Puffy Eyes

If you suffer from seasonal allergies, sneezing and a stuffy nose might not be the only side effects you have to suffer through. For some people, nasal congestion can cause blood flow to back up under the eyes, and this causes an allergy shiner. The skin under the eyes is thin and the congested veins in the area can give the appearance of dark circles. Some sufferers may also notice puffiness, because allergies are nature's gift that keep on giving.

To decrease the appearance of the circles, you need get your allergies under control as much as possible. If you know what you're allergic to, avoid it. If that's not a possibility, try allergy medication, which should prevent congestion in your nose and sinuses. If you still notice a dark shadow or swelling under your eyes, I will share my favorite natural remedy when you read more

I'm beginning to really like the concept of products that work while I'm fast asleep (and wide awake, of course). But, I'm beginning to not like the dark circles and puffiness that have made their way to the area just underneath my peepers. So, when team member jennIRL wrote to me about an interesting new depuffing product, I had to give it a whirl.

She asked, "I just saw a commercial for Garnier's Skin Renew Anti-Puff Eye Roller. This is definitely something I suffer from on a semiregular basis; have you used this product, or heard anything about it?"

So, I admit. I was a little leery of the gimmicky nature of the Skin Renew Anti-Puff Eye Roller ($13). A roller-ball wand that magically "erases" the circles and puffy undereye area? Come on, I thought. To find out how it went, read more

Do you ever have a day where you've woken in the middle of a dream cycle and you just never manage to feel fully awake all day long? That happened to me over the weekend, and unfortunately I had a big night out ahead of me. Coffee boosted my energy level, but I really needed a quick fix for my puffy eyes.

Luckily, I remembered that Tibetan chrysanthemum helps correct puffiness, so I reached for my new box of Wei East China Herbal Intensive Eye Treatment Pads ($36) that I hadn't had the opportunity to test out yet.

To read my review and find out if they did the trick, read more

When I first saw the packaging on Eyliplex-2 ($39.50) I thought it was a giant contact lens travel case, but as it turns out, it is a dual sided container that houses a fast acting eye day gel on one side and an eye night balm on the other. Eye care has never looked so cute!

The concept behind this creation is to deliver an around the clock system for eye care in one product. Not only does this make packing easier, but it also helps you stick to your regimen. The Day Treatment is a gel that instantly (tingles and) firms the skin around your eyes — they call this effect the "lift." The Night Treatment is a balm that contains Haloxyl PFE which helps reduce dark circles and Mala-Plump which restores firmness to the skin thus decreasing the look of fine lines and wrinkles.

To use, make sure your skin is clean and dry. Pat the products around your orbital area with your ring finger starting from just under the eye to the brow. I think it's also important to note that if you get involved with this product, you're signing up for the long haul. The evidence in the public relations research shows that you'll start seeing significant results after using it day and night for eight weeks. I've only been using it for two days and I can certainly feel the tingling part but I don't really notice anything firming up yet. So stick around, and in two months you can rest assured that I'll be reporting my findings.

Talika has just come out with a unique eye de-puffing product called Eye Decompress that's creating quite a lot of buzz. For $25 you get a box of nine pastilles that are packaged similarly to Sudafed capsules. All you do is pop one out, and place it in the area filled with blue solution. Within a minute, it takes the form of an eye mask — presto, chango!

Then, lay the mask over your eyes for anywhere from five to ten minutes to help reduce puffy, swollen, irritated, red, dehydrated or tired eyes. It also helps reduce the appearance of dark circles. These devices are so small that they are really great for quick pick me-ups when you are traveling. I'm game to check this out; what about you?