What’s best for…?
Dry, crepey eyes will be the result of an increasingly intimate relationship with your tech. But in time, the cumulative damage can lead to discolouration, laxity and puffiness as well. Here are your go-tos for prevention and repair.
STRAINED, TIRED EYES
Hours of screen-peering can leave you with eyes that look and feel as if they’ve retracted back into their sockets. Try this simple but effective strain-relieving massage, says facialist Michaella Bolder: ‘Place your ring and index fingers on the ends of your eyebrows and your middle finger on their centre. Press inwards and upwards to stretch and release tension – hold for 10 seconds and repeat twice.’ The Foreo Iris Anti-wrinkle Eye Massager, £119 (currentbody.co.uk), mimics the light finger-tapping motion that facialists use around the eyes to boost circulation and relieve tension. One minute with this silicone loop (left) is enough to make your eyes perk up. A quick dose of cooling hydration is another perker-upper. Wake Eye Gel, £16.95 (wakeskincare.com), boasts staple coolers cucumber, elderflower and witch hazel, along with glycerine to bind moisture to dehydrated skin. Odacité Eye Contour Serum Concentrate, £43, is a blend of light, nourishing oils applied with a deliciously cooling rollerball.
CREPEY DEHYDRATION
‘To smooth crepey undereyes long-term, you need a blend of humectants (water-binding agents), light nourishing lipids and breathable occlusives to stop moisture evaporating,’ says Daniel Isaacs, Medik8’s director of research. Biossance Squalane + Peptide Eye Gel, £46, and Lernberger Stafsing Eye Cream, £36 (lernbergerstafsing.com) both pack a nourishing, anti-ageing punch in a deceptively light, quenching texture.
DARK CIRCLES
Dark shadows are either due to pigmentation (which looks orangey-brown) or poor circulation (more of a blueish/purple tone). With the latter, the network of veins under the eyes is shining through, making under-eyes look dark. Boosting circulation is your aim; daily gentle under-eye massage with
a facial roller, always from the inner eye corners towards the temples, will improve drainage and blood flow. Try JOGB Black Obsidian Crystal Facial Roller,
£45 (jogbliving.com). Team with Gallinée Eye
Contour Cream, £22, which features an algae extract proven to clear the darkening pigment that seeps out from blood vessels. To tackle pigmentation, vitamin C is queen. Kiehl’s Powerful
Strength Vitamin C Eye Serum, £41, comes in a formula that guarantees a potent, active dose of the vitamin for visibly brighter, smoother eyes.
SLACK EYE SKIN
With age, environmental assault and a cycle of puffed-up and deflating eyes comes saggy eye skin. This is when the big collagen-regenerating guns need to come out. Murad Retinol Youth Renewing
Eye Serum, £70, has a retinol complex optimised for the ingredient’s fabled firming ability, but also for gentleness. Veneffect Anti-aging Eye Treatment,
£90 (spacenk.com), uses powerful phytoestrogens to restart the skin-regenerating processes that grind to a near halt after the menopause hits.
PUFFY LIDS
If your digital tablet habit comes with a side order of salty nuts and a G&T, don’t be surprised if you see puffiness around your eyes. ‘Salt, alcohol and coffee are major culprits,’ says Mrs Shah-desai. ‘So is sleeping on your face. The pressure weakens the area and its lymph drainage, which can lead to swollen eyes when you wake.’ Sleeping propped up on an extra pillow makes a difference, as does a silk pillowcase. ‘There’s no evidence it softens wrinkles, but it can reduce friction in the delicate eye area,’ says Mrs Shah-desai. To bring down balloon eyes in the morning, she suggests ‘two cold spoons or cold green tea bags on your eyes for 15 minutes’. For an eye cream to do the work, try Medik8 Illuminating
Eye Balm, £32, which has an ‘osmoregulating’ red algae extract that drains excess fluids, while Dr. Andrew Weil For Origins Mega-mushroom Relief for Eyes, £40, is full of anti-inflammatories.
• Great Skin: Secrets The Beauty Industry Doesn’t Tell You (Gibson Square) by Ingeborg van Lotringen is published on 3 August