Should you be putting on eye cream both morning and night?

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December 14, 2017 5:03 PM

But that routine can get stale if you've been doing it the same way forever. In our new "Beauty: S.O.S." series, women share their top beauty frustrations with a makeup artist to get a real solution—really fast.

Eye cream is something that dermatologists all agree we should use to help moisturize sensitive eye skin and ward off fine lines. But, there's not much out there by way of what to use or how to use them—and more importantly, when to use them.

Marquita Hannibal-Francique, a teacher who lives in New York City, says that as part of her morning makeup routine, she always puts on eye cream, followed by her concealer. But, she admits to Glamsquad’s director of artistry, Kelli J. Bartlett, she feels like her concealer never lasts that long—something that doesn't come as a surprise to the makeup artist. Why? "It's because your eye cream and your concealer are actually competing with one another," Bartlett says.

"Your eye cream really does need that time to settle into the skin," Bartlett explains. Applying it in the morning, then putting more products on top of it, makes it harder for it to absorb into the skin and can make those other products dissolve more easily. That's why it's best to use eye creams at night, Bartlett says. Plus, your skin rejuvenates and repairs itself while you're sleeping (like the rest of your body), so "while your skin is working, it might as well have something to work with," she says. (For daytime, try this under-eye concealer from the Women's Health Boutique!)

There's also a specific way you should be applying your eye cream, Bartlett says. You don't want to apply just underneath your eyes where you may see puffiness or dark circles. Instead, you should apply eye cream all around the orbital bone to get at all the wrinkles and creases that crop up around your eyes.

Use your ring finger to dot your eye cream underneath and around your eye, Bartlett says. "It's your weakest finger," she says—perfect for applying products to the delicate eye area. With a patting motion, blend the cream in. Don't smear or pull the cream around your eye, which could irritate the skin.

Watch the video above for Bartlett's full eye-cream technique. And now that you know how to apply it, here are the eye creams you should be using, according to dermatologists.

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