Every morning, I stumble out of bed into the bathroom and the girl I see in the mirror looks like she’s gotten punched square in the face.

(Exact opposite of the photo above.)

Thankfully, the dark circles are hereditary and NOT actually a twin set of black eyes, but that certainly doesn’t soften the blow when I’d much rather look well-rested than weary!

Over the course of many years, after many wasted tubes of concealer, and WAY too many moments where someone says to (about) my face — “Wow, You must be exhausted!” right after I’ve had the best sleep of my life — I’ve discovered my OWN one-two punch that knocks the raccoon mask to the floor every single time.

Here’s the rundown:

1. // Before you start any other part of your normal make-up routine… Squeeze a dot of Bremenn Clinical Dark Circle Eraser on the pad your ring finger (about the size of a grain of rice or more if your skin is very dry) and pat your ring fingers together to get equal amounts of product on each one. Gently apply the cream to your under-eye area, being extra careful not to tug or irritate the delicate skin. Let the product work it’s magic while you brush your teeth or get dressed, and note that the second step will work best if you’ve already let the eraser soak in – The formula is actually shrinking the capillaries that are right underneath the skin, and it incredibly only takes a few minutes.

2. // Next… Carefully use the bareMinerals Well-Rested CC Eye Primer STICK (not the wand with a brush) to apply directly to the now less-dark circles. It draws right on like a chubby crayon, and because it’s so light in color – you’ll want to use the control to your advantage in being as precise as possible. Warm the same two (clean) fingers from before by rubbing them together and blend the brightened spots by gently dabbing the edges. I’ve also tried using a make-up brush or a beauty blender for this part, but they both seem to spread the product too much and it makes the area dry and flakey. Extra Credit –> Add a swipe to the sides of your nose that are between the bridge and the inner corner of each eye for more glow.

To seal everything in and blend the layers even more, I finish by adding either one of my favorite concealers (Revlon age-defying concealer in the dry winters or bareMinerals cream concealer for the rest of the year). Experimenting with different products for this step over the past decade has caused me to have super-high standards on coverage, wrinkle-sinkage* and long-lasting wear… These guys are aces on all three counts!

Best part about the simple steps above is that you can use them like levels depending on how much coverage is needed and where you’re headed on any given day.

Example: Level 1 is a must ANY time I’m leaving the house. Yes, even to the gym. Even when I know I’m NOT going to see another human besides Mr. Pepper, I still like applying this in the morning as a small act of taking care of myself and my appearance. Level 2 is perfect for meeting up with a friend, running around town or any other occasion when I want to look fresh faced without wearing tons of make-up. Level 3 is kind of a sliding scale (because I can play around with amount of product and its placement) based on whether or not I need to be TV camera ready or will have people inches away from my face while socializing at a special event. You can imagine how thankful I was to have this all figured out for hosting my first national news segment on only 4 hours of sleep!

Now that I’ve shared my secrets, it’s your turn to tell us… What are the best tips for getting a bright-eyed glow when your tired skin wants to take over? Share in the comments below and I’d love to include the highlights in a round up on the S&P facebook page!

Ps. – The last time I told you about the magic of this stuff, we were talking about a make-over for your beauty cabinet… Did you end up putting any of those ideas into play? Since we moved and my storage situation changed, I’ve been meaning to revisit that post and do another re-vamp!

*Wrinkle-sinkage is what happens when your skincare products create a layer on your face that deepens the look of crows-feet by settling into the fine lines and making them appear more visible than they normally are. I consider it my big-sisterly duty to warn you of these things… Don’t let it happen to you.

Bright eyes above belong to Miss Krystal Glynn