Budget Beauty

Important: If you don't use eye cream, you are doing yourself a disservice. On the other hand, your eyes will applaud you if you make the tiniest effort. If you have never done it before, start simple, girl. Boots No7 Protect and Perfect Eye Cream  is a great example of a first time buyer program. It will do the job, and under $20 to boot! Haaaa, I made a non-hilarious funny! Just do SOMETHING for your eye area, because it is the first thing to go!

Sometimes I forget about people who have combo skin. Geez!

So I went to an expert. My favorite combination skin makeup diva friend said I must include Cellcosmet Eye Contour Gel-XT or else lose my blogging license. This shit pulls the skin around the eye TIGHT , goes in quickly, leaving very little on the skin, and de-puffs like a mother. She says it also makes makeup look awesome. Cellcosmet is one of those lines I don't know nearly enough about. I gotta go touch some of their creams. Mind out of the gutter, please!

Oh, shut up. You know I'm obsessed.

La Mer The Eye Concentrate  is much better than it used to be because they took out an algae that made  my eyes red. Now it is perfection. This is the eye cream that theoretically does it all. And the little sterling application wand is not only suber (super and uber) awesome for cooling the under-eye area but also great for increasing the micro-circulation and getting all that blood up and OUT!

This is the original. La Mer The Eye Balm is really more about  puffiness. And for this it is genius. It is also for the people who can't effing let go. Time moves on. La Mer comes out with new products. They replace the old products with better technology. Buy the new one, dammit. Let it go. Or be like me, and covet both the new and the old just in case they work together to create the perfectly anti-aged eye. Fine. I haven't let it go. I kinda love it and never want it to change. But I really should grow up.

I'm gelling. Are you gelling?

 I don't know why I believe this to be true, but if you have dark circles, a gel texture eye treatment is best. I usually have some line of scientific bullshit to back this up, but this time I have nowhere to hide. I like the texture, and I feel like it gets deeper into the skin and really pushes all that pooled blood out from underneath your eye. These are some of the ones I've tried.

  Clarins Eye Contour Gel




Clinique All About Eyes


Olay Definity Eye Illuminator Treatment


Jurlique Herbal Recovery Eye Gel 


La Prairie Cellular Revitalizing Eye Gel, 

Yes, you dumb hooker, you need different skincare at night.

Hey, let's get a couple of things straight here kids. The cosmetics industry is not trying to rip you off when they want you to use two different products for day and night.

DAY CREAMS are built to protect your skin from the daily bullshit your face has to deal with.  Using anti-oxidants sometimes even SPF, your day shit should be creating a dome effect over your skin so free radicals can't age it, sun can't kill it, and moisture isn't sucked out of it the minute you go outside or stress out about your boss finding out you spend waaaay too much time on Facebook.

NIGHT CREAM is food for your skin. It is the only time your skin really rests and repairs from all the abuse you put it through all effing day. Nourishment can come in several forms, depending on your skin type, but these are the moments you have the chance to really improve the look of your skin by infusing moisture.

Eye Cream also does different shit during the day vs.while you sleep. If you don't want it to look like you have been up all night yelling at cars from a streetcorner, you probably should use an eye cream that gets rid of puffiness and circles during the day, and then a different, heavier cream that give you massive moisture at night so you don't look like a old line-ridden hag before your time.

Those are the basic ideas behind skincare. But my other rules include:
Moisture is good. Use it day and night, even if it's not specifically made for being awake or being asleep.
And
Skin loves habit. The more consistent you make your beauty ritual, the more your skin will be stable and predictable.

So, my favorite eye thingy for day is Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Eye Serum. I love it because it is light in texture and has a crushed pearl finish making your under eye area look all radiant and healthy. It also smells good. It has some good moisture, but most of all it kicks my allergy eye puffs into submission.



At night I enjoy a cream that has the consistency of butter. Seriously. I like heavy duty moisture. And it turns out, the delicate skin under the eye has no oil glands, so even the oily skin kids can use some heavier eye cream. My fave? Shiseido Benefiance Concentrated Anti Wrinkle Eye Cream Simple, silky moisture. I know, I sound sexy gross.