Under Eye Circles

[GoldLeaf]

Would the little puffs of fat be visable? I don't seem to see any, but that may not mean much.

I doubt I will ever get my nose fixed, I would rather pay off my car than spend the money on my vanity . My nose has been a bit messed up now for 12 years. I give the emergency room doctor a lot of credit, he fixed a royal mess from a car accident I was in. They did an amazing job for a rural hospital in the middle of the Adirondack Mountains in NY. Gosh darn icy mountain roads!

fftopic: My seat belt didn't lock up, so my face hit the windshield. The pressure caused the right side of my nose to tear through, my septum tore through, and the bridge of my nose was flattened. They stitched me up that night and then they did follow up surgery three days later after the swelling went down to fix the bridge a bit more. Most folks wouldn't know that my nose didn't turn up quite so much when I was younger and that it was a bit straighter. [huh]

Sometimes it really bothers me, but most days I just ignore it. The kicker of it is that my car insurance would have paid for follow up surgery if I had wanted to persue it at the time. I was just grateful to be alive, I didn't even think of it then. I made a joke to my mom once that I wished I would get in a car accident again so that I could make them pay to fix my nose. I got in an accident the very next day that totalled my car. I learned a lesson, don't tempt fate!

 

[fortworthgal]

I use Burt's Bees radiance eye cream each morning, and I'm quite satisfied. If I have dark circles, I'll use Bare Escentuals Natural light highlighting duo.

I also recommend Olay Regenerist eye lifting serum. It runs about $18/tube (Target has a knockoff for about $12), but the tube will last at least 6 months, even with everyday usage. It hydrates very well, so gets rid of the fine dry lines, and it has a very slight hint of gold shimmer, so it reflects light to minimize dark circles. Good stuff.

Also, Garden Botanika makes an eye balm specifically to reduce puffy eyes. When they used to have actual storefronts, I bought some and it seemed to work well. Now you can only order through their website.

 

[sophia la shok]

fftopic: My seat belt didn't lock up, so my face hit the windshield. The pressure caused the right side of my nose to tear through, my septum tore through, and the bridge of my nose was flattened. They stitched me up that night and then they did follow up surgery three days later after the swelling went down to fix the bridge a bit more. Most folks wouldn't know that my nose didn't turn up quite so much when I was younger and that it was a bit straighter. [huh]

Sometimes it really bothers me, but most days I just ignore it. The kicker of it is that my car insurance would have paid for follow up surgery if I had wanted to persue it at the time. I was just grateful to be alive, I didn't even think of it then. I made a joke to my mom once that I wished I would get in a car accident again so that I could make them pay to fix my nose. I got in an accident the very next day that totalled my car. I learned a lesson, don't tempt fate!

i'm so sorry to hear that. i have to say though, it makes you seem very hardcore. and plus, everyone has a war wound or three.

i think you're very brave.

 

[Shimmy Sally]

It doesn't really matter what kind you use, you must have something that is PINK or PEACH to neutralize the blue/grey of discoloration in undereye circles... if you get something that is yellowish it will just add to the darkness. if you are not getting the desired look with these colors, try going a shade deeper- I know it sounds counter active, but try it. For example, I usually wear a MAC NW20 foundation, but sometimes use an NW25 concealer. Red cancels out green, orange cancels out blue... so you need WARM colors. Worry about concealing the discoloration, then you can brighten.

Ooooh, that works, thanks! I try so hard to cover my age and lack of sleep...

 

[NoirDame]

Treatment

I see a lot of mention of concealers on here, which do help, but have you also considered an eye cream with ingredients to minimize dark circles and puffiness? There are a lot out there.

My brain isn't working right now, forgive me....Chanel has an eye cream that will do this, Prevage promises this as do some others. I can tell you that a lot of them pack these benefits in with anti-aging, wrinkle diminishing, recountouring benefits. Obviously, these cost more, so look for something that only targets this concern if the rest of it does not matter to you.

You might balk a little at the cost, but speaking for Chanel, the products DO work. They have two labs in France where they conduct reseach. One is solely dedicated to studying various ingredients and one for understanding how skin 'works'. They actually grow skin from skin cells to test on.

It doesn't hurt to stop by your local cosmetics dept and ask for samples and consultations.

 

[GoldLeaf]

From a lot of the reading I have done on the subject, if the circles are chronic, like mine, there isn't much that can be done. Most likely, mine are a result of having thinner than usual skin under my eyes that allows the color of the capilaries to be visable, which is hereditary. Creams won't help my case much.

However, if circles have recently developed, it could be allergies, hormonal, fatigue or nutritional. If the cause is any of those, then treating the cause by taking allergy meds, sleeping more or eating better can help. Also, circles can be caused by hyperpigmentation. Laser treatments and chemical peels can help reduce the ammount of pigment.

Vitamin K is good for under eye circles because it helps with circulation, so look for creams with K.

 

[lady_mlo]

I use Wanderful Wand by Physicians Formula, it is cheap and does the job...and I have really bad under eye circles!

