and made up, it's something that's well worth the money (and possible waiting list if you're trying to book with Anastasia herself).

One final tip from Anastasia: when filling in brows, don't bring the outer end of brows down or out too far—they'll emphasize those outer eye lines (lovingly known as crow's feet).

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