Under-Eye Color Corrector, 4-Shade Waterproof Long-Wear Cream Makeup Palette

Amara is a corrector, not a concealer, and the difference matters. Concealer covers by adding opacity, which is why piling more of it under the eye eventually looks grey and cakey rather than clean. A corrector works by colour theory instead: warm tones sit opposite blue and purple on the colour wheel, so a thin layer neutralises those undertones optically before any concealer touches the area. Less product, better result.

It comes in four shades because one shade cannot serve every skin tone. The undertone you are cancelling gets deeper as skin gets deeper, so the corrector has to get warmer to match it. Light to medium skin needs peach. Medium to tan skin needs a deeper peach. Deep skin needs orange, and the deepest skin tones need red. Using a shade that is too light for you is what causes the ashy, grey cast people blame on concealer.

The base is a clay cream rather than a liquid. It stays where you place it instead of migrating into the fine lines under the eye, which is the usual failure of thin liquid correctors by mid afternoon. It blends with a fingertip or a damp sponge and sets to a soft, flexible finish rather than a hard film, so it moves when your face moves. The formula is waterproof and holds through humidity, watering eyes and a workout.

• Type: colour corrector, used under concealer rather than instead of it
• Shades: light-medium peach, medium-tan peach, orange, red
• Shade guide: peach for light to medium, deeper peach for medium to tan, orange for deep, red for deepest
• Base: clay cream, stays in place rather than settling into lines
• Finish: soft flexible set, not a hard film
• Wear: waterproof and long wearing
• Application: fingertip or damp sponge
• Also works on: redness around the nose, and covering small blemish shadows
• Setting powder: optional, extends wear on oily skin