As a beauty editor, I’ve seen a lot of trends that have caused me to raise a cynical eyebrow at over the years—including, but not exclusive to, LED masks, snail slime and cryotherapy. But one that I’ve always been really dubious about is eye patches. I’m not the biggest fan of sheet masks anyway, so I kind put eye patches in the same category. Sure, they might feel like a fun, self-care ritual but I wouldn’t reach for them if I wanted an efficacious product that would create noticeable change in my skin.
Then I re-entered society, post-lockdown 2.0. With sunny days spent at the park, rosé, friends, more rosé and way less sleep than I’d been getting before, I was waking up post-weekend with puffy bags and dark circles under my eyes. Despite incorporating eye creams into my everyday skincare routine, on mornings like these I needed a quick fix to pep up my eyes before that first video call of the day. Enter: the Milk Makeup Cooling Water Undereye Patches.
Previously stashed in my ‘to try’ pile of new launches, I figured I had nothing to lose by giving these cool-looking eye patches a try. So, after my usual cleansing routine, I popped a pair underneath my eyes for 15 minutes and let it work its magic as I brushed out my hair. If you’ve ever used eye patches before, you’ll know that annoying feeling when they start slipping down your face as you try to go about your business. Thankfully, these patches stay put.
The ‘magic’ is created by combining energising caffeine, hydrating aloe and calming lavender amongst its ingredients. After peeling them off, my undereye area looked a lot less like the sunken place—bouncier, brighter and above all I just looked more awake. While, undereye patches aren’t an everyday staple for me (that’s what eye creams for) these are now a key part of my post-weekend recovery kit.
Formulated with peptides, this pair of patches give the eye area a lifted effect after 30 minutes use.
These biocellulose patches from new brand on the block Peace Out are infused with hyaluronic acid to help with the crepe-y dehydrated look under tired eyes.
If undereye puffiness is your main concern after a late night, these eye patches from Soap & Glory contain cucumber juice and liquorice root extract to instantly help them look de-puffed.
Okay, first of all these are shaped like little whales—how cute? Secondly, the sodium hyaluronate (similar to hyaluronic acid) and coconut extract help to soothe and smooth a dehydrated undereye.
The latest drop from Maya Jama’s skincare line includes vitamin C, niacinamide and hyaluronic acid for a triple threat of undereye brightening. Up next, a skin expert just told me how to actually get rid of dark circles.
