Miracle Product?

Several years ago, I was innocently having brunch with a well mean-
ing (I think) friend, when she asked me if there wasn't something I
could do about the dark circles under my eyes.

I was a bit taken aback by how disturbed she was by my dark circles, but unfortunately, dark circles just seem to run in my family. In fact, they are mainly caused by heredity. I'd used various eye creams that claimed to eradicate dark circles, but without much success.

My friend left town for several months, and the next time I saw her, she again sighed over those dark circles. This time, I explained to her that I'd tried creams - multiple creams, expensive creams - and that they didn't work. She sighed again, and moved on to some other topic and I resolved not to have any more lunches with this particular frenemy.

Then, last year, Mary Kay - yes pink-lady, Texas founded Mary Kay- came out with an eye serum, the official name of which is: “TimeWise Targeted Action Eye Revitalizer”. It comes in a small slick bottle, and it has a roller ball application, so the serum glides on. It promises to reduce not only dark circles but also eye puffiness. Naturally I was skeptical.

But my sister, who in the interest of full disclosure is a bone fide Mary Kay lady, persuaded me to try it. Being a bone fide product junkie, I needed little persuasion, and rotated the “targeted action eye revitalizer” into my morning routine. It went on cool and if nothing else, I liked the way my eyes felt after I put it on – refreshed, possibly a bit tighter. And after a few months, I even thought my dark circles were looking. . .not so dark.

Still, I shrugged it off, thinking that perhaps it was because since moving to New York, I’ve slept more than I did in the preceding three years. (Although as the first hyperlink confirms, that has nothing to do with dark circles per se, though a lack of sleep can increase the pallor of skin which exacerbates the appearance of dark circles). But then I realized that since I’ved moved here, no one ever tells me I look tired anymore. Even when I am tired. This gave me pause. A trip home in August confirmed it. My mother verified that my dark circles were, if not entirely a thing of the past, not terribly noticeable.

Use it. Love it. If you don’t love it – Mary Kay has a guaranteed return policy. Seriously. One tiny jar has lasted me for about 8 months, with a once a day application. And there's not any pink on the bottle. For some reason, this reassures me.