Eye creams to beat the Festive fatigue

3 min read

The festive season is a funny old time of year. We all rush around, busier than ever, trying to get the year’s work finished early, buying up presents, eating too much and over-indulging on festive spirits! Our sleep suffers, and sometimes our skincare routine goes out the window. How many times over the festive period have I tumbled into bed with all my makeup on? Too many.

And all those late nights and extra hours at the computer, definitely cause my eyes to be more puffy than normal, and my dark circles always reappear. So, if you are looking for any beauty product in your stocking this year, make it an eye cream/serum/treatment, and make it a good one. Here are five top of the range eye creams – and one eye mask that I would recommend for use not just at this time of the year, but all year round!

1. Origins Plantscription Anti-Ageing Eye Cream (£35, origins.co.uk). This was added to the anti-ageing Plantscription range this year and became a firm favourite. Really hydrating, lovely formula. As well as containing the Angeissus Tree Bark Plantscription hero ingredient, to help with fine lines and wrinkles, it contains Kombucha (fermented Black Tea) which lifts and firms. It also contains magnolia and cucumber for helping with dark circles.

2. Zelens Triple-Action Advanced Eye Cream (£75, spacenk.com). I am using this right now, and I know the price is HUGE. However, I cannot recommend this cream highly enough. It contains a mixture of potent active ingredients (including peptides, antioxidants and plant extracts), in an exclusive hyaluronic moisturising base which is enriched with marine collagen. It feels kind of odd to touch, but it really does reduce dark circles after just a week or so using it, and your eye skin feels and looks tighter and smoother.

3. Darphin Dark Circles Relief & De-Puffing Eye Serum (£41, darphin.co.uk). Super lovely serum which I haven’t used for long enough to really make a comment on, but which gets rave reviews, and has 95% of ingredients from a natural source. It’s very calming and soothing to use, and has extracts of Passionflower, Rose and Licorice which penetrate quickly to leave the eye contour feeling silky smooth and looking well-rested – and we all need that at this time of year!

4. Alpha H Absolute Eye Complex (£34.50, lookfantastic.com). What I like about this little tube of potion is that you can apply it throughout the day on top of makeup if your eyes feel tired – and we know they will! The exotic cocktail of hibiscus flower, beech tree, olive leaf and cucumber extracts will tighten, firm and brighten the delicate eye area. The hibiscus flower acids gently resurface the skin, minimising fine lines and wrinkles. Cucumber extracts refresh and tighten whilst peptides reduce sagging and puffiness. Gem of a product in newly designed packaging.

5. Emma Hardie Firming Eye Serum (£34, emmahardie.com). There are very specific ingredients with this, as Emma Hardie is a facialist. Basically you apply this to dry, clean skin before moisturiser. Pat it gently around the eye area with your forefinger, and continue down to the top of the cheek bone until absorbed. For full firming effect, allow to dry before applying moisturiser or make-up. Always work the product from the inside to the outside of the eye area to help improve circulation. Got that?! It contains botanical extracts and Arnica Flower extract for puffiness and dark circles, and lovely orange flower water which means it smells lovely. I got one whiff of it, one application, before a friend had stolen it from me. She assures me it is a lovely product, and she is using ir properly!

And so to the Eye Mask I love. It’s the Sisley Eye Contour Mask (£75.50, johnlewis.com), which is a HUGE luxury item…but there is nothing nicer at the end of a long day than lying in the bath with this on your eyes.

You just pop it on the eye contour area for 10 minutes and your eyes feel instantly refreshed. It contains all sorts of fantastic ingredients to moisturise, sooth, revitalize, and help with those puffy eyelids, and dark circles.

It’s not cheap, but it lasts six months, and you don’t need a lot, so you can treat your eyes over and over to a 10 minute relaxation, and help them through the crazy Christmas period.