It feels like it happened overnight: one day I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and then the next day I had dreaded dark circles under my eyes. My dark circles love me so much that they are often kind enough to occasionally bring a friend along with them: bags.
Dark circles can be contributed to many things such as age, fatigue, dehydration, allergies, or overexposure to the sun. Unfortunately, some of us have a genetic predisposition to dark circles no matter our age or how much rest we get. The good news is, you can call in reinforcement to assist with those pesky dark circles. Below are 10 eye creams/serums that will keep you looking fresh-faced.
10 Best Eye Creams For Dark Circles
The Body Shop Drops Of Youth Eye Concentrate
The Body Shop
This eye cream from The Body Shop comes enriched with edelweiss plant stem cells. Edelweiss has powerful anti-aging qualities thanks to its high antioxidant properties. This eye cream comes in a roller ball pump applicator that can be placed in the fridge before use to help wake you up and leaves you feeling refreshed.
bareMinerals Skin Longevity Life Herb Eye Treatment
bareMinerals
The secret (not so secret) ingredient in this eye gel-cream by bareMinerals is Long Life Herb. Long Life Herb, also known as Chomeiso can be found in Okinawa, Japan, and has been a part of the natives' diet for centuries. Residents on the Island of Long Life are best known for their long life expectancy. PS, it's vegan too.
Elizabeth Arden Advanced Ceramide Capsules Daily Youth Restoring Eye Serum
Elizabeth Arden
This eye serum is unique because it comes in capsules that are packed with ceramides. Ceramides are fat molecules that assist skin with retaining moisture. This makes them effective in preventing dehydration which can be a cause of dark under-eye circles.
L’Occitane en Provence Immortelle Overnight Reset Eye Serum
Amazon
This eye serum claims to reduce puffiness and dark circles after just one use, and those that swear by this product do not disagree. Featured ingredients include organic immortelle essential oil, acmella oleracea extract, and marjoram extract that work together to smooth, reawaken, and firm.
Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Cream
Peter Thomas Roth
Hyaluronic acid is another ingredient that is known for its skin benefits. It should be seeing as though it is naturally produced by your body and can be found in your skin. Hyaluronic acid draws water in so it keeps the delicate skin under your eyes hydrated and moisturized. This gel also includes caffeine which helps decrease puffiness and Haloxyl which helps combat dark circles.
SkinCeuticals A.G.E Eye Complex For Dark Circles
SkinCeuticals
SkinCeuticals is a company that was created by a physician so it should be no shock that they rely heavily on science when creating their products. This cream contains blueberry extract which contains resveratrol, known to fight against aging and dullness.
Kiehl’s Super Multi-Corrective Eye Opening Serum
Kiehl's
Kiehl's, a trusted brand for skin, hair, and body products has literally been around since 1851. Their multi-corrective eye serum contains illuminating minerals that reflect light which helps brighten dark eye circles.
True Botanicals Deep Repair Eye Serum
True Botanicals
True Botanicals says, "It's like getting 8 hours of sleep in a bottle." Sign me up. The serum's key ingredients: carrot seed oil, blackberry seed oil, and tuberose stem cells work together to combat dark circles, fine lines, and puffiness.
First Aid Beauty Eye Duty Triple Remedy A.M Gel
First Aid Beauty
This gel-cream packed with peptides, red algae, and plant extracts help eyes look brighter and more youthful.
Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream
Origins
This eye cream from Origins features ginseng and coffee beans, which brightens tired eyes making you look instantly awake and vibrant.
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Again, the answer never changes because, if there is one thing that Shellie Reneé Warren is gonna get, it’s 6-8 (sometimes nine) hours of sleep. However, since my chronotype (check out “Ever Wonder What Personality Traits Make Someone A 'Morning Person'?”) means that I like/prefer to write in the wee hours of the morning, sometimes I will sleep for the night for five hours and take a nap in the day. And y’all, that is just fine with me because I am well aware of the fact that napping does everything from give me more energy, heighten my alertness and even make me more creative to decrease stress levels, strengthen immunity, and reduce my chances of experiencing a heart attack or stroke.
My problem is I will oftentimes go “overboard” with my daytime zzz’s. What I mean by that is, in order to get the most out of a nap, they say thatyou shouldn’t sleep for longer than 25 minutes or so; otherwise, you could wake up feeling sluggish (I don’t but…). Also, it can make resting, soundly, at night a bit of a struggle.
So, what are you saying, Shellie? We should get quickies in? Yeah. And it’s funny that the word “quickie” would come up because just like a sex quickie can do wonders for you (and it can — check out “12 Super Solid Reasons To Have A Quickie Every Single Day”), it’s a full-circle moment when I say that something that can improve the quality of your sex life is to have a power nap (a nap that lasts between 10-30 minutes).
