My struggles with the dark circles under my eyes are no secret.  Even if I wake up relatively refreshed and revitalized, by around 3 pm it’s back to Circle Town.  I’m open to literally anything and everything, and so masks specifically shaped to fit under the eye and “energize” it have been on my list for awhile.

I had intended to just feature one of these, but then I randomly bought another set, so you get a two-for-one test it out today!  The first I’ll talk about is the MissSpa Energize Gel Eye Masks, an absolute steal at only $3.

I decided to give them a whirl after a particularly sleepless night, and you can certainly tell how few hours of rest I got from this start photo (the above was also a “before):

I actually didn’t realize when I bought these that they weren’t paper masks and were gel instead.  This is a good thing: I hate sheet/paper masks.  Hate them.  I always try them, and am always disappointed.  However, these had this fantastic weight to them that really made it feel like the semi-runny gel was really getting in there.

As you may have notice, it’s a bit tricky to smooth out and place them; they’re quite slippery!  But once on, as I said, they feel really good.  There’s also no particular scent I remember either, so if you’re sensitive to that kind of thing, these should be fine.

You’re supposed to keep them on for about 20 minutes, and as the gel substance absorbs, you can feel them steady and hold in place better.  I can’t emphasize enough that the weight actually helped in waking me up, almost like a little mini pressure massage under my eyes.  Firm, but not at all heavy.

To make you feel as if you, dear reader, are waiting along with me, here’s a photo illustrating a moment during the down time: While I was wandering around doing other things as they worked, my phone (that I prop up and use to take the photos) fell off the stand and this is the photo it took.

Alrighty, moment of truth!  Taking these things off and, as per the directions, patting the remaining gel in.

No greasy feel whatsoever; nothing but feeling refreshed.  I truly did feel more awake after using these, and I swear I didn’t have any coffee.  I also think the dark circles lightened a bit.  Here’s the official “after,” and then before/after side-by-side.

Even if my under eye circles don’t look any better, they certainly felt better, and I plan on getting more of these in the future.  A nice pick-me-up after a rough night, for sure!

Alrighty!  One down, one awesome!  This next one I unfortunately don’t have a “before” for, because I didn’t think I would actually use it for a blog.  But, once I realized it wasn’t nearly as good as the MissSpa described above, I wanted to get it documented so if you had a choice, you knew which one to go for.  This one is the Yes to Cucumbers 2-Step Buh-Bye Bags and Dark Circles ($4).

As you can see if you click the link, two packages become as one, though not quite in the Biblical fashion, in order to work on both puffiness and dark circles.  The first step is to apply an under eye mask and let that chill for 10 – 20 minutes.

My feelings on these are clear.  Like all paper/sheet masks, they clump and lump.  They’re completely soaked in whatever-ingredient, and they end up just sort of sitting there, making me itchy.  They’re super cucumber-y too; the smell is legit like you smushed a cucumber and dipped a tissue on it, then put it under your eye.

Does it work?  Sure, in a way.  Like the gel ones above, they definitely made my eyes feel a bit more awake and reduced puffiness. But, I just hate that soaked, sticky-paper feeling.  I’d rather just put actual cucumber slices under my eyes, or use one of the many caffeine/cucumber infused under eye products available.

Moving on to the second step: It’s a cucumber infused lotion to help with the dark circles.  Again, it smells to the hilt like cucumber, and you get a shit-ton of it.

I used what I felt was a pretty small amount, and it took absolutely forever to absorb.  Its texture was just before greasy – it was a bit too liquid-y to be greasy, and as I said, no matter how little I used, I couldn’t get it absorbed.

It just keeps moving around!  Infuriating!

Now, I’m not 100% against this particular set.  If you’re really into paper/sheet masks, and prefer them, then you won’t really care.  The first half of the treatment worked fine enough and made my eyes less tired feeling.  The second step was also, mainly due to the smell, refreshing, but a pain to use.  I actually attempted to keep the package – there was so much of the lotion left! – for a few days to use it up, but I got sick of spending a full five minutes rubbing it in.

When it comes to the under eye one-time-use treatments, I’d go for the MissSpa energizing one any day.  Nice firmness, good gel product, and awake-y feeling!  Also, $3.  Let’s be real here.