How to Give Tired Eyes a Wake-Up Call

3. Use eye cream, gel or serum in the a.m. and p.m.

Women often ask, “Why can’t I use my face moisturizer in the eye area?”

Well, it’s better than nothing, but do your eyes a favor and splurge on a separate cream, gel or serum. There are thousands of products, but your best bet for tired eyes is a do-all multitasking formula that emphasizes the hero ingredients: humectant-hydrator, hyaluronic acid and caffeine. Here’s why: The hyaluronic acid floods your eye area with moisture and plumps up lines and spots where the skin is thin and discolored. Caffeine constricts the leaky blood vessels beneath the skin, which can cause discoloration and swelling. It’s a double knockout.

Perfect hyaluronic/caffeine mixes include RoC Hydration+ Replumping Eye Cream ($30, walgreens.com); La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Eye Serum ($45, target.com); First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Hydrate + De-Puff Eye Cream ($34, ulta.com); and Belif Aqua Bomb Depuffing Eye Gel With Caffeine + Hyaluronic Acid ($32, kohls.com). Consider anything else in the formulas — brightening vitamin C and niacinamide, firming peptides and collagen-boosting retinol or its plant alternative, bakuchiol, and plant extracts — as gravy.

I am often asked, “Should I buy eye serum, eye gel or eye cream?” It’s a personal choice, and you can pick more than one formula. Serums are super lightweight and absorb quickly with no residue; gels have a cooling, refreshing feel; and creams are thicker, richer, soothing and more emollient. Consistent use is key here. While you will see some immediate difference in hydration (so the eye area looks instantly fresher, firmer and “cleaner”), maximum results take a few weeks of continued use. Apply eye treatments day and night to double the benefits (don’t save them for bedtime). Always pat your eye cream, gel or serum on using a gentle tapping motion.

From left: NYX Professional Makeup Color Correcting Pro Fix Stick Concealer; Huda Beauty
Mini #FauxFilter Brightening Under Eye Color Corrector.

Meiko Takechi Arquillos

4. Fake it till you make it with a corrector-concealer

Under-eye discolorations are nothing new for women over 50 who say, “I’ve worn under-eye cover-up every day since college,” and swipe it on whether they’re wearing eye makeup or not. Start over. Keep your opaque matte cover-up to dab on brown spots or the occasional blemish.

Tired eyes at 50 need a silky or creamy hydrating “corrector”: a yellow-, peach- or orange-tinted concealer that neutralizes blue and purple discolorations. Kassajikian suggests applying “a peachy or orange-toned concealer to cancel out any darkness, so less concealer is needed.” Don’t get freaked out by the hue, which gets muted on application. Corrector shades can be worn solo (so you can skip regular concealer) or layered lightly under a creamy skin-tone concealer for those with truly intense discolorations.

Good examples are the Revlon Glimmer Correcting Concealer in Peach Corrector, Yellow Corrector or Orange Corrector ($14, cvs.com); NYX Professional Makeup Pro Fix Stick Concealer in 0.3 Yellow or 0.4 Dark Peach ($12, target.com); Huda Beauty Mini #FauxFilter Brightening Under Eye Color Corrector in Peach Light, Peach or Papaya ($15, sephora.com); and RMS Beauty ReFresh Eye Brightener Broad Spectrum SPF 30 in Adore, Cherish, Hush or Swoon ($49, ulta.com) — this one has more subtle tints of corrective shades. Most women apply concealer beneath their eyes in a crescent shape from the inner corner to the outer corner. Be sure to use a light hand and apply corrector to the darkest areas at the inner eye and the tear trough near the nose. Use your fingertip or a concealer brush in the tap-blend technique to soften the edges until you can’t see where any concealer or corrector starts or stops. If you have under-eye bags, apply concealer only to the darker shadow beneath the bag, not on the puffy part.

5. Direct attention elsewhere

“Distract and attract” is a strategy women over 50 know well. Who hasn’t worn a print dress or a bright top to divert eyes from extra pounds and bulges? Sometimes the best solution for tired eyes is to switch the focus elsewhere.

Bold glasses can be your ally here, especially in sharp black or tortoise frames with a modern cat-eye or squared shape that can take the place of eye makeup. Styles like the Warby Parker Marris Eyeglasses for Women in Truffle Tortoise ($95, warbyparker.com), Jasmine Women’s Cat-Eye Black Glasses ($53, eyebuydirect.com) or Amelia E. Imani in Shiny Black ($62, glassesusa.com) instantly define the eyes while simultaneously drawing attention away from saggy lids, circles and puffiness. Prescription lenses, including reading glasses, are effective, but if tired eyes are a frequent problem, check your prescription. Eye strain can be exacerbated by an outdated Rx. For added flattery, have an optometrist tint the lenses a very pale blue or lavender — just enough to add subtle camouflage while keeping your eyes visible indoors.

Finally, wear white tops instead of black or navy when you look tired. Try a Croft & Barrow Women’s Knit Button-Front Shirt in Bright White ($30, kohls.com); the Banana Republic Women’s Everyday Shirt in Cotton Poplin in White ($95, bananarepublic.gap.com); or the Old Navy Women Oversized Button-Down Boyfriend Shirt in Poplin White ($28, oldnavy.gap.com). They provide a frame of light that can restore an immediate glow to the face. And brighten your lipstick. Kassajikian suggests a cool red, vibrant berry or peachy-pink shade instead of your usual neutral. Try Urban Decay Vice Hydrating Lipstick in WeHo ($21, macys.com), L’Oréal Paris Couleur Riche Blurred Matte Lipstick in Le Rouge Paris or Brushing Berry ($11, cvs.com) or Makeup by Mario SuperSatin Lipstick in Tribeca or Chelsea ($28, sephora.com). All grab the spotlight and push eye issues into the background.

Medical treatments such as Botox or hyaluronic fillers can help solve stubborn eye issues.

Meiko Takechi Arquillos

6. Consider a dermatological or surgical solution

When physical eye changes make you look exhausted or angry all the time (and you’re not!), or deeply hooded, saggy, crepey lids and prominent under-eye bags make wearing eye makeup difficult, it may be time for some medical assistance.

Start by consulting a board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon who has extensive experience with in-office eye procedures or eye surgery to determine whether you’re a good candidate. A dermatologist can advise you on Botox, fillers, radio frequency and lasers. Botox (botulinum toxin) can treat the deep vertical creases between your eyes (commonly called the “elevens”) and crow’s feet at the outer eye by relaxing the muscles to keep them from contracting. A hyaluronic filler like Restylane can be injected beneath the eyes to diminish hollows and plump the skin, making dark circles less visible. Lasers or radio frequency can give the under-eye skin a smoother, tighter look. No downtime is necessary, but injections are painful (I know this firsthand) and may cause temporary bruising. Expect to pay around $200 to $450 for Botox, depending on how many units are used; $700 to $1,000 per syringe for filler; about $400 to $1,500 for radio frequency; and $1,000 to $2,000 for laser.

For a more permanent fix, cosmetic eye surgery, known as blepharoplasty, can remove excess, saggy, stretchy skin from the upper lids and reduce bagginess beneath the eyes, although excess fat may also be removed. Some “bags” are actually fat pads that once cushioned the eyeball and have now slipped lower, causing a saggy bulge. A lower-lid blepharoplasty can remove those fat pads and tighten the skin. The incisions are strategically placed to minimize visible scarring. Prices vary for each surgical procedure depending on where you live, the surgeon’s skill and other factors such as medications, anesthesia and operating room fees, but expect to pay around $3,400 to $4,500 each for lower- or upper-lid blepharoplasty, with a two-week downtime.