Are you someone who regularly bragged about how late you stayed up while in school, constantly pushing back your bedtime to make it seem like you were just so busy and had so much work to do? Or are you someone who has time management skills but also serious difficulty sleeping?
If you are the former, I have no sympathy for you. You brought your problems on yourself and should therefore keep that B.S. to yourself. But if you are in the far cooler latter group, I have just the skincare hack for you.
SEE ALSO: 10 coffee-infused skincare products your skin desperately needs
Like the ocean waves, my insomnia ebbs and flows. Sometimes, I’m able to drift blissfully off to sleep at the stroke of midnight, my body and brain exhausted. But sometimes, I get lovely shots of the sunrise after having not had a second of sleep since the day before. It’s all about balance, people.
Having lived with insomnia for 11 years now, I am no stranger to the raccoon eye. My dark, puffy, Hefty Garbage Under-Eye Bags really stand out underneath the pound of concealer I cake on. I’m not going to lie to you all: I am sick and tired of them!!! There had to be something I could do to take out that trashy look.
As a broke recent college grad, I knew fillers weren’t it. They’d obviously do the trick and get rid of my bags in a second, but they weren’t the be$$$t option for me. So I turned to the next best thing: a $6.70 bottle of caffeine solution.
You heard that right: caffeine is no longer just the thing you drink every morning that doesn’t really pep you up anymore but just kind of wards off the painful headaches that come on the days when you accidentally forget to drink coffee. It’s a killer skincare product that works to de-puff, brighten, and give your skin the antioxidant dosage it deserves. Simply put, caffeine was my best bet at targeting my insomnia eyes.
Like most of Gen Z on TikTok during quarantine, I’ve discovered an undying love for The Ordinary products. I had heard about the brand before but hadn’t tried any of their products before. One of my old bosses recommended it to me last fall and I said “I’d look into them!” knowing full well I had a strict skincare routine at home and could not (and should not) add any more products onto my face. But after seeing one too many posts raving about The Ordinary on SkincareTok, I decided to finally bite the bullet and try some products out for myself.
After incorporating multiple products into my rotation, I knew it was time to put The Ordinary up to its biggest test yet. I bought the Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG and crossed my fingers.
The instructions on the solution say it is safe to use both morning and night and to massage it into your under-eye area. Even when I am able to sleep, I wake up most mornings to puffy eyes. I was excited to see if the solution did more than just target discoloration and helped to bring down my morning inflammation.
Now, I’m not going to say everything is perfect but I will say everything is a lot better when your under-eyes don’t look like they need to be put on the curb every Monday morning. The solution does an unreal job at calming down my puffy eyes immediately and for the first time in my life, I feel like I can leave my house without any concealer on under my eyes. And that’s during a global pandemic when all anyone sees when I leave my house are my eyes!
I always have the most trouble sleeping during season changes (AKA right now) but this is a recent no-makeup selfie!!!! NO MAKEUP!!!!! And my under-eyes look THIS GOOD!!!!! In other news, I’m building a shrine dedicated to worshipping this solution and you’re all invited to join.
TL;DR
– The Ordinary’s Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG is an affordable way to manage dark under-eye bags at just $6.70
– The solution also targets inflammation, effectively calming down any puffiness
– People who brag about pulling all-nighters are lame
