A year spent battling allergies has left me with some battle scars in the form of terrible dark circles. I won’t lie – the last year has been tough for me health-wise. After a battery of tests, it was determined that I have a pretty significant allergy to cats, and it broke my heart to have to give up my best buddy Jones to a close family friend. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss him terribly, but I’m comforted that she’s taking wonderful care of him.
The Dark Circles! Oy!
My dark circles have never been so bad. It looked like I missed several weeks sleep. During my last visit to my doctor, I asked him about it and he told me point blank that the allergies were the culprit. Now, my dark circles have gotten better since Jonesy moved out, but they are still there. It was time to take action.
I started to do a little research. I soon found out that there were three options for getting rid of dark circles: Option A) getting way more sleep, Option B) finding a good eye cream and Option C) injectable fillers. Well, I knew that Option A was never going to happen as long as Netflix is around, and Option C seemed a little drastic, so I opted for B.
Shiseido White Lucent Anti-Dark Circles Eye Cream
On my recent trip to Vancouver, I took the opportunity to peruse the vast skincare counters at The Hudson’s Bay Company. I stopped at the Shiseido counter, mainly because the sales associate was a stunning Japanese beauty with the most crystal clear, porcelain skin. I begged her to tell me her secrets! After listening patiently to my skin woes and assessing my skin, she suggested the Shiseido White Lucent Anti-Dark Circles Eye Cream 0.53oz./ 15ml (for those looking to try this cream, it is signifcantly cheaper here on www.amazon.com). I was sold and walked away with my purchase, happy to start the process of getting rid of my “Uncle Fester” look.
The Results
I’ve been using this regimen now for about two months, and I can’t say that I’ve seen a marked improvement in my dark circles. The dark circle under my right eye does seem a little lighter, but I’m not sure if that’s due to the eye cream. I think it’s more due to the fact that my allergies are significantly better and that sinus is now clear (a lot of info, I know). My left sinus is still a little congested, therefore causing more darkness under the eye.
What To Look For In An Eye Cream -The Pros and Cons
Recently, I did some in-depth research on eye creams and moisturizers. Basically, when shopping for facial moisturizers of any sort, you should stay away from “jar containers”. Jars are not conducive to cleanliness, meaning that each time you dip your fingers into the cream, you are transmitting bacteria into it. Also, many ingredients in moisturizers cannot remain stable in a jar once exposed to air, therefore degrading quickly and becoming of no use whatsoever. This information was pretty disheartening, especially since so many “revered” eye and facial creams are sold in jars.
Also of note, this eye cream contains alcohol, which does not go hand in hand with youth-enhancement as it’s very drying and can be irritating.
Lastly, White Lucent contains brightening pigments that cosmetically brighten the area, not brightening the area from within. It is also lightly fragranced (has a light, floral scent), which may also irritate skin, especially the delicate eye area. It did not bother me at all – I quite like the scent – but it may bother others.
On a positive note, what I did notice was that it is an excellent primer for eye makeup! My concealer goes on much more smoothly and evenly after I apply the eye cream. A slight, unexpected bonus – one that’s worth $59.50? Not so sure.
Now, I always promised to never do a negative review as products that don’t work for me may work wonders for someone else. I thought it was important though to let my readers know of my experience. Many of us buy eye creams in jars hoping for some magic miracle, and I think it’s important to understand what makes a good eye cream. One warning sign? It’s packaging. If it comes in a jar, opt for something else, specifically creams in a pump bottle to keep the ingredients stable and active.
What Else Can You Do To Get Rid Of Dark Circles?
Before spending a mint on a cream, up your sleep intake! Try to get at least eight hours of shut eye a night. Clear up your allergies and nasal congestion and start drinking a ton of water. I promise, it will help! As a last resort, those suffering with dark circles can opt for undereye fillers – a surefire way to rid them on a temporary basis. DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST THOUGH. There have been a few cases of blindness associated with undereye fillers (filler being accidentally injected into veins supplying the eye with blood – scary).
Any one have any success with eye creams to battle dark circles? If so, please, please, please let me know in the comments! I hear that Kiehl’s Clearly Corrective Dark Circle Perfector SPF 30 is wonderful.
Dominique is a Canadian-based fashion and beauty influencer with a strong voice in Ottawa’s black community. Since launching her blog Style Domination in 2015, she has amassed a global fanbase. Dominique shares her life through beautiful imagery and compelling story-telling that speaks to her fans on a personal level. She’s been featured in The Guardian, Flare, The Kit and Cityline. She also hosts events for Dress for Success, the Gem Conference, and has been named a United Way Person 2 Know for the past three years.
My dark circles are a mixture heredity, allergies and lack of sleep. The only real way for me to reduce them is COVERING THEM THE HECK UP! 😛
I honestly do not believe any topical cream can change how dark circles look sans makeup. I like a lot of Shiseido products but their White Lucent line has left me disappointed.
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Thank you so much!!! xoxox
Thanks for your honest review 🙂 So sad about the cat situation 🙁
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Sigh. Ingrid – I miss that cat so much. I’m a little surprised at how empty our house is without him. :o(
I can relate !!! Just lost one of my dog ??
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I’m so sorry, Ingrid. Losing a dog… That’s a special kind of terrible pain.
That sucks about having to give up your cat. At least you know he’s being taken care of well. I bet he misses you as much as you miss him (my 2 cats miss me even if I’m only gone a few hours and stick to me like glue when I come home).
I like using eye creams/gels mainly to keep my eye area hydrated, which in turn helps reduce the appearance of lines & wrinkles. I don’t have real bad dark circles so I just use a peach/salmon colored corrector to cancel out the blue and it works good for me (though I know everyone is different). I’ve been liking the eye cream/gel from OZ Naturals a lot.
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Hey there! Thanks for the tips! I think what I really need to do is get more rest. As for little Jonesy, I hope to visit him soon. I really coming home after a long days work and having him stick to me like glue too. He was my best cat buddy. *tear*
Jones…..noooooo. 🙁 So sad for you.x
I was waiting for the Japanese sales associate to share her beauty secrets! Haha all my eye creams have come in jars ?
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She never did. ? Mine too! I’m going to try the Kiehl’s one next….
Kiehls is my favorite eye cream – the avocado one. I cannot wait to go back to that one. Gotta finish all my eye creams first!
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Some beauty blogger I am. I always finish one product before moving to the next. So boring! Lol! I’ll check out the avocado one too when I go to Kiehl’s. Thanks for the heads up!
Lol! No, no you’re doing it right! I wanna try to not go so crazy with buying products 🙂
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Yeah – I agree. We could go broke doing this stuff!
hi! I found Shiseido’s White Lucent series at TJMaxx in the US for about 35USD a piece- worth checking it out if you are around. I posted about it on my blog spendersparadise.com some time ago.
hugs,
Irma
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Thanks Irma! Unfortunately, I do not have access to TJ Maxx as I live in Canada…. :o(
Thanks for sharing this great content.
Nice content!