Transforming Hay Fever Eyes

It's that time of year again. Not much sun, but a lot of hay fever. I never used to suffer from it and then during the summer of my first year at uni four years ago, it arrived completely out of the blue. I had no idea you could suddenly develop an allergy, but the signs were all there and it's been hell ever since.

Here's what I'm faced with in the morning...

Ouch! Puffy, swollen, weepy eyes and a lot of dark circles. Thank goodness for makeup. Having hayfever eyes that look this horrific means a bit of work to get them ready for facing the public. Here's what I do...

Soothe
The first step is calming and soothing the skin. My two favourite products for giving much needed relief to my swollen eyes are Clinique All About Eyes Serum and Liz Earle Eyebright Soothing Eye Lotion. Both products are oil-free and gentle on the skin, instantly cooling the eye area to leave them feeling refreshed and hydrated. I particularly like the roller-ball application of the Clinique serum for a revitalising mini massage. This is also a good time to use some eye drops to really soothe the eyes.

Conceal
These levels of dark circles require a heavy duty concealer so I use Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer (a perfect dupe for Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer). This is a full coverage concealer which flawlessly covers blemishes and dark circles without feeling heavy, looking cakey on the skin or having a very matte finish.

Red rimmed eyes aren't an attractive look so I line the waterline with Illamasqua Medium Pencil in Hex. This nude coloured pencil nicely masks the redness and returns my eyes to a natural flesh colour.

Add eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara and voila - healthy looking eyes again!

Which products do you reply on to transform your hay fever eyes?

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