Eye Bags and Dark Circles

     I should say that I always hate to start things out on a negative note, but I'm an extremely blunt person by default so negative beginnings never phase me. If you are blessed with dark under eye circles and bags, there is not a miracle eye cream you can buy that will cure them. There isn't an ingredient available that is scientifically proven to get rid of the bruising and swelling and give you the eye bags of a 19 year old upper east side socialite. Sorry. It sucks. Now let's get on to what you CAN do to minimize your under eye "issues."

     Improve your overall health. This is reiterated constantly here on the blog, but your skin will reflect the condition of your life. Stressed, sleep deprived, unhealthy eating habits, chronic dehydration, all these things show up on your face and will exacerbate your skin issues. Also, health disorders such as allergies and autoimmune diseases, as well as certain medications can wreak havoc on your skin. Try to get your health in tip top shape if you want to improve your skin. Now, we can't always control stress and sleep and medical conditions, but it has to be a priority to make healthy choices about things we can control. It will make a difference.

     Use an eye cream to keep the eye area hydrated and as healthy as possible. You can use anything you use on the rest of your skin on the eye area, but if you suffer from puffiness and eye swelling, using a lighter formulation or serum specifically formulated for the eye area is preferential; heavy creams and serums can actually increase the puffiness. Look for products full of the normal good stuff: ceramides, vitamins. plant extracts, retinol, lipids, etc. But as I said before, no eye cream is going to have a magical ingredient that will instantly correct the problem. There are a bagillion eye creams on the market that claim to instantly tighten and brighten and make you look 75 years younger, and those are ALL unsubstantiated claims. Some women swear by specific products completely reducing under eye circles, but it's all anecdotal evidence that isn't backed up by research. HOWEVER, if a friend of yours says that she can't live without X branded eye cream because it totally works, listen to her and see if you can pick up a sample from a makeup counter and try it for yourself. Just because there's not a proven ingredient that works for everyone doesn't mean that there isn't something out there that could help you. Just don't count on it completely eradicating the problem. We're working to mitigate the damage, not revert back to the skin of our toddler selves.

      I use the SkinActives Bright I Cream and I love it. HOWEVER, I don't struggle with under eye issues so I cannot speak to its ability to counteract any of your problems. I do know that it is a light weight cream packed with the good stuff your skin needs. And it's affordable. Some other options that I would consider include: Kate Somerville Line Release, Lancome Renergie (bonus: it comes with a concealer built in the lid), and Perricone MD Advanced Eye Area Therapy.

     Find an under eye concealer to cover up what you can't change. Pretty much every makeup brand offers an under eye concealer and it can get overwhelming trying to find one to take home. You're going to need to focus on two main points: texture and color. Pick the texture based on your skin type. If you have younger skin that leans to the oily side, you are probably going to need to use a thicker and dryer type formula. Not as hard as a solid waxy concealer because you need to be able to blend it over larger areas, but something that isn't on the liquid side. Try something like MAC Studio Finish Concealer or NARS Creamy Concealer. oily, you should set the concealer with some powder. If you have dry skin or more mature skin with fine lines and wrinkles DO NOT use a thick concealer. It will make your skin look drier and settle into all the lines. Choose a concealer with a lighter, more fluid texture. Something like YSL Touche Eclat, Clinique Airbrush Concealer, or MAC Peach Color Corrector (a MAC Pro product that you can order if you call a MAC Pro store). These are the only products I have actually used. There are plenty other concealers on the market, but I don't have eye bags or circles so I haven't played with a lot of the products out there. Do NOT set the concealer with powder if you have dry skin. It will make the skin even drier.

     The color of the concealer should be lighter than your skin tone and salmon/peach toned if you are trying to cover dark circles. Color theory says to use something orange to cancel out blue, i.e. the bruising under your eyes. You need the hint of orange in the product to cancel out the blue tones under your eye. If you don't have circles, you don't need a product that is as warm, but still choose a concealer with warm undertones.

     I'm also including a link to a youtube tutorial by Wayne Goss on how to cover a puffy eye bag. The technique is a little different as you're going to have to use contour theory to get rid of the bag, but it's pretty straightforward and is the best way to cover puffy bags.

     I hope this helps. Let me know in the comments if there's an eye product that you love or if you have any questions!