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13 best eye de-puffers
Wake up tired eyes and pretend last night never happened with one of these perfect peeper-pleasers
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Your support makes all the difference.Late nights, too much screen time and crying can all lead to puffy peepers the morning after. From Anne Semonin's frozen Radiance Ice Cubes to Origins Cooling Roll on Gel No Puffery, we've tried and tested to find the best de-puffers. (This exhausted mother of 3 little ones was the perfect candidate to really put the products through their paces!)
1. Benefit Puff Off: £22.50 for 10ml, benefitcosmetics.co.uk
Forever the beauty innovators, Benefit have come up trumps this time in the battle against puffy eyes. Iron-out creases and leave skin satiny smooth with the clever little tool on the end of the tube. Squeeze and dot under each eye, then use the ultra-cool tip to smooth the cream and massage in. It's also slightly tinted, so you can do away with your concealer, too.
2. Clinique All About Eyes Serum De-puffing Eye Massage: £23 for 15ml, clinique.co.uk
The cold metal roller ball in this de-puffing treat gives a refreshing mini massage as you apply. Hydrating and brightening, it opens up puffy morning eyes instantly.
3. Ole Henriksen Ultimate Lift Eye Gel: £36 for 30ml, selfridges.com
Jam-packed with peptides and natural ingredients, this newly-reformulated cooling gel instantly lifts, firms and de-puffs, while cucumber and red algae calm and soothe irritated eyes. Wake up with lifted, refreshed, younger-looking peepers.
4. Anne Semonin Eye Express Radiance Ice Cubes: £44 for 6x4ml beautybay.com
Hydrating marine spring water, stimulating gingko biloba, plumping hyaluronic acid and a whole load of antioxidants packs a powerful punch when it comes to reducing dark circles, puffiness and wrinkles. Keep these in your freezer and in the morning pop them out of the mould, wrap in the gauze and sweep under the eye; nothing refreshes quite like it.
5. Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Eye Mask: £40 for 4 packs, blissworld.co.uk
A simple pick-me-up if you need to fake a decent night's sleep or get a pre-party perk-up. Saturate the eye masks with the fluid (packed with antioxidants, vitamin C and cucumber), apply under the eye, and lie back and relax for 15 minutes for hydrated, de-puffed and brightened eyes in one easy hit.
6. Origins No Puffery Cooling Roll-On for Puffy Eyes: £24 for 15ml, origins.co.uk
Smooth this on with the cooling metal roller ball and pat in with your ring finger, for a de-puffing, dark circle and redness-reducing, refreshing eye-treat.
7. Soap & Glory Puffy Eye Attack: £12.50 for 14ml, boots.com
Inexpensive but time and time again Soap & Glory hold their own against high-end beauty ranges. A results-driven, turbo-charged, eye de-puffer that delivers a soothing, collagen-boosting, firming hit in one go.
8. Clarins Eye Contour Gel: £30 for 20ml, clarins.co.uk
The caffeine in this cooling gel helps to eliminate under-eye puffiness, while soothing camomile and cornflower make tired eyes look rested and brighter. Wild rose helps drain toxins to reduce dark circles and it's great for sensitive skin too. I found it really takes the redness out of exhausted eyes – perfect if you work late at a computer screen.
9. Caudalie Vinosource SOS Morning Eye Rescue: £18 for 15ml, uk.caudalie.com
Contact lens wearers and those with sensitive skin will love this hypoallergenic and non-oily cream, which leaves eyes looking fresh and rested without an under-eye bag in sight!
10. Espa Soothing Eye Lotion: £23 for 100ml, espaskincare.com
This is the hi-tech, hardworking version of the good old cucumber-slices-on-your-eyes method. The calming blend of redness-reducing watermelon, cooling cucumber and de-puffing cornflower is brilliant for itchy, sore eyes, tired from screen use or contact lenses. Dampen two cotton pads, pop on the eyes and leave on for 10 minutes. Shadows and puffiness be gone!
11. Murad Renewing Eye Cream: £67 for 15ml, murad.co.uk
Part of Murad's Resurgence skincare line that addresses the signs of hormonal ageing, this cream not only reduces overnight puffiness but also works to ease the appearance of medium-to-deep crow’s feet – not just fine lines – and to boost elasticity and firmness. It is expensive, but I've noticed the difference in just two weeks’ use.
12. DHC Eye Bright: £17.50 for 15g, dhcuk.co.uk
A calming, hydrating, cucumber-infused gel from Japan's number 1 skincare company, with added caffeine to combat dark circles, too. This one absorbs really fast, so if speed is important in your beauty routine, you can get on with your make-up almost immediately after applying.
13. Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Eye: £24.50 for 15ml, kiehls.co.uk
Get your beauty sleep with this overnight eye-treat, which gives dehydrated skin an intensive moisture-boost around the delicate eye area, while reducing puffiness. I found it beautifully rich, so it'll suit dry or mature skin.
Verdict:
Clinique All About Eyes Serum is refreshingly cool and instantly reduces puffy eyes, Ole Henriksen's Ultimate Lift Eye Gel really did lift tired puffy lids. But Benefit Puff Off took the top spot this week with its cooling metal tip to 'iron out' under eye creases and massage the under eye. And it's slightly tinted so you can ditch your concealer for a lighter make-up look in spring and summer.