This clever hack brightens dark circles and smooths fine lines – no concealer required!

Our eyes are quick to betray any signs of stress, inflammation, or lack of sleep. Since the area is thinner and more sensitive, sunken shadows, dark circles, and fine lines are quicker to appear.

Even when you’ve done everything in your power to avoid it, like clocking in eight hours of beauty rest every night and following a solid skincare routine, you may still find a panda staring back at you in the mirror the next morning.

Well, fret not. We’ve got a pretty nifty hack to help you brighten up those peepers. Before we share it with you, however, let’s first learn about the possible reasons behind our dark circles and crow’s feet.

What causes dark eye circles and fine lines?

Of course, our genetics play a huge part in the development of our complexion woes, which is why you may gradually notice dark circles and deeper wrinkles over time. However, there are five other potential causes worth noting.

1. Fatigue

Staying up hours past your usual bedtime can cause dark circles – no surprises there. But did you know that oversleeping can result in panda eyes too?

Yup, how much you sleep, whether too much or too little, can cause blood to pool and fluids to accumulate in different zones of the face, paving the way for dark eye circles and puffy eye bags.

2. Eye strain

Sitting in front of a computer screen all day and binge-watching your favourite TV series all night long can certainly strain your eyes.

This strain can enlarge the blood vessels around your eyes and affect circulation, causing the delicate skin surrounding your eyes to darken.

3. Ageing

As you get older, the fat and collagen that maintains your skin’s elasticity decrease, causing your skin to become thinner.

The thinner the skin, the more translucent it is, which means prominent blood vessels and underlying muscles are more likely to show through, resulting in a purplish appearance.

This lack of firmness and elasticity makes the lower eyelids much more vulnerable to drooping too. Not to mention, a loss in volume can create a shadow under your eyes, which gives the appearance of dark circles.

4. Sun exposure

If you’re one to bake under the sun for long stretches at a time, you may want to start seeking shade.

Increased sun exposure can trigger your body’s production of melanin, the pigment that gives your skin its colour. It’s responsible for our tans, and – you guessed it – dark eye circles, as it causes pigmentation in the surrounding skin to darken.

5. Dehydration

When your body isn’t well hydrated, the skin under your eyes can start to appear dull and your eyes may look sunken.

If you are seriously dehydrated, your body’s tissues will start to shrink, including your skin and the delicate tissue beneath the eyes.

How to brighten dark eye circles & smooth fine lines without concealer

It’s not all doom and gloom, though – not when there’s the Lancôme Advanced Génifique Yeux. This cult-favourite formula was designed for delicate skin that’s been weakened by the aforementioned eye stressors.

The eye cream helps your skin build a stronger barrier for brighter, more youthful-looking eyes in just seven days. So, how exactly does it do that?

Well, Lancôme’s lightweight, gel-like Advanced Génifique Yeux targets dark eye circles with a unique blend of actives. Here’s what you’ll find in every jar of Lancôme Advanced Génifique Yeux:

• Pre- and probiotic fractions: These millions of skin-strengthening fractions were chosen for their proven abilities to bolster the skin’s microbiome, thereby accelerating the skin’s moisture barrier recovery.
• Buckwheat seed extract and hyaluronic acid: Together, they help plump up the skin around the delicate eye area, tackling the loss in volume that contributes to a shadowing effect under the eyes.
• Chlorella vulgaris extract: This antioxidant-rich algae-derived ingredient offers soothing and hydrating properties for the skin. It even helps reduce the violet tone of dark eye circles.
• Plant-based vitamin CG: Also known as ascorbyl glucoside, it is a vitamin C derivative that offers antioxidant protection while helping to brighten and even out your skin tone.

Thanks to its cocktail of skin-loving ingredients, Lancôme Advanced Génifique Yeux provides optimal nourishment to combat signs of premature ageing and plumps up the area around the eyes for youthful-looking peepers.

Gently swipe on a pea-sized amount of Lancôme Advanced Génifique Yeux under your eyes and on the brow bone. Then, use two fingers to massage the cream outwards towards your ears to smooth out the appearance of fine lines.

After which, you can pat your eye contour with your fingertips to reduce the look of dark eye circles. Your eye area will feel hydrated and moisturised all day long, and you’ll even notice smoother fine lines after a single use.

When used consistently, day and night, you’ll see a reduction in dark circles and wrinkles once you’ve hit the bottom of one jar.

A clever trick to depuff eye bags at the same time

To further bolster the effectiveness of Lancôme Advanced Génifique Yeux, pair it with the new Advanced Génifique Yeux Light-Pearl™, an eye and lash serum. This way, you won’t just be able to lighten dark eye circles and iron out wrinkles, but also depuff eye bags and strengthen your lashes.

Now upgraded with Lancôme’s powerful patented complex, the Advanced Génifique Yeux Light-Pearl™ contains seven pre-and probiotic fractions, which have been specifically selected for their beneficial effects on the skin’s microbiome.

The formula works to restore and invigorate the eye contour barrier as it smooths and firms deep-set lines. What’s more, it contains caffeine extract, which has been shown to reduce the appearance of puffiness and dark circles in the eye contour.

To help fortify the lashes, the eye and lash serum contains arginine, an amino acid that helps build protein.

What’s unique about the Lancôme Advanced Génifique Yeux Light-Pearl™ is that it wields a stainless steel applicator that instantly cools the skin to reduce under-eye puffiness, leaving your eyes looking visibly energised and well-rested.

Engineered with 360-degree flexibility, the smart applicator is also able to target every angle of under-eye stress.

Before application, simply swirl the applicator along the bottleneck to remove any excess product. Then, use the tip to sweep the serum back and forth around your eye contour and massage with small, circular motions. You can apply some of the serum along your lash line to reap its full benefits too.

So, before you throw your hands up in the air and give up the fight against dark eye circles and puffy eye bags, try using the Lancôme Advanced Génifique Yeux with the Advanced Génifique Yeux Light-Pearl™ for a one-two punch.

Try the combination yourself by signing up for a seven-day Lancôme Advanced Génifique trial kit below. It includes seven Advanced Génifique Serum (1ml each), three Advanced Génifique Yeux (1ml each), and three Advanced Génifique Yeux Light-Pearl™ (1ml each).

Lancôme Advanced Génifique Yeux retails for S$110 while Lancôme Advanced Génifique Yeux Light-Pearl™ retails for S$125 at Lancôme.com.sg, all Lancôme stores, Sephora, and Lazada.

This article is brought to you by Lancôme.