hello, bright eyes

During the peake of “Bourne Ultimatum” fever my BFFs and I could always cheer each other up with a game of Matt Damon. In our architecturally stunning school building it was easy to spot each other trotting off to class (or running to find a professor to head off some crisis), or holed up in a computer lab or study space thanks to an abundance of windows, balconies, and sky bridges. When one of us spotted the other, we would call and say “Hello, Pam,“ or “You look tired, Pam.“ Then the other would giggle and coyly say “Where are you?“ while trying to spot the caller’s vantage point without making a big show of looking.

Except more often than not, we did look tired. We had all kinds of tricks to fix up our hair and brighten our faces. But our eyes were perma-puffy from long hours staring at the screen and short hours recooping in bed, until one day a kind Clinique sales associate took pity on me and gave me a large sample of All About Eyes.

I’m rather fickle when it comes to product loyalty and I’m usually sick of something by the time I use it up, but this eye gel changed my life. It feels luxurious thanks to a dose of silicone in the formula (a great skin protectant), works de-puffing magic in a few minutes, and never clogs my pores. But its real genius is as a multitasking de-puffer/eye makeup remover/eye area brightener. Dab a little gel on a q-tip and gently run it under the eye and along the lid. It picks up the otherwise invisible smudges from last night’s hastily-removed eye makeup, or smears from the work day before going out for dinner. One half ounce jar lasted me for over a year, so it’s definitely worth $28.50. Available at Belk and Sephora, photo courtesy of Clinique.