So yesterday was my birthday, and you know how birthdays can go: chocolate or cake for breakfast, a drink or ten with dinner, and plenty of time spent staring at your phone seeing which of your friends and family members knew it was your birthday thanks to facebook. No? Is that just me?
Either way, a day after any sort of festivity might leave you will tired, puffy eyes and here’s how I combat the dreaded gold ball eyes.
When it comes to puffy eyes, I find the biggest culprits tend to be internal like dehydration (think salty fast food, a night of tears, too much booze or not enough water in general), allergies or not enough sleep. Sometimes we can correct those, sometimes you just gotta say “screw it, I’ll deal with the puffy eyes in the morning”
This is for those days my friends.
Step One: Guzzle that H2O. Seriously, the day after a night out or all you can eat pizza buffet, make getting your 8-10 glasses your gospel. As much as coffee might be appealing to you, keep in mind caffeine is a diuretic, so keep it to one cup. You’ll feel better for it, I promise.
Step Two: Chances are you might not have done the greatest job removing your makeup. Kudos if you did, but I won’t judge if you didn’t… Just this once. Make up for it by giving your skin a good thorough cleanse and a bit of a facial massage to get the circulation going.
Step Three: Here’s where we are going to really attack the puffiness! Slather on a depuffing eye gel like Benefit Puff Off, which has a cooling metal tip that helps soothe and then smooth under eyes in prep for makeup. Seriously, this stuff works a hot damn and doesn’t leave your eye area looking greasy, shiny or sticky. For extra punch, keep it in the fridge to really reduce swelling. This is especially good if your eyes feel sore from allergies.
Step Four: A yellow based concealer + a firm full brush is your friend. I reach for Mac Pro Longwear Concealer in NC20 because the slightly yellow tone brightens under the eyes. Where a pink/peach based corrector might work for dark circles, it can make already puffy eyes look sore and irritated.
I like to dab some product on with a finger, and then use patting motions with my Real Techniques Sculpting Brush to blend it in. Too much rubbing can exasperate the problem, so a gentle pressing technique gets the coverage. For a brightened effect, I pat a little more concealer on the very tops of my cheekbones to naturally highlight.
Step Five: Set it in place with a brightening powder. You all know I live and breathe for the Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder. It’s been a backstage favourite for ages and once you use it you’ll know why; It sets your undereye area without any dullness or cakiness of regular powder, and manages to brighten it all up without sparkle. I sweep it on with a loosely bristled soft brush like my Real Techniques Setting Brush and apply under the eyes, inner corner by my nose, across lids and out towards temples slightly. Might seem like a lot but the smallest amount will do it for you.
Kiss the under eye creases goodbye, because this stuff is brilliant!
And there you have it – 5 easy steps that have me feeling human again. Whether it was a sob fest movie night, or a drink or two past tipsy, these steps have me looking like I got a solid eight hours of rest!
Please leave your tips and tricks for tired puffy eyes in the comments below!
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