There are two sides to having puffy, black rings under your eyes. The obvious is that they make you look tired and unhealthy and are generally not something you enjoy on your face.
The second and less popular option is that of acceptance. This is where I have been living. I can't go to a store without someone commenting on how tired I look. Generally speaking, I am tired, so I try not to take offense. The thing is that some of the time I'm not, and hearing the unavoidable comment just deflates the balloon out of my day. It's like asking a heavy woman when she's due. That never goes over well.
That's not to say that fun can't be had. I'm not above making up excuses for my eyesore(s). The cute server at Chili's? As far she knows I have two black eyes from that scuffle in which I saved the honor/lives of many maidens/orphans/puppies. The lovely librarian thinks that I'm up drinking heavily and
living the life of Hemingway. Well, hell, they're both right.
Except that I haven't been in a scuffle since college and I if I stay up drinking heavily I'm more likely to be in bed for 3 days rather than making chit-chat in my local public library.
I decided to go with the former (remember the former, like two chapters ago?). I've tried various eye treatments to reduce the puffy swelling and dark rings that have been camping under my eyes since the Bush years (it's all very recent). None of them have worked.
Currently I'm trying
Revitalizing Eye Creme Q10 from NIVEA for Men ($11.95). I haven't noticed a change.
I'm a fan of NIVEA products and I really want this one to work, albeit to rid myself of my problem and not as some skin care fanboy.
That said, I'll use the bottle and hope that it takes more than a few weeks to see results. Most likely I'll be looking for something new. Maybe I'll meet it in a drugstore, maybe I'll find it online, or maybe I'll find myself passing make-up counters that aren't even on my way home.
In the meantime I'll be up drinking heavily and saving puppies.
