For The Kind Of Bags That We DON"T Want

This post is at the request of my beautiful friend, mother of two, and style star (you know who you are ;) So we all love bags...you know the ones that you carry around as fashion statements as well as your home away from home. Its those pesky ones that we get under our eyes that we don't like! You know...those ones that scream to the world that your preschooler kept you up all night with an ear infection, you were up late finishing your daughters science project because she didn't tell you it was due until 7pm the night before, or that your husband came home and told you that he needed 100 cupcakes for the firm's bake sale tomorrow. Here are a few suggestions I've found to help minimize those bags and help you look like you spent the night at a spa...not in the kitchen!!

• Make sure that your skin is well moisturized. Well moisturized skin retains elasticity better than dry skin. This allows your skin to maintain its shape under the eyes, instead of sagging, creating that baggy appearance.
• Apply tea bags soaked in cold milk - milk has healing qualities that helps stimulate the skin around eyes and therefore decrease the swelling. The cold causes vasoconstriction, thereby decreasing the swelling as well (this is the nurse in me talking :)
• Use vitamin E or caster oil under your eyes before bed. Vitamin E is a wonderful moisturizer (see above). Caster oil helps improve circulation and reduces congestion. Increased circulation moves excess fluid away from the under eye area, therefore reducing the bags. Reducing congestion that has settled in the area also helps reduce the appearance of bags under the eyes.
• Make sure that you completely remove your makeup at night before you go to bed.
• Use egg whites beaten with a drop or two of witch hazel. This makes the skin look tighter and less puffy.
• Decrease salt intake. Just like fingers or feet swell when you retain water from a diet high in salt, so do your under eyes.
• Sleep on your back with your head elevated so that fluid does not settle under your eyes.