The rules are simple: No blocking. No wimping. Captions in the comments. Pistols at dawn. Winner announced Monday, provided I have sufficiently recovered from the Northern Voice blogging conference.

By Marko Rantanen, stolen from DarkRoastedBlend

The utterly fabulous Mrs. Hall asks:

 Dear Glinda:
 
I was wondering if you had any tips for dark under eye circles. Mine are hereditary, i.e. not caused by lack of sleep. Although, I have a five year old daughter, a 14 month old son and a husband in Iraq. So, they are darker and more zombie like than usual.
 
Do you have any suggestions for some nice concealer? 
 
Thank you for any suggestion you might have with my zombie problem,
 
Mrs. Hall

Ayyyyy!  The Glinda knows exactly what the Mrs. Hall is describing, as she is the sufferer of the hereditary dark circles as well!  The Glinda had become very used to people asking her if she had allergies, or if she had gotten enough sleep, or needed a cure for her hangover, or any other half-dozen bordering upon rude comments.  The Glinda merely brushed them away like the annoying flies that they were.  She hoped, though, that one day she would discover the product that would help her.

After many years of searching for the perfect under-eye concealer, she has found it! 

The major trick to the correcting of the under eye circles is to resist the temptation to overcompensate. Often, instead of looking like the zombie, an even more jarring look is produced with colors that are too light.  This produces the unfortunate result of looking like the squirrel instead.

So what is this miracle product?  Look no further than Bare Escentuals.  The Glinda has good news and bad news about this.  The bad news is that these products are not cheap.  But the good news is that they are not horridly expensive, either.  Only mildly expensive.  More than worth skipping four lattes or so to have perfect looking skin, however.

You can simply dip your toe into the shallow end of Bare Escentuals and purchase only their concealer.  The Glinda herself uses Summer Bisque. This is an excellent all-around concealer that is applied with a brush, preferably one like this.   To those that are concerned with looking overly powdery or that it will settle into lines and creases, the Glinda will assure them not to worry. 

Or, if jumping into the deep end of the pool is more your style, you can purchase an entire starter kit, which comes in more shades than the one that is linked.  It also includes brushes, a lotion, and multiple powders for your entire face.  The kits do not include any of the concealers, which is the Glinda’s one complaint.

The powders come in many different shades, for women of all colors.  They are much more forgiving than liquids, which are harder to blend and often look like, well, like you have makeup on.   The powders appear fresher and more natural than any liquid could ever hope to look.  The Glinda has tried more than her fair share of foundations and concealers, including custom-blended ones, and Bare Escentuals is the hands-down winner.

The Glinda will be honest, the initial mucking about with pots of powders and different brushes can be a bit overwhelming when one is used to simply pouring some liquid out of a bottle and smearing it on.  After a while though, it becomes routine. The Glinda is of the humble opinion that having a flawless face to present to the world is a key element for being superfantastic!

And, the Glinda would also like to wish your husband a safe and speedy return home.