De-Puff With Under Eye Gels
Keep them in the fridge for at least 15 minutes, then place them on your under eyes for an instant cooling effect that can help de-puff (think of it like applying an ice pack to a swollen injury). Pro tip: if you don't have eye gels, you can cut up a sheet mask for some DIY patches.
Bags under eyes are caused when the tissue structures and muscles supporting your eyelids weaken. The skin may start to sag, and fat that's usually around the eye can move into the area below your eyes. Also, the space below your eyes can gather fluid, making the area look puffy or swollen.
And what it does is it keeps water from being able to evaporate out [of the skin] as quickly," she says. By applying a hydrating cream to your under-eye area and then following it with Vaseline, you're adding moisture to the area and then locking it in, she said — essentially, it's a targeted slugging treatment.
While it's not always possible to eliminate under-eye bags, the Mayo Clinic1 and WebMD2 have some suggestions: Sleep well—Get the proper amount of sleep for your age. Your entire body may feel better as a result. Adding an extra pillow may help fluid drain away from your eyes.
Cream or liquid formulas are your best bet; they'll help hydrate dry skin and be a little more flexible. One of the best undereye concealers is L'Oréal Paris Infallible Full Wear Concealer. It's a full-coverage creamy formula that erases any darkness and imperfections.
To start, once you have primed your skin, apply a sheer layer of foundation all over the face, including around the eye area. This will allow you to use less concealer later on.
It's best not to use your basic concealer to try to disguise dark under-eye circles. Instead, choose an "under-eye concealer" specially formulated to cover up dark spots. These work by brightening the dark areas under the eyes and are not to be used to camouflage redness or blemishes.
As Reiss-Andersen points out, concealer is designed to color-correct dark circles and spots, as well as blemishes, while foundation works to enhance the overall skin tone. “It's great to combine both concealer and foundation to make the skin look as radiant as possible,” she concurs.
So, do you use concealer before or after foundation? The proper way to apply the two products is to first smooth on a foundation and then apply your concealer. Foundation will create that even canvas we talked about earlier, and then concealer can be used to spot correct any outstanding areas that need extra coverage.
Hemorrhoid cream contains chemicals that reduce the size of blood vessels, which can ease pain and other symptoms of hemorrhoids. Reducing blood flow and making blood vessels smaller can also reduce the size of undereye bags and wrinkles.
Medications that may cause swelling under the eyes include ACE inhibitors, such as benazepril (Lotensin), captopril, enalapril (Vasotec), fosinopril, lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril), moexipril, perindopril (Aceon), quinapril (Accupril), ramipril (Altace), and trandolapril (Mavik).
"Botox in the crow's feet can help reduce the tension around the eyes and relax the wrinkles, which can help improve the appearance but will not remove the eye bag," Dr. Shafer says. Like filler, Botox is only temporary and will need to be injected every three to six months to maintain results.
How long will cream be good after it is opened? The cream should be good until the date on the carton or 7-10 days after opening–whichever date comes first.
There are bags, puffiness, and dark circles to contend with, in addition to those fine lines and wrinkles. But that's what eye cream is for: It's a highly concentrated form of moisturizer, powered with ingredients like retinol and hyaluronic acid, to help address these issues.
The general rule of thumb is that you should always opt for a shade lighter than foundation when choosing your concealer colour. Doing so helps to mask darker discolouration, but be careful not to over-correct! Knowing how to pick the right concealer is essential to ensuring that your look does not appear ghostly.
In the class of makeup best practices 101, makeup artists recommend applying eye makeup first before moving on to face makeup with foundation first and then (and only then) concealer.
DON'T OVER-APPLY
Instead, apply a thin layer of concealer to start. You can always add a little more if necessary. This is one of the most key facets of how to apply concealer, so listen up: You also don't want to put concealer all over your face—that's what foundation is for.
Go one shade lighter for an under-eye concealer.
While concealer for the general areas of your face should match your skin tone, under-eye concealer should be one or two shades lighter than your natural coloring.
“I would recommend a yellow-based shade, one tone lighter than your skin. This will help to brighten and will cover the blue discolouration on your skin.” If you have brown undertones under your eyes: Jade suggests applying a peach/orange concealer.
While concealer is great at covering problem areas like dark circles, blemishes, and other imperfections you might want to lessen, BB cream only provides a light foundation to work with. Likewise, BB cream serves as a foundation, moisturizer and sun protection, but concealer strictly does its job.
There's one universale rule when it comes to preventing creasing: Don't apply concealer directly onto your lower lash line. The delicate skin in this area is thin, and can't hold as much product as the rest of your face.