Skin-loving with hydrolyzed collagen, peptides, hyaluronic acid and antioxidants, Bye Bye Under Eye Full Coverage Anti-Aging Waterproof Concealer is IT Cosmetics’ “life changing concealer.” The “IT” in IT Cosmetics stands for Innovative Technology, and the brand claims to partner with plastic surgeons to develop their “clinically proven, innovative, problem-solving” products that “harness cutting-edge, anti-aging technologies and skin-loving ingredients.” That all sounds very impressive, if IT can deliver.
Price: $27
Find it HERE
Tested May 2020
I honestly couldn’t tell you when I first started using Bye Bye Under Eye from IT Cosmetics. It would have been so long ago, in fact, that I can remember the old packaging (the tube was longer and thinner). Periodically I try other concealers, usually because I’ve received a sample or some YouTube Beauty Guru told me it was a “holy grail.” Whatever the reason, I always come back to Bye Bye Under Eye. This product works to conceal under eye circles and darkness in real life and photos and leaves my particularly sensitive under eye area no worse for wear.
If you’ve watched a beauty You Tuber apply concealer, you’ve probably seen this technique: painting a huge triangle in a really light shade under the eye and “baking” it with lots of powder. I’m not sure how or why applying concealer like this, in a shade much too light, became a thing…but for a real life person over the age of 20, it shouldn’t have. Similarly, layering so much concealer with foundation and then setting it with scoops of loose powder pressed in with a sponge is a recipe for disaster. The reason I need to preface with this is because I’ve tried it, specifically with this concealer, and it does not work. The results were thick, crinkly, grandma-looking under eyes. But Bye Bye Under Eye does work (really well I might add) if used as directed, so I don’t want you to give up on it just because some YouTuber misdirected you. Follow me on this…since my face isn’t raw cake batter, and Seattle isn’t an oven, let’s talk about how I conservatively use Bye Bye Under Eye to spot conceal areas that need help and leave the rest of my face still looking like skin.
Formula/Packaging:
I use the shade 20.0 Medium – for neutral undertones. To their credit, IT Cosmetics offers the Bye Bye Under Eye concealer in a whopping 48 shades- points for inclusivity! I would say this concealer is a touch lighter than my Laura Mercier Foundation in Beige Ivory (read that review here) but not much. The Bye Bye Under Eye formula is creamy, pigmented and thick, but it can be blended.
I appreciate that Bye Bye Under Eye doesn’t come in a pump (honestly it’s far too thick) because that would dispense WAY more product than anyone needs. I also like that it doesn’t have a doefoot applicator either, because I don’t want to seal any blemish germs back into a container. The squeeze tube is easy to get every last bit out of and although I’m not saying I’ve cut a tube open before, I’m also not saying I haven’t.
With regard to the skincare claims IT makes, I’ve been using this concealer for so long now that if it had any magical properties I’d surely know. It does, however, seem to fill and blur pores temporarily. I suspect this is related to the moisture retaining, skin-plumping hyaluronic acid it contains. So while I can’t say that Bye Bye Under Eye improves the delicate under eye skin (all of the so-called skin care ingredients are towards the bottom of the ingredients list), it certainly doesn’t harm it. Overall I find the formula moisturizing and comfortable.
It’s also worth mentioning that I can’t use other IT Cosmetics products. I’ve tried their ever-popular CC cream, moisturizer and makeup removing wipes and ALL of them irritated my skin. Whatever research they did into eye-specific products worked, because never once has this concealer bothered me.
Waterproof, which is listed right there on the package, is also an understatement! I can’t even get the residue of this concealer off the back of my hand-turned-palette using hand soap. I typically use a cotton round with eye makeup remover to wipe off the back of my hand before leaving the house (otherwise you risk getting a smear on your clothes). While this step is a little inconvenient, once the concealer sets, the budge-proof formula enables me to leave my under eye area unchecked for the rest of the day.
Application:
If you glean nothing else from our blog, watch this video from Sephora PRO Artist David and it will single-handedly change the way you apply concealer. After watching this video and learning a bit about what I want to bring forward, where I need to add light and which products accomplish this, I settled on Bye Bye Under Eye as the cornerstone of my routine.
The box instructs us to use a “tiny amount” warmed with the fingers. I second this instruction and typically use about a grain of rice sized amount. I start by squeezing a bit out onto the back of my hand and then apply it with the knife edge of a soft concealer brush into the recessed areas under my eyes, concentrating most of the product there on either side. With whatever is left on the back of my hand, I brush the outer corners and lids of my eyes (basically anywhere I have darkness), then around my nose to conceal redness and finally on any blemishes.
The amount I use for spot covering and redness reduction is really no more than residue left on the bristles; because Bye Bye Under Eye is so pigmented, it’s very efficient at evening out tone/color (i.e. all my broken capillaries from pregnancy) with the thinnest of layers. I find that this isn’t too much to layer foundation on top of either if I want a more glam look. By applying my products in this order, I don’t end up with lighter areas around blemishes which actually highlights them. Admittedly, on a normal day, I typically skip foundation altogether and just use the Bye Bye buffed over problem areas (the package does say it can also be used as foundation).
Remember when I got on my soapbox at the beginning of this post about those triangles some people apply under their eyes? This is why: Bye Bye is too thick and too close in shade to my skin tone to accomplish what those You Tube Beauty Gurus are trying to do. If you wish to lighten the under eye area after applying concealer and foundation, no problem…something thin and bright like Touche Eclat All-Over Brightening Pen layers spectacularly over Bye Bye Under Eye, or you can add some illuminating powder like HOURGLASS Ambient® Lighting Powder to the areas you’d like to bring forward and brighten.
As much as I love a beautyblender for bouncing on foundation (check out our sponge battle post here), it doesn’t seem to work well with Bye Bye Under Eye. I suspect this concealer is just a little too thick. When I’ve tried, all that seems to happen is that I press far too hard only to get a barely concealed wash of skin and the very waterproof formula of Bye Bye dirties the sponge beyond repair. Fingertips (as recommended on the box) work well to warm and pat in the product if you have dark circles and wish to conceal/lighten the entire area evenly. For me, because I don’t want to enhance any bags, fingers aren’t precise enough for my taste and I prefer using a brush…actually two.
I’m typically very low maintenance with my makeup as a whole, but concealer is the one exception. I always need and never skip concealer, let’s blame it on my toddler. The very best way to ensure that this thick product does not crease is to apply it with a flat concealer brush (see the photo above) and then buff the edges using a dense, flat brush like this 110 from Luxie. I ever so slightly tap over recessed areas, just to press in the product and lift any excess away, and then I leave it alone! While I wouldn’t call this concealer tacky, it doesn’t ever dry down to a matte finish. If I want a more dewy look I’ll spray my face (making sure to really get my under eye area) with setting spray and this locks the concealer in place. If I want a more “glam” look and really need my face to last, I’ll very lightly brush on some translucent powder – I like Hourlgass Veil™ Translucent Setting Powder.
While it can be a little tricky to apply simply because it’s thicker than most concealers, Bye Bye Under Eye is incredibly versatile, 100% waterproof, moisturizing and as pigmented as anything I’ve ever used. A small amount can be used to spot conceal, a thin wash can be used to camouflage discoloration, and layers of this concealer, with or without other products, can be built up where needed.
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