 

[DanielJones]

This is fairly fascinating thread to me right now. The Sicilian in me unfortunately granted me darkening around the eyes. Dang genetics! It's hard when you look tired all of the time, even though one gets plenty of rest, eats right and works out on a regular basis.
This has been good reading and maybe there is help for this mug of mine yet. I've just started using Lab Series eye cream, so hopefully it will work in time.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Tourbillion]

Here's a stumper: my puffy under-eyes are hereditary and so pronounced I don't even bother trying to cover up the dark purple circles, which never got covered up anyway boo-hoo, because of the remarkable puffs. Think of the eyes of Brian Jones or Josephine Baker. AND now that I'm over 40 they are covered in wrinkles. Cucumbers irritate them and don't work for me anyway. I'll try the Preparation H. Acquaintances remark that I must have a horrible allergy to something. Or I'll see how much surgery costs and eat baloney sangwiches.

I've heard that only Canadian Preparation H is good for the under eye area.

Anyway, I've had amazing results from the Chanel eye cream. I used to wake up with puffy eyes, put the cream on and arrive at work with no puffiness. There is less darkness now too. It also costs less than surgery.

 

[SarahLouise]

I never used to have dark circles until about 4 years ago. I know I probably don't get enough sleep but even when I do it is still dark around that area. I have to use a lot of concealer otherwise I look like an extra from Dawn of the Dead! As for creams I have tried Nivea eye cream for dark circles, Garnier (green tube) regenerating cream and Clinique all about eyes and I can honestly say that none of them have really made any significant difference. I might try Benefit's Eyecon one next. Concealers I have tried are MAC studio (in a small pot), MAC select cover up and I'm currently using Benefit's Boi-ing. This one is a bit too cakey and the amount of product you actually get it is too small for the price. I've heard good things about Bobbi Brown concealers though.

 

[princessofcandl]

If needed I use:

Benefit Bo-ing (on light days) - light reflecting aid that goes over make-up
Benefit Lying Eyes (on darker days) - liquid concealer in a pen type tube that goes under make-up.
and Benefit Lemon-Aid (yellow corrective aid) that goes on top of dark lids, which I get especially on dark circle days.

Most of my realllllly dark circle days are sleep deprived or allergies. I also love the old 10 minutes with a cold compress advice to increase circulation. Some use a spoon that was chilled in the fridge. But I have an eye mask that you chill. Perks the eyes right up and wakes me up on sleepy days.

 

[positivelypinup]

I also love the old 10 minutes with a cold compress advice to increase circulation. Some use a spoon that was chilled in the fridge. But I have an eye mask that you chill. Perks the eyes right up and wakes me up on sleepy days.

thats a good idea. i'll have to try that.

 

[Lola Valentine]

I'm suprised that nobody's mentioned Touche Eclat by YSL. This stuff is a highlighter which disguises dark circles, & you can use it too on other places such as your nose, lips etc. I love it! I don't know much about creams, I haven't really tried any, but I did watch a programme a few nights ago where cosmetic surgeons & make-up artists were talking about undereye creams. They both agreed that once you've got dark circles, the only thing which will get rid of them is surgery, they said any of the creams are just quick fixes & will just waste your money. I don't know if this is true. [huh]

 

[GoldLeaf]

.... I did watch a programme a few nights ago where cosmetic surgeons & make-up artists were talking about undereye creams. They both agreed that once you've got dark circles, the only thing which will get rid of them is surgery, they said any of the creams are just quick fixes & will just waste your money. I don't know if this is true. [huh]

Well, I can speak for myself. I have had my eye circles since I was a kid. They scared my mom because she thought that it meant something was wrong with me, like I wasn't getting enough oxygen or something. I can get them to look a little better with the creams, but mine never go away. I have tried everything.

Of course, some folks that get them from a lack of sleep or allergies stand a much better chance of getting them to go away then I do

 

[MinnieRose]

I just bought the BE natural highlighting duo off eBay - I hope it works!!

Glad to find a suggestion for dark circles

 

[MinnieRose]

Am pleased to say that the back-lit works for my dark circles - I feel like I look totally different using this!

 

[Katie Brookes]

there are lots of great reviews on makeupalley.com
(my name on there : artemisiablue) i find this to be a really good resource for choosing products, have got some excellent recommendations there. don't think i saw anyone else link it so thought i'd throw it out there.
sometimes i actually use a little neosporin around my eyes and it seems to help, but it is greasy and shiny and sometimes it gets in your eye and hurts... but it seems to help my dark circles if i remember to sleep with it on. and in the morning splashing a lot of cold water on there to wake things up, same kind of idea a few others have posted. i find concealer makes mine worse if i put much on... mine are hereditary, my grandpa has em so bad he looks like he always has a black eye... on both eyes... i hope mine don't end up like that

 

[Smuterella]

I have been using Benefit's eyecon under eye cream and their boi-ing concealer for about a week and am loving them both

 

[Laura Chase]

The Touche Eclat by YSL is great, but it's too expensive imo. I sometimes use Phytocernes Eye Concealer by Sisley which has the same texture as Touche Eclat but is much less expensive, when you consider the amount of ml.

 

[jayem]

I've noticed all concealers/creams/cosmetics can't cover my dark circles. Dark circles are caused due to an inefficiency of Vitamin K (in most cases) so I have started taking an extra K supplement with my daily vitamins. Cucumbers never worked for me, either, so instead I used room temperature or warmer chamomile-honey used teabags. Those work great, and the chamomile scent really helps me relax.