Treatment Trial: Anti-ageing eye treatment

By Sinead Van Kampen
Thursday Apr 21 2011

• Library Image. Photo: Getty Images

Each week Independent Woman investigates what's new and cutting edge in the battle to remain young and beautiful. This week, in a bid to erase our under eye bags we sampled the Aromatherapy Associates' Revitalising Eye Treatment.

What is it?

An anti-ageing eye treatment designed to soothe, tighten and nourish puffy peepers.The treatment combines specialised massage techniques to improve micro circulation and draining, and essential oils to condition and revive the delicate tissue around eyes.

What's the process?

The treatment begins with some gentle cleansing and exfoliation before eyes are gently massaged to drain excess fluid. A hydrating eye mask is placed on to eyes and once the benefits of rose wax, black tea and strawberry have worked their magic, the mask is removed and skin is treated to a helping of moisturising serum.

How does it work?

The eye massage is the real secret here as it works to boost circulation around the eyes. This helps eliminate dark circles and leave eyes looking bright and healthy. The massage cream is packed with Shea butter to help replenish the skin's natural moisture barrier, and baobab extract which works to improve elasticity. The active ingredients in the eye mask, serum and lotion also play a part.

Black tea tightens delicate skin, cranberry eases puffiness and extract of millet works to smooth and tone.

What are the benefits?

Plenty. As well as smoother, clearer eyes, many celebrities swear by this one as a treatment to counteract the effects of jet lag.

Tiredness, fatigue, conference concentration and dehydrated skin are all well catered for.

How long does it take?

This is a quick one. 30 minutes is all you need for this treatment making it a great lunch hour pick me up.

The best bit?

Waving goodbye to my panda eyes! The serum (which my therapist Melissa kindly applied to my whole face) also meant that as well as no longer looking like a heavyweight boxer after a bad bout, my make-up went on like a dream afterwards.

Any downsides?

Having to wear a hair net. As the treatment includes a relaxing head massage with frankincense oil as the main ingredient, greasy tresses are avoided but it's a look that's far from elegant.

I'm in ... where to next?

The Revitalising Eye Treatment costs €45 and is available at Pink Beauty Boutique, Dundrum, Dublin 14. For more information telephone 01

2051022 or see www.pinkbeautyboutique.ie for more details.

- Sinead Van Kampen

Lighten up dark circles There's no magic cure to prevent panda eyes, but follow out top tips to keep that tired look at bay

By Lynda Moorhead

Tuesday March 29 2011

Dark circles under the eyes only look good on panda bears. On you, me and Kim Kardashian, those pesky shadows don't look nearly so cute; they make us look tired, haggard, drained and, well, old.

While I can thank my mother for my own pair of purple-black wonders (cheers, Mam), hereditary factors aren't the only cause of dark circles.

Circulation

Aisling Cleary, registered general nurse and clinic manager for River Medical, explains that "dark under-eye circles are caused by a number of things, including the actual quality of the skin in that area".

The skin under the eyes is thinner than anywhere else on the face, and Aisling says that, "thinning skin and loss of fat and collagen, which are common as we age, can make the reddish-blue blood vessels under the eyes more obvious".

Unfortunately, there's no magic potion to vanquish dark circles, but tapping on your chosen eye gel or cream, using the pad of your ring finger, helps boost circulation and lessen their appearance. Using cold compresses (or chilled teaspoons) can alleviate the look of dark circles temporarily and, on the dietary front, cutting out excess salt, eating anti-oxidant and vitamin K rich foods, such as berries and leafy greens, can all help.

If you're in need of a quick fix, award-winning make-up artist Ellie Balfe has some tips on camouflaging the offending area.

"The first basic rule of under-eye concealing is that you use a product that is creamy or fluid in texture so as not to accentuate fine lines," says Ellie. "The second is that you use a colour that is the same shade as your foundation for light shadows or one tone lighter for darker shadows. This trick of using paler tones will counteract darkness. A yellow based [not pink] concealer will get rid of blue tones perfectly."

If you wear foundation, Ellie recommends putting concealer on after it. "If you apply concealer first, you'll subconsciously put too much on," she says.

Seamlessly

"Apply it to the area around the tear duct to lighten there, as well as underneath the eye. Lay the product down with a brush before patting the edges with your ring finger to blend the product seamlessly with your foundation. Lastly, powder lightly to set."

Bobbi Brown's new Creamy Concealer Kit, €33 (left), contains densely pigmented emollient concealer and setting powder side-by-side in a handy compact. It's a personal favourite and Ellie rates it, too.

Visit River Medical at 114 Lower Baggot Street, or telephone 1850 88 5050; and catch up with Ellie Balfe on her blog, elliebalfe. blogspot.com

- Lynda Moorhead

How to Get Rid of Dark Circles!

The precious gift of god “eyes” can be damage by dark circles. Dark circles not only damage your eye’s beauty but also make your look older.

Eyes said to a precious gift of God. One can see the colors and images of world through his/her eyes. Eyesare also the most prominent part of our face. Healthy, shiny and glowing eyes can easily catch one’s attention. You can attract or be impressive in any occasion through your eyes. To enhance this natural beauty, women tend to adopt different beauty products, eye care products, eye beauty enhancing treatments and herbal masks. Beside this, they also do hundreds of makeup techniques to enhance their eye’s beauty and shine. But, unfortunately, majority of women ignore a very important matter of concern, related to their eyes, that is “dark circles”.

Dark Circles under the eyes are a concern issue because dark circles damage your eyes beauty and also make your look older. You can hide your dark circles by a canceller or any dark circle hiding cream but you cannot get rid of these dark circles permanently by using these temporary things.
To protect your eyes from dark circles, you must first know about the reasons and factors that can lead to dark circles, preventive measures and latest treatments to get rid of dark circles permanently and have healthy and glowing eyes.

Reasons/ Factors of Dark Circles:

1. Genetic inheritance related to eye bone structure is a major cause of dark circle.
2. Skin pigmentation is another reason. The skin below your eyes is thin and not as richly supplied with oil glands as the rest of the body.
3. Eye itchiness, scratching and rubbing of the skin under the eyes can contribute to dark circles.
4. Lack of sleep and fatigue can cause the eyes skin to grow pale and gray. This makes blood vessels under the eyes to appear more visible and dark.
5. Unbalanced diet, frequent use of alcohol, caffeinated drinks, smoking and lack of exercise.
   Continues exposure to sun light.

Pre-cautionary Measures:

1. Avoid factors that can cause eye allergies.
2. Take a balance diet with multi vitamin supplements.
3. Sleep sufficiently and well.
4. Drink plenty of fluids.
5. Wear sun glasses and use sun screen before exposing to direct sun light.
6. Use eye care cream, containing Vitamin K,C and E. They are effective in reducing dark circles.

Treatments to reduce Dark Circles:

1. Laser resurfacing and intense pulse light treatments are good to reduce dark circles.
2. Chemical peels can be effective in rejuvenating the skin around eyes.
3. An injectable dermal filler in combination with Botox can be used to augment the recessed areas to eliminate dark circles under your eyes.