realizebeauty.com – bags under eyes

Eye Balls from L’Oreal

Part two of all things ‘eye’ (bought to you by the want-worthy iPad) is eye balls and I’m not talking the optic type. L’Oreal launched it’s caffeine eye roll-on in 2008 and apparently by mid 2009 it had sold more than 5 million packs worldwide! Either we have a lot of baggage issues or this product is just too tempting to resist! So is it the formulation, the packaging or both that makes this special?

The formulation

Caffeine is what this product is all about so that is where we will start. It is surprisingly good at penetrating the skin as this lovely little article by the Beauty Brains tells us. Further, as it travels into our bodies via the skin it cleans up damaged cells along the way – a feature that could help us to control skin cancer. Even better than that caffeine stimulates circulation and that is exactly what sluggish eye bags need to get them rocking out-of-town. It’s all good in coffee town!

But that is not all.

The caffeine is supported in it’s free-radical busting and skin cell stimulating journey by some other useful ingredients: Ginger is another powerful stimulant that is sure to get blood flowing. Then there is green tea for an extra boost of antioxidant, fruit extracts and magnesium to help whiten the skin, acacia honey, fructose and glucose for their healing, softening and moisturising properties and zinc – an essential mineral for skin repair. A skin-full of food.

But what about the packaging?

Packaging is always important in personal care products as it helps to convey information about how to use it, protect the product and facilitate use. This pack is no different in that regard but it is rather unusual! Apparently balls matter and it is the silver ball that enables this product to do its magic! […]

By Amanda Foxon-Hill|May 28th, 2010|Ingredients, Uncategorized|2 Comments|

Eye Pads

Sydney is all a buzz about a silly old thing called an iPad. The last time I saw something like that was when I was researching cuneiform script from the old testament – Maybe Moses was the inspiration! Anyway, for those of us obsessed with everything BEAUTY I thought I would pay Homage to the ipad (which does look like fun) with a short piece on eye pads – trust me, they are not that interesting LOL!

So, the eye area is prone to sagging and bagging due to it’s ultra-thin skin as far as bags go, girls usually get them worse than boys and the tendency to form large and dark eye bags can have a genetic component. However, there are things that you and your cosmetic chemist can do to have things looking a little brighter and fresher under those peepers. Here are my top 3 non product tips:

Drink lots of water and no, the water in your coffee doesn’t count. Water is essential for your general metabolism and so you need a bit but a bit more will do wonders for your skin and eye health. Water helps to flush out those toxins in your body nice and quickly giving you a fresh look.
Sleep is essential and we need between 5-10 hours a night on average. That is a big range so do yourself a favour and listen to your body then take action!
Don’t strain. iPads, game machines and laptops are ultra lovely and very addictive but straining over them will do your eyes no good. All of that focus will leave you with wrinkles and a headache. Do your beauty self a favour and put it down every 20 minutes. Your eyes need […]

By Amanda Foxon-Hill|May 28th, 2010|Body Matters, Uncategorized|0 Comments|

Help! Excess Baggage…..

To say that I have been tired this week is an understatement BUT the show must go on and in the midst of my wallowing in self pity (oh where is the chocolate fairy when you need her) I got inspired. Now I could blame it on being in my mid thirties, blame the kids or blame my obsession with typing on computer screens long past bedtime but no. There must be a more analytical reason why I have shopping bags under my eyes. Time to do some research!

The skin under the eye is pretty thin – a lot thinner than say, the skin on your nose and that doesn’t help. The thin skin allows the blood underneath to show up more than it does in other places and this is one reason why it can look a bit bruised. The reason that it looks worse when you are tired, stressed or otherwise compromised is that your skin- the largest organ of the body – looses some of its glow when you do. Dehydration, poor nutrition, sickness and lack of sleep can turn even the youngest of skin sallow so take care of it (me included). The reason why bags tend to get worse with age (and why some people suffer more than others) is partly how you care for your skin and partly genetic. Yet again, if your parents suffered from eye baggyitis then you most likely will too. As we age the skin’s scaffolding thins out making it sag and this saggyness causes the illusion of shadows adding to the baggy eye look.

Finally, there may be an allergy or sickness contributing to your problem. Anyone who’s had a bout of hay fever […]

By Amanda Foxon-Hill|September 10th, 2009|Body Matters|1 Comment|