How To De-puff And Brighten Your Eyes

We all have those days when we wake up after a not so great sleep and our eyes look tired, puffy and not how we'd like them to be, but fear not, I have some tips on how to prevent those under eye circles and some tricks on how to make them go away!

Prevention

I'm sure we'd all just prefer to never have puffy eyes again, unfortunately that's not likely, but there are some things we
can do to prevent it from happening so often.
1. Get a good nights sleep! Sounds obvious, and well…it is, but it's really effective. Go to bed early, make sure you're relaxed and have that 8 + hours you need. If you're not sleeping enough your eyes will most probably look dull, red and tired. Another tip is to sleep with your head slightly elevated, this prevents puffiness.
2. Eat well! What you eat and drink really does effect your body, including your eyes. Food that is high in sodium (cheese, marmite, popcorn, salt, etc), carbs (pasta, bread, cakes, etc) and fat can make you retain water, which causes your eyes to become puffy. But protein like fish and tofu is really good.
3. Stay hydrated! Eyes tend to become puffy due to water retention, which is caused by excess salt in and around the eye (this is why when you cry your eyes go puffy). Making sure you drink plenty of water throughout the day is good for reducing eye swelling and will keep you hydrating, but downing a huge glass of water before bed might cause the opposite effect as your body will retain that water until you wake up. Try drinking a green tea after your evening meal, it's good for your skin and good for your eyes, and keep away from drinks that dehydrate you (caffeine and alcohol) and salt!
4. Exercise! This improves circulation around your body.

De-puff

1. Cold cucumber slices! Apply the cold cucumber slices to your eye, leave for 3 minutes and then repeat with fresh slices a few times. The coolness will soothe the eye and help to de-puff. Cucumber also contains several vitamins and acids that will help reduce water retention.
2. Cold, raw potato slices! If you can't stand the smell of cucumber (like me) then potato is a good alternative, it will do the same job as the cucumber.
3. Frozen spoon! Place a spoon in the freezer the night before, then when you wake up simply apply the cold spoon under your eye for 30 seconds each.
4. Raw egg whites! Separate the egg white from the yolk of one egg and apply the egg white directly under the eye using some tissue or cotton wool, leave it to dry for a couple of minutes - under your eyes will start to feel quite tight, then rinse off the egg white. Your eyes will look less puffy and the nutrition in the egg will also help reduce water retention. You can also use cold milk!
5. Cold tea bags! You can use either caffeinated tea bags - caffeine helps reduce the swelling, or you can use herbal/green tea bags - these contain anti-inflamitary and anti-irritants that will really soothe your eyes. Soak the tea bags in hot water the night before, then place them in the fridge overnight, in the morning make sure you squeeze out any excess water and then place them on your eyes for 3-5 minutes.

Make-up

Using the right makeup can really help you to look more wide awake and diminish those pesky dark circles.
1. A good concealer will become your best friend! Opt for a concealer that has a peachy or yellow tone to at, this will cancel out the purple or blue hues and brighten the area. Make sure your concealer is nice and creamy, you don't want anything drying!
2. Don't go heavy with eyeshadow, dark eyeshadows can make you look more tired, go for light, brightening colours, but by all means go in with lots of mascara to widen your eyes.
3. Create an illusion of bigger eyes, just like you can highlight your cheekbones, you can highlight the right areas of your eyes to make them stand out, appear wider and more awake. Use a lighter colour eyeshadow with shimmer and apply it to the middle of your eyelid and the inner corner of your eye - this will really make your eyes look more awake and alert. Using a white eyeliner on the bottom lash line will also help.

If you follow those tips you'll have beautifully awake, de-puffed, bright eyes in no time!

Hope this helped you!