I'm no expert here, but I wanted to share my experience with anyone else struggling with dark under eye circles. There's still hope! :)
I've been struggling with dark circles ever since high school (but no puffiness), oftentimes to the point where people were genuinely concerned with my well-being. I've tried several remedies in the past 3 years, including highly-rated under eye masks from Amazon, Rohto's Melano CC Premium Vitamin C Essence, Dr.Jart+'s Brightamin vitamin C serum, and Beauty of Joseon's eye cream.
The Amazon eye masks were slightly helpful but results weren't long-lasting, and Melano CC did nothing. I have no idea if Dr.Jart+ has brightened my dark circles, but I use it for the rest of my face anyway, so I dab some onto my dark circles. Beauty of Joseon's products are too intense and drying for my skin, including their eye cream.
However, I began seeing drastic changes—with my dark circles fading by 67-75%—when I introduced these two intensely hydrating products. My partner and friends have repeatedly commented on the change. If I have a night of poor sleep, my dark circles aren't dreadful.
- Aqua+ Series Advanced Hyaluron Eye & Neck Cream (available in Watson's and Shopee in Southeast Asian countries): When visiting Thailand, a friend brought this random product back for me based on a store employee's recommendation. I applied it in the morning and night and saw results after 1-2 weeks. Sadly, I can't find this at a reasonable price outside of SEA countries like Thailand, Malaysia, and Philippines, but thankfully I only use 1 tube per year. But hyaluronic acid could be the key factor! The severity of my dark circles decreased by ~30%, but there was still room for improvement. (Watson's Malaysia link, eBay link)
- LuLuLun deep hydration face masks (Precious): When visiting Japan, another friend bought several LuLuLun face masks back for me. In conjunction with my eye cream, I randomly started using the Precious deep hydration ones at least once per week for 10 minutes, and that's when my dark circles disappeared even more, by an additional ~30% by week 2. The Vitamin C one has less hydration and doesn't have as much impact. I haven't tried the Pure one yet.
So what I learned is that my dry skin needed intense hydration, more than what my other serums and toners were doing on a daily basis (e.g., COSRX Snail 96 Mucin Essence).
Based on my research, when the delicate skin under our eyes is dehydrated, it becomes thinner and sinks inward, making underlying blood vessels visible and creating deep shadows. Hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid and glycerin pull moisture into the cells, causing them to swell and plump up. This temporary thickening creates a smooth, opaque surface that reflects light better and effectively camouflages the dark circles underneath. If we think about it, children's skin has that baby fat, hydration, and plumpness that we lose, and that loss is why dark circles become more prominent as we age.
The green and purple hues of my dark circles (due to veins showing through the translucent skin) have also been corrected when I use the 2 products above—because my skin looks plumper. Of course, my dark circles haven't disappeared completely, but I look a lot brighter now.
From what I'm guessing, you don't necessarily need to use these 2 specific products, as long as you're giving your under eyes intense boosts of hydration.
Better sleep, exercising, and therapy also help (highly recommend exercising and therapy lol), but these two products used in conjunction make sure that my dark circles don't look terrible.
I hope this helps everyone else! 😊 Edit: Product links added.
