3 Ways to Take Care of Your Under Eyes
They say that you can tell someone’s true age by their neck or the backs of their hands. And those are often areas that are neglected when it comes to skincare. But if I were to clock someone for their age, the first place I’d look is the eye area.
I’m obsessed with eye care. When it comes to keeping your skin looking young, you gotta have your eye care game strong. Think about it – your eyes are considered the windows to your soul, they’re our main source of expression: happiness, sadness, wonder, amusement, confusion or hurt. Our eyes work to express what our words cannot, which means the muscles and the skin covering the area get quite a workout. Add to that the fact that the skin around the eye area is thinner and more easily prone to sagging, loss of collagen and elasticity.
So even if your ultimate goal isn’t to get carded in bars and restaurants well into your 40s, you can agree that your eye area definitely needs a little extra TLC in your skincare routine.
These are some of the techniques and products I’ve been using lately with great results:
Heads Up: This post contains a mix of sponsored (marked ^^), PR gifted (marked^) and self-purchased items. Use of affiliate links marked with *.
Eye Serums/Essences:
Earlier this year I encountered a concept/idea that really opened my mind. I learned that some people layered lighter, hydrating eye creams underneath a more creamy, moisturizing product. *mind blown* You can use two eye creams?
This may seem like the extra of the extra, but when you think about it, you layer your skincare, essences, serums then moisturizer, so why not follow the same concept with your eye area? This idea really hit home with me when I saw some brands actually coming out with specific eye serum products designed to be used before eye cream, like Innisfree Jeju Lava Seawater Eye Serum.*
One product I’ve been using in such a way is Tony Moly The Chok Chok Green Tea Watery Eye Cream.* This is a light, watery, essence-type of eye cream that is super hydrating. It is a great, affordable eye cream and something I would easily recommend as a starter eye cream for a teen or someone in their early 20s. The use of fermented green tea in this eye product delivers beneficial anti-oxidants, and my personal observation about green tea is that it can help reduce redness (everywhere on the face but even under the eye area).
While I like this eye cream, it’s not enough for my needs as I ramp up my well-aging (preferred term for anti-aging) routine. Which is why this is a great eye cream to layer; it gives me tons of hydration, a dose of anti-oxidants and helps me keep my undereye area even toned. I consider it to be an eye essence.
Another product that works as a first layer eye product is the VII Code Oxygen Hydrating Eye Spray.^^ This is a spray that hydrates the eye area and delivers a 90% dose of eye vitamins, minerals and amino acids called EOPE. This is a mist for your eye area that is meant to keep the area hydrated throughout the day. What I especially like this for is for use with sheet masks.
When I sheet mask, my eye area can get dry as I wait the 15-30 minutes to finish the sheet mask. I often put regular eye cream on before a mask, but it frequently gets diluted with the sheet mask essence. Which is why this spray is super handy, it absorbs into the skin quicker than cream but still carries essential hydration and nutrients for my eye area. This way I don’t waste my eye cream and still get the benefits of both products.\
Eye Creams:
The traditional eye cream is still king in my eyes when it comes to taking care of your eye area. I prefer my creams to contain targeted actives and compounds that work to maintain plumpness and elasticity around my eyes. I’m not treating wrinkles, but rather working to prevent them.
Purito Centella Green Level Eye Cream* This is a great affordable option that has some potent well-aging ingredients. First up is 49% Centella extract. Centella is more famous for its anti-inflammatory benefits but it’s also a potent wrinkle fighter! Mainly found in the Centella compound madecassoside, Centella is a powerful anti-oxidant that contains fatty and amino acids that help keep the skin elastic. It also has the potential to help reverse UV damage on skin.
If that wasn’t enough, it’s also got 4 peptides (middle of ingredients list, not bottom) and excellent moisturizers, including my favorite ceramides, fatty acids and cholesterol. It also has a thin, creamy texture that absorbs quickly without a greasy finish.
Honorable Mention:
Drunk Elephant Shaba Complex Eye Cream*
Eye Treatments/Masks:
This is one of my favorite ways to treat tired and stressed out eyes. Eye masks can be a great way to get the quick pick-me-up you need to look refreshed and well rested (even if you aren’t).
Hydrogel eye patches are a great solution because they can be used in the morning, at night along with a sheet mask and can even be chilled in the fridge to help puffy eyes. One of my favorites for quality and affordability are SNP Bird’s Nest Aqua Eye Patch.^ These are a medium thickness hydrogel that is easy to handle and adheres well to the skin (expect a little slippage as the excess essence sinks into the skin).
These give the skin a super charged dose of hydration and soothing and can help with minor discoloration. These will plump up tired eyes quickly and can help fake the look of a great night’s rest. These are also a great maintenance step to perform a few times a week to keep the eye area well pampered.
While I love how quick hydrogels can be (especially if you are going to squeeze them into your morning routine), I always want to extend the experience.
Which is why I was excited to discover that VII Code Oxygen Mask*^^ is approved for overnight use, up to 8 hours! These are a sticky jelly that hold powerful amino acids, vitamin C (sodium ascorbyl phosphate), vitamin E, and wrinkle fighter allantoin. I was impressed with their T2 Oxygen Eye Cream and I know I can rely on them for high quality eye care.
The patches stick relatively well (don’t layer up emollient products in the area of the patches to increase cling) and are so incredibly comfortable, you can sleep with them on. You’ll know they’re on your face, but they are not bothersome. These only fell off once when I slapped them on top of a well-oiled face without allowing a little drying time; otherwise these surprisingly stay in place.
This is what you need to do the night before a big event or slip a few of these in your bag for strenuous travel. You will seriously wake up to smoother, plumper and more even toned eyes. I don’t have dark circles, but I do get red discoloration under my eyes which worsens with lack of sleep. I used these during a particularly stressful and sleep deprived time and I never looked it!
These are pricey ($55 for 6 pairs) but they work and can be saved for special occasions or extra pampering sessions. Those with dark circles should check out their Oxygen Mask for Dark Circles.*
Links:
Tony Moly Chok Chok Watery Eye Cream*
VII Code Oxygen Hydrating Eye Spray
Purito Centella Green Level Eye Cream*
Manyo Factory Bifidalacto Eye Cream*
Drunk Elephant Shaba Complex Eye Cream*
SNP Birds Nest Aqua Eye Patch
VII Code Oxygen Mask*
This blog post is sponsored by VII Code
*Indicates the use of affiliate links that help to run this blog