'Allo, Vera

As you've seen from my Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation review post, sans concealer I have fairly dark circles under my eyes. It's something that plagues a lot of us, and especially those with Asian skintones (the yellow tones of our skin emphasising the blue of veins and capillaries). And, as far as my hunt for a solution has reached, it seems that pretty much no (at least, affordable) eye cream really helps.

So the only option for a lot of us has been to conceal away. Which is counterproductive in some ways, with the heaviness of some formulations probably adding to the problem despite temporarily improving the cosmetic look of them.

I hesitate to say this, because I have no proof, but I do believe I've found something that helps. The dark circles I have now ain't nothing in comparison to the darkness I used to have. This is confirmed by Bartimaeus, who actually asked me recently what I'd done to get rid of them. And as I've changed only major one thing in my beauty routine that could explain this, I am led to believe that it is the solution.

The miracle elixir that I believe has faded them is none other than the healthfood store staple: Aloe Vera gel. For the last eighteen months, I've stopped using an eye cream at night. Instead, I've been applying Aloe Vera gel around my eyes.

This is a bit of a shaky recommendation as I can't quite prove its efficacy, and I have no before/after pics. But I have the confirmation of Bartimaeus who does look at my face a lot. And I have two theories that support my case. The first is that the lightness of the gel versus heavier eye creams. I read somewhere that you shouldn't use heavy eye creams at night, that they prevent the skin from breathing and thus renewing itself. The gel dries to a very light, slightly tacky consistency whilst creams often 'sit' on the eye. Secondly aloe vera gel contains vitamins and anti-oxidants, stuff you could pay a lot more for in creams, but in a higher concentration than many of them would. I don't know the science of these at all, but it sounds good, right?

I've been umming and ahhing over this recommendation because I can't prove it works. But it's made such a difference that I wanted to share it. A tube of aloe vera gel costs about £3-£5 depending on the size, from Holland & Barratt and Superdrug, so it might just be worth a shot if you suffer from dark circles.
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