MOMMA KNOWS… beauty tips for tired eyes

So, yes, sleep is no longer a given.  I’m lucky if I get 4 hours straight without my little man waking up and wanting to come into our bed (where he likes to sleep horizontally between us kicking one of us while head butting the other).  There is no question, the eyes are the windows to how much or how little we’ve slept the night before.  So here are my beauty go-to’s for tired eyes…

1) EYEDROPS: Having been on set with some of the most amazing makeup artists in the world I noticed they often had these incredible blue eye drops which take the red out of eyes instantly and better than any other product out there.  They are french and whenever I was in France I would buy it in bulk… well, I have found them here on Amazon and make no mistake – these are  a GAME CHANGER!

2) UNDER EYE CREAM:  look for one that helps moisturize, reduce the look of fine lines and lightens dark circles.  This one from Clinique is brilliant.

3) TWEEZERS: invest in a truly great pair of tweezers – I could not live without my Tweezerman tweezers – clean brows immediately brighten the area and give an over all more manicured look. I believe that the eyebrows are the window frames to the face and having a clean brow can change your entire look from tired and worn to fresh faced and rested.

4) EYE BRIGHTENER: the YSL Touche Eclat is THE luminizing pen that just brightens the orbital area.  It is tried and true and has been around forever (because it WORKS).  It can be used in many areas (under brows corner of the eye, under eye, even between brows and alone the nose to add contouring if needed) – it adds light and radiance for an over all more rested appearance.  From years of working in fashion, I don’t know a fashion editor, makeup artist or model that doesn’t keep one of these in their bag at all times.

5) CONCEALER:  There are so many great brands in every price bracket (the key is to find the right shade for your skin tone and one that doesn’t dry up or look cake-y).  For me, there is only one.  The concealer that in undoubtably the best in the business (as confirmed to me by my celebrity makeup artist friends time and time again) is by Cle de Peau. It is pricey (because its the best) but it lasts a long time and I could not have gotten through the last 16 months of sleepless nights without it…  If I wear no other makeup I still wear this.

6) WHITE EYELINER:  This may sound insane but I line the inner rim of my eyes with a white eyeliner (warm it up on the back of your hand first to soften the pencil so it glides on easier).  The white helps conceal the redness from lack of sleep and adds additional light to the eyes.  Just how black liner can close the eye and give that sexy smokey cat eye affect – the white liner (again on the inside rim of your eyes) makes the brighter and whiter.  You can also add a bit to the inside corners of the eyes which makes the eyes look bigger and more radiant as well.

7) EYE LASH CURLER:  Another way to open your eyes is to lift and curl those lashes.  Shu Uemura is universally known to be the best eye lash curler and I’ve been loyal to mine (I think I’ve had 3 or 4 now) over the last 15 years.  Beautifully curled lashes just open up the eye and give you a bit of extra glamour when you just feel like crawling back into bed.

8) MASCARA:  Distract with amazing lashes!  Eyes look brighter next to your beautifully curled and mascara-ed (is that a word?) lashes.  Maybelline’s Great Lash has been THE tried and true go-to mascara that you can find in every singe makeup artist’s kit.  Its inexpensive and after all the years that it has been around still holds up against all the expensive designer mascaras out there.  Mascara just adds that bit of extra polish to tackle your busy day after your sleepless night.  Just because you feel like a zombie doesn’t mean you have to look like one…