Not everyone is a fan of under-eye masks, but most people would agree that they can see an immediate albeit temporary, improvement after using them.
Depending on the ingredients, these masks – or under-eye patches as they’re also called, can hydrate, brighten, depuff and smooth the under-eye area.
With time on my hands, I wore a pair of eye masks – mostly hydrogel ones, every day for just under 5 months. The outcome? Two glassy smooth areas of skin under my eyes. In fact, there’s a blurry tear-shaped border showing exactly where I placed the patches.
I’ve also seen a significant lightening of under-eye circles. The only darkness that remains is on the inner corners where I can’t quite fit the patches. I’d like to be able to cut out tiny slivers to fit right up to underneath my lower lid and into those inner corners, but hydrogels are tricky to handle as they’re so wet and slippery. I keep trying though!
The under-eye mask you choose is a personal choice, though I recommend hydrogel masks. There’s a whole range of under-eye masks at all price points to choose from, but it doesn’t make sense to use the most expensive ones if you’re going to use a pair a day.
Plus, and I might be wrong here, but I think the smoothing might come from the regular application of the patches as well as the ingredients.
I can’t help loving some of the higher-priced ones though, Elemis Pro-Collagen Hydra-Gel Eye Masks and Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Concentrated Recovery Eye Masks (cloth format) are two of my favourites.
SHISEIDO
Concentrated treatment sheets that help to reduce the appearance of wrinkles in just 15 minutes. The eye masks will refine the skin’s texture and improve the resilience to leave the skin around your eyes looking vibrant.
My number one cloth eye masks are Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Pure Retinol Express Smoothing Eye Masks, but they are £62.00 for 12 pairs. I bought a box from iHerb (which is no longer in stock, though I keep checking) for £40.99 and I keep them for traveling or special nights out – so I guess I’m going to have to use them for a while.
EDIT: I’ve just looked for them again and can’t find them in stock anywhere, I hope they haven’t been discontinued.
SARAH CHAPMAN
A cutting-edge complex of advanced, scientific actives instantly smooths lines, lifts and hydrates slackening, crepey eye lids, and depuffs and brightens dark circles.
I also tried Sarah Chapman’s uniquely shaped Platinum Stem Cell Eye Masks. £78.00 for a pack of 4, which I certainly wouldn’t have bought at that price, although I found another pack so perhaps they came in a beauty box?
To be fair, they did work. It was the first time I used a mask on my upper eyelids and I can’t deny that the skin was instantly smoother. However, but I found them extremely tricky to apply even with help and you have to keep very still when wearing them. But the price is a bit silly and put me off.
PIXI
Detoxifeye water-based gel-form patch depuffs and revives skin with maximum hydration. Botanical collagen fortifies and smoothes. Raspberry & gold strengthens.
A while back I tried Pixi FortifEYE Firming Eye Patches £22.00 for 30 pairs. Read my review here.
I didn’t get on with them, they were too thin to handle without tearing and kept slipping down my face. People do seem to rate these patches though, so it might be just me.
KOELF GOLD ROYAL JELLY EYE MASKS
Koelf is a subsidiary brand of Petitfee and these masks are very similar. They are also rated highly by makeup artist Lisa Eldridge when she did her K-Beauty haul a few years ago. Read my glowing review of these bad boys here.
The only reason I didn’t repurchase these masks was that they were out of stock on YesStyle, although they are now available on iHerb – £8.84 for 30 pairs.
I’ve had such great results with Petitfee, but I think I will grab a couple of boxes of these ones on in the year.
PETITFEE GOLD HYDROGEL EYE PATCH
Containing effective ingredients such as Gold, Ginseng, Bird’s Nest (NOOOO!) Collagen and Rose Flower Water helps make skin around eyes glowing and moisturised.
I only buy two packs at a time because like the hydrogel patches above, they have a short shelf life which is good, because it encourages you to use them regularly to prevent wastage. They are saturated in liquid which you can also dab on afterwards.
EDIT: When I run out of the Petitfee masks, I’m going to buy the Koelf ones instead. I hadn’t realised that one of the ingredients was Swallow’s Nest ie the swiftlet birds’ saliva, so that’s a no from me.
When I replenished my supply of eye masks I also bought two packs of Petitfee Gold Hydrogel Face Masks.
UPDATE: I’ve just used my first one and the fit is very good. Usually, K-Beauty face masks are too small for my big fat western face, but these two-part masks fit right into the hairline with mask to spare. The eye holes are cut to fit well below eyebrows and the bottom reaches right up to the lower eyelid, exactly what I wanted. Just gently tap the mask in place with fingertips to remove all bubbles and it will remain adhered to the skin for the whole 20 minutes.
SHOPPING INFO
Free shipping from iHerb on orders over £29.44. But you will be hit by new duty and taxes charges ie if you buy £36.75 of product, you’ll get free shipping but will have to pay £7.35 in charges.
- Petitfee, Gold Hydrogel Eye Patch, 60 Pieces £7.39 – As of 14/01/21. The price appears to fluctuate daily, but it’s never more than £8.30.
- Petitfee, Gold Hydrogel Mask Pack, 5 Sheets £10.24
- Koelf, Gold Royal Jelly Hydro Gel Eye Patch, 60 Patches £8.91
CHEAPER HYDROGEL UNDER-EYE MASKS?
Hydrogel eye masks haven’t (yet) come down in price in the UK, the cheapest I can find is from a website called Skinsider who sells Korean beauty in the UK. Admittedly, I’ve not heard of them before, but I do like the sound of these patches.
Heimish Bulgarian Rose Hydrogel Eye Patch 30 pairs £14.45.
I bought BeautyPro Eye Therapy Under Eye Mask with Collagen and Green Tea Extract (3 Applications) now £3.71 from Look Fantastic *
The Beauty ProTherapy hand, face and foot masks have all come down in price lately. I wish I’d seen the Collagen Infused Glove with Removable Finger Tips * (1 Pair) also £3.71 earlier. I love the idea that you can use a hand mask yet still get on with things.
NOT A HYDROGEL PATCH, BUT A HYDROGEL CREAM
Soap & Glory Puffy Eye Attack Turbo-Boost Hydragel 14ml. Down to £8.00 as of 14/1/21. Boots *
This is unusual, a hydrogel cream/jelly hybrid you apply like a cream. It’s intriguing, although reviews are mixed.
CONCLUSION
Use a hydrogel eye mask on a regular basis (that’s key) and skin under the eyes will smooth out, foundation will glide on and your concealer will never, ever cake up.
*Affiliate links
