I Tried These German Skin-Care Stickers on My Hooded Lids and Now I'm Never Going Back

You've likely heard of eyelid tape, the niche beauty hack that helps lift the area via eyelid stickers, fibers, or adhesives. They aren't commonly found at most beauty retailers, but now there's a new brand bringing them mainstream. Enter Magicstripes Eyelid Lifting Strips, curved silicone stickers that work like an instant lid lift by hoisting extra skin for a firmer, more wide-awake look.

Also, enter me, who got super excited when I first saw these things. (They've been available in Europe for a while, but now they're available stateside at Barneys .) For the record, I have hooded lids, which means a little fold of skin sometimes covers the crease of my eyelids — think Gisele Bündchen, Jennifer Lawrence, Blake Lively (three women I look nothing like except for this eyelid thing). In my opinion, having hooded lids can really suck the joy out of eye makeup. I've been drawing on cat eyes since I was 13, and as every year passes I've noticed less and less space available for my liquid liner. Plus, my wings have gotten a little thicker and more…aggressive since subtle liquid liner flicks can look uneven or poke out oddly from above a wrinkle. Basically, these eyelids are annoying. But surgery is expensive, so let's try these stickers first.

Unlike many other eyelid tapes I've seen, these stickers aren't double-sided — the adhesive is only on one side. As a newbie, this made them infinitely easier to apply since my fingers didn't ruin the adhesive by getting stuck to it. The key is to gingerly peel the sticker off the backing at one edge. Use tweezers if you're all thumbs, just don't mash them with your fingertips.

Full disclosure: I lost my first few pairs to trial and error when it took a couple of attempts to find the perfect spot to place them. Place them just above the crease, following the curve of the eye socket . You'll likely need to stick and restick them the first few times to determine the exact placement that gives you the lift you want. Luckily, the trial pack, which is designed to help you determine the right size sticker for your eye shape, contains 32 small strips, 32 medium strips, and 32 large strips, so I had a little room to experiment.

I tried the small- and medium-size stickers and saw a modicum of improvement, but my husband had no idea what I was getting at when I hovered uncomfortably close to him asking if anything looked different. The teensy-weensy amount of lift wasn't enough of a payoff for the application process and I was bummed. Then I headed back to the bathroom, tried on the large ones and screamed, "Look! I have eyelids!"

There's a clear difference of a few millimeters, which was enough to make Joshua Zeichner, director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, say, "Holy sh*t!" when I emailed him before-and-after photos. It's also enough space to bring back the possibility of eye shadow. The stickers themselves are pretty makeup-friendly — you can apply shadow over them, which actually makes them easier to hide. (Tip: Powder shadows work better than creams. Also, dab, don't blend.) Which leads me to my next point: Although they're transparent, they're not entirely invisible. You can sort of see them when you blink or flutter your lids, but it's not a deal breaker. I had to point them out before my husband or mom noticed. They're super lightweight and don't feel like anything, which is great because I forgot I was wearing them until it was time to remove them at night.

Taking them off is a no-brainer — grip the sticker by an edge with tweezers or fingertips and carefully peel them away from the skin. You'll notice that your eyelid skin stretches a little bit when you pull the sticker off, the way it does when you remove false lashes. This can freak you out if you're already worried about sagging skin, which is presumably why you're wearing these in the first place.

I asked Zeichner, who says that's unlikely that using them will make lids even droopier (phew!), though the usual rules of messing around with the delicate skin around the eyes still applies. "Any significant chronic tugging of the skin, be it aggressive rubbing with eye makeup remover, removing fake eyelashes or even these strips, can lead to skin inflammation and premature aging," he says. So be gentle.

Would I wear them again? Definitely! Especially for an event if I felt like playing up my eyes with a cool shadow look, or for a photo shoot where I wanted to look more awake. Would I wear them every day? Nah. Turns out, my heavy lids don't bother me enough to add one more step to my lazy beauty routine. I'm better off spending that time covering my dark circles.

The Magicstripes Eyelid Lifting Strips are $32 for 96 stickers at barneys.com.

More new skin-care products to check out:

• This $3 Peel-Off Mask Smells Just Like Teen Angst

• Tatcha Is Bringing Back This Beloved Product for the Holidays — But There's a Catch

• The 16 Best Cleansing Oils to Gently Remove Makeup

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