Wanna know how the two things correlate? Honestly, it’s no secret that sleep and sex work together to optimize both (check out “6 Fascinating Ways Sex And Sleep Definitely Go Hand In Hand”). Today, though, we’re going to tap into how a nap, specifically, can have you partaking in some of the best sex that you’ve experienced in a minute. I’ll explain.
Naps Reduce Stress
GiphyIf you’re feeling super stressed out right now, you are not alone. There is plenty of data out here that says that most of us are stressed for at least a couple of reasons at a time — and that can impact your sexual health on a few levels. For one thing, it can bring about feelings of depression and/or anxiety. Stress can also throw your hormone levels off (including your cycle) which can weaken your libido. Stress can make you want to put distance between you and your partner (yes, literally).
Stress can also make it challenging to get aroused or to have an orgasm. And just what can help to decrease stress? Taking a nap. Since sleep has a way of helping you to “get off of the clock” and relax a bit, that can lower your stress levels and “reset” your body so that you are calmer — and that, in turn, can do wonders for your sex drive and ultimately your sex life.
Naps Improve Your Mood
GiphyThere is one person in my life, and fairly 80 percent of the time, she’s in a super good mood. Oh, but let that girl go without sleep, and…who is this woman? LOL. There’s research behind why this happens. When a person is sleep-deprived, it messes with their brain chemicals, and that can amplify emotions like anger, restlessness and sadness. In fact, one study revealed that people who had their sleep disrupted throughout the night, they ended up having their positive outlook on life reduced by about 30 percent.
And geeze, who wants to have sex when they’re not feeling very good? Anyway, since serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps to regulate your moods, your sleep patterns, and your libido and sleep is what helps to keep it in balance — by taking a nap, not only can it help you to feel better, it can also increase your desire for sex (it can also build up your endurance which is also…sexually beneficial).
Naps Increase Your Focus and Concentration
GiphySomething that some of my clients bring up is how, when it comes to having sex, sometimes the flesh is willing while the spirit is weak because, although the desire for intimacy is there, so much is going on that they aren’t able to get still enough to focus on experiencing copulation with their partner. This also tracks because, when you don’t have enough rest, your brain finds itself not working in harmony and that can make it hard to do everything from approaching life with a sense of flexibility to making necessary decisions.
Certain data also reveal that a lack of rest can cause you to have a really poor attention span and not process things in context (the more you know). So, if you really want to get some yet it’s hard for you to focus long enough to make it happen, ask your bae to lie down with you and take a nap. Between the sleep and the snuggling (check out “Fall's Coming: 8 Wonderful Health Benefits Of Cuddling”) — you may wake up with your mind and body totally on the same page. #wink
Naps Can Make You Feel Better About Your Body
GiphyEven if, overall, you feel really good about your body, I think that we all have moments when we feel less attractive than others — and who wants to have sex when they don’t really feel…very sexy? Well, something else that sleep, in general, can do is increase your confidence in your body.
For one thing, if you want to lose a few pounds, sleep can actually make that happen by helping your body metabolize the glucose (sugar) that’s in it so that you can better manage your appetite. Other studies go on to share that since sleep deprivation can impact one’s mental health and emotional stability in a negative way, of course, getting enough rest would increase body positivity.
Shoot, science even goes so far as to say that insomnia can cause people to have an elevated level of dissatisfaction when it comes to their body image. Don’t take their word for it, though. Look in the mirror before a nap. Then look in a mirror after waking up from me. Do you feel better? I’d be surprised if you don’t.
Makes Your Brain Bigger…Which Could Make Your Orgasms Better
GiphyI saved the best for last by design. Now if you’re wondering how in the world a nap can improve (and possibly increase) your orgasms — oh, there is a method to the madness…trust. For starters, the saying that your biggest sex organ is your brain? That isn’t a myth. Long story less long, the brain is what houses your central nervous system and that is what controls how men and women sexually function (yes, literally).
And since the brain also releases feel-good chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin during sex and brain activity significantly increases in women during sexual activity (especially right before she orgasms) — well, would it trip you out to know that when you take a nap, your brain actually expands? A bigger brain (that’s healthy) can potentially intensify your sexual experiences (and your climaxes) — and who doesn’t want that to go down?
____
Like I said earlier, I never have to be convinced to get a nap in. However, if your sex life has been a bit stagnant lately, you’ve been feeling a little sluggish and you’re not sure what to do — I’m hoping that a nap can get you right.
There’s enough science to prove that it can. All you need to do is give it a shot.
Now where’s your pillow and sleep mask, chile?
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