My Boyfriend Stole This Eye Cream From My Bathroom (It's That Good!)

There are three types of well-connected friends everyone should have in their life.

The first? Someone with a boat. Or someone who knows someone with a boat. 

The second is someone who works at a bar. Or a pub. Or a restaurant. Just somewhere you can go on a Friday night and throw down a few cocktails for free. A guy I used to date worked behind the bar at a Mexican restaurant and I swear I never paid for a margarita throughout all of 2015.

The third is someone who works in beauty. It could be a hairdresser, a beauty therapist, a dermatologist, a cosmetic nurse, or someone like me - a beauty editor. 

I’m just gonna say it - being mates with a beauty editor is bloody awesome. 

One of the ridiculous perks of this job is that beauty brands send editors new products to try all the time. We give them a whirl and if they’re any good, we write about them. 

Yet most of the time there is just too much stuff to try at once, so the excess products are gifted to friends, family and colleagues, as well as charity groups like The Beauty Bank and Pink Cross Foundation. 

And honestly, seeing people get super excited by free beauty products is one of the great joys of this gig. It’s really fun to share the love around, plus you get to see what works on different skin types. 

But when an exciting new eye cream landed on my doorstep - Murad Vita-C Eyes Dark Circle Corrector - I knew I would not be sharing this product with anyone. Or so I thought ...

I’m a huge Murad fan - their Resurgence Retinol Youth Renewal Night Cream and Resurgence Retinol Youth Renewal Serum helped me overcome my fear of retinol.

And I’m obsessed with their Prebiotic 4-in-1 Multi Cleanser, Rapid Resurfacing Peel Pads and Professional Eye Lift Firming Treatment. The brand makes killer active skincare products that are worth every cent. Truly, I mean that.

So I was pretty sure Murad’s new vitamin C-based eye cream was probably going to be a fast favourite. 

The ingredients looked impressive. Niacinamide and two forms of potent, stable vitamin C - ascorbic acid and tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate - were listed very high up the list, which is always a good sign. 

The product has a light-orange colour and is super creamy, leaving the skin with a noticeable glowy sheen after application. It didn’t pill under makeup or sunscreen and immediately made me look more awake. 

But it took less than a hot minute for this fabulous new eye cream to suddenly move from my section of the bathroom cabinet, to my boyfriend’s side. 

Said boyfriend started swanning out of the bathroom with his under-eye area looking suspiciously dewy and plump. The little pump bottle started feeling lighter, while his dark circles slowly melted away. Coincidence? I think not. 

Following an intense interrogation in front of a magnifying mirror, he confessed the eye cream had made a big difference to the darkness under his eyes. He also liked it because it wasn’t greasy and melted in nicely underneath his sunscreen (yes, he’s been trained well), so it didn’t look like he was wearing a whole lot of product. 

We’ve now come to a truce and share the eye cream between us. I have a feeling this certainly won’t be the last time this happens…

Most importantly, let's get to the cause of what we're actually trying to treat here - because dark circles are complex. Dermatologist Dr Leona Yip says there are six common causes of dark circles:

Now I hear you asking, how can you get rid of dark under-eye circles?

Dark circles are famously very difficult to treat, because they’re often caused by things we can’t control, like genetics or our age. 

But Dr Yip says concentrated, active skincare ingredients can make a big difference. 

“Brightening serums and creams that contain niacinamide and antioxidants like ferulic acid, vitamin C and vitamin E can help, along with hyaluronic acid serums that restore skin hydration,” she told Beauty IQ. 

Yes! Dr Yip says vitamin C’s famous “lightening properties” make it the perfect ingredient to target dark circles. 

“Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that protects the skin from free radicals and therefore premature skin aging,” Dr Yip said. 

“It can lighten pigmentation and also stimulate collagen production, which can help address thin skin and natural skin aging changes around the eyes that may accentuate dark circles due to higher visibility of blood vessels underneath the translucent eyelid skin.”

Dr Yip says look for products that contain a vitamin C concentration of “at least 10 per cent”. 

If the exact percentage is not listed, have a look at the ingredients list and ensure vitamin C, or one of its derivatives, is mentioned as one of the first 10 ingredients.