oily skin

Hungry eyes – don’t starve your peepers of moisture

Lab Series Daily Moisture Defense Eye Balm

Lab Series Daily Moisture Defense Eye Balm

While “Hungry eyes” was a really good ditty by Eric Carmen, it’s not something you’d want your eyes to experience in terms of moisture. Ok, so theoretically, it’s not your eyes that require moisture unless you have the chronic dry eye syndrome, in which case, it’s a whole different product you need.

We’re talking about the area surrounding your eyes. While lines around the eyes have been long been viewed as an indicator of wisdom, one can’t help but think those same wise men who coined this phrase would today much rather have less lines and let their wisdom show in other ways. Like say, develop the next Whatsapp, or figure out the Riemann hypothesis (go on, google it).

Other than a good facial wash and moisturiser, the third key skincare product for men would be the eye cream. Invest in a good one and it can go a long way towards keeping the area around the eye well hydrated and safe from premature ageing aka wrinkle formation. A good recommendation is the new Lab Series Daily Moisture Defense Eye Balm. Produced with the support of technology, it contains M-Defense™ which is basically a powerful combination of sodium hyaluronate, butylenes glycol and glycerin. These three hardworking elements come together to pull moisture from the environment to maximise the water content in skin and provide immediate and 24-hour moisturisation. If sodium hyaluronate sounds familiar, that’s because it is the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid, a well established component in hydrating skincare product concoctions due to its ability to plump skin and keep it supple.

All good products stand up to rigorous tests and this is no different for products from men’s skincare pioneer, Lab Series. When tested, immediate significant improvement in moisturisation was detected in 100% of the male users. 88% of those who continued to use it for a period of four weeks also experienced a significant reduction in under eye puffiness. As the skin around your eyes is paper thin – hence the ease for dryness and lines to show up – be gentle in applying the product. This is definitely not the time you want to flex that muscle from hours at the gym as tugging and stretching the skin around the eyes can cause it further damage. And yes, unlike the traditional elbow grease + car wax for a shiny ride, the product will still be absorbed into your skin without brute force, don’t worry. With your ring finger (the weakest finger), dab it on with minimal pressure to the area around your eyes daily in the morning and night.

Still skeptical? At a recommended retail price of only SGD45 a pop, it sure is worth a try. What have you got to lose but those pesky dark eye circles from too much late night internet surfing (spare us the details) and those couple of fine lines beginning to crawl out from the corners of your eyes?

Before you go monkey-shit crazy and snap up everything on the shelves under men’s grooming in your neighbourhood Sephora, remember, no amount of product will work without using them in combination with a healthy diet full of fresh produce, plenty of water, exercise, and proper rest.

Clay’s the way…

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Ok, here’s the truth. Your pores are not going to get smaller with creams, lotions and potions. The only way they can be reduced in size is to be blasted. By laser treatments, that is.

Other than that, you can use products to ensure that your pores are nice and squeaky clean. This gives the illusion of smaller pores. Just do this simple experiment. Take a piece of tissue and blot as much “facial oil” as you can from your pore-blematic areas. Check in the mirror and you should see your pores look visibly less visible.

I have oily skin and it’s a common two-in-one deal from nature that it should be accompanied by enlarged visible pores. I had tried almost every product out there that claims to target pores. Sadly, most remained as claims. Recently, however, I discovered Wonder Pore Clay Clear from Etude House and it has given me a glimmer of hope. This product is a clay mask that is used specifically on areas with enlarged pores.

To use the product, take the spatula that comes with the product and scoop a teaspoon worth of clay on your palm. Apply it to the desired area with your fingertips on your cleansed face that is still slightly damp. Gently spread the clay out into a thin layer over the area. Now, go read a book, or play a round or two of 4 Pics 1 Word, or do whatever that you can think of that will consume 10 minutes of your time. When that time’s up or when you can see that the wet clay has dried to a matte grey, rinse off the product with some mild warm water. Voila! Your pores should now look much smaller. Ok, less visible actually, as explained earlier. Apply some gentle astringent to the treated areas, and finish with the rest of your skincare routine.

Do this once a week if you have mildly oily skin and twice to three times a week if your skin is hyper-oily. If you are doing this treatment frequently, do space them out with a day of break in between so as not to over-cleanse your skin and cause irritation.

Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day and your pores aren’t going to just look smaller and stay smaller with just one treatment. Diligently keep your pores clean so they continue to stay less visible, and more importantly, not get clogged and cause you much bigger problems later.