Just Because You Feel Tired, You Don’t Have To Look Tired

How annoying is it, when a work colleague, boyfriend or relative says those dreaded words: “What have you been up to? You look shattered!” – when the most interesting thing you’ve done is watch the Eastenders omnibus. Looking tired isn’t always the same thing as actually being tired, which means that the solution isn’t always just more sleep.

‘Looking tired’ comes from under eye bags and circles as well as dry skin and a pale complexion.

• dark circles – this is the most well known signal of tiredness and usually happens when the blood vessels around the eye become more visible.
• puffy eyes – when excess fluid builds up in the skin tissues around the eye it causes them to swell and ‘puff up’.
• Sallow, dry skin – when your skin is dull, dried out and perhaps a bit swollen.

Top Tips For Looking Less Tired

Apply something cold to the affected area of your face. Cold is particularly effective on dark circles because it constricts the blood vessels that would otherwise be visible through the thin eye skin.

Skin will often become dehydrated over night so drink a pint of water and use a good moisturizer boosted with hydrating B5.  This will help get rid of any dryness but will also make wrinkles less obvious.

Putting  cucumber slices on your eyes really does help! Cucumber is 90% water and, because it’s usually stored in the fridge, will have the twin effect of cooling and hydrating that delicate eye area. For a luxurious boost use Skin Medica’s Illuminating Eye Cream.

Keep your eye creams in the fridge. It won’t harm them and you’ll get the added benefit of applying something cool to your eye area on a regular basis.

Applying heavy make up to dark circles or sallow skin will just make your skin look less healthy. Instead, use a tinted moisturiser that will enhance your skin’s natural tones while keeping you hydrated throughout the day.

Make your eyes look wider and brighter. You can use make up skills to make your eyes appear wider (eg. lengthening mascara), and keep a supply of brightening eye drops handy to add a dash of last-minute sparkle.

If your face looks puffy in the morning it’s probably because all the fluids aren’t draining properly. In order to widen the various drainage passages in your head, try a pre-breakfast steam inhalation. This has the added bonus of waking you up!

Love it, or hate it, you should eat marmite! A lack of iron and/or B12 can cause fatigue, so if you’re sleeping plenty but still feel tired, you might want to up your intake.

Finally, ever girl needs a secret weapon in her make-up bag. Glo Eye Restore is mine. Carry it around for an instant eye lift when you need it most!