3 Products to Help You Care for Aging Eyes

Cheryl Kramer Kaye
·4 min read

bhg - 12 Available at Walmart

bhg - 42 Available at Twenty Twenty Beauty

bhg - 24 Available at Laura Geller

When I was growing up, my eyes were remarkable, as in something people remarked on. They were huge, the blue of a fancy-tiled swimming pool, and trimmed in long, dark lashes. Now the compliments go to my son, a 12-year-old whose eyes are the same shade of blue. Every once in a while, someone will throw me a bone and say that he gets them from his mommy. But these days, small talk about my eyes is mainly about the ways in which they annoy me: how they're dry and irritated (not to mention useless for reading medicine bottles), and how my lashes are the definition of lackluster.

But things are looking up: It was a big year for eye-product launches, precipitated by millions of people stuck at home squinting at their screens. Apparently, when we stare at our devices, we blink less, causing our eyes to get dry. "Clinical studies show that hours of computer use leads to a breakup of the tear film, a part of the eye important to feeling comfortable," explains optometrist Jennifer Tsai, D.O. Regular mask-wearing has also caused eye irritation. She also says that the breath that escapes from the top of our face masks goes into our eyes, disrupting our tear film. And because that breath is filled with bacteria, it can cause styes in our eyes. Yikes!

Another reason eyes are getting so much attention? They're the only feature that other people see when we wear masks, and it's prompted a surge in eye makeup sales and innovation. Seizing the moment, I tried some of the latest eye-product launches.

Best for Dry Eyes

I realized it might be time for eye drops when I found myself constantly rubbing my eyes or refraining from rubbing, so I didn't mess up my makeup. "Rubbing your eyes is often a subconscious effort to stimulate your lachrymal glands to produce more tears for lubrication," explains Tsai. Enter Biotrue Hydration Boost, eye drops specifically made to moisturize dry eyes. I plopped a drop into one eye and waited for a stinging sensation that never came. It felt, instead, like my eyeball had taken a long, refreshing gulp of Gatorade. It turns out that BioTrue eye drops contain electrolytes, just like the sports drink (and just like our tears). The drops also contain hyaluron, one of the top skin-hydrating ingredients. "We know that we need to use lotion when our skin is dry," says Tsai. "Now we know we need to hydrate our eyes, too."

Best for Eye Irritation

After seeing a steady increase in eye-irritation complaints in her 25-year career, ophthalmologist Diane Hilal-Campo, M.D., decided to do something about it. Earlier this year, she launched twenty/twenty beauty, a line of cosmetics that skips the typical irritants (glitter, mica, loose mineral powders, prostaglandins, fragrance). My favorite product in the line is a face mist that I've become addicted to: Easy on the Eyes Daily Hygiene Facial Spray. Its main ingredient is hypochlorous acid, which gently disinfects and sanitizes eyes, lashes, and skin, killing the bacteria that can cause inflammation, styes, staph infections, and some other gross stuff I don't even want to think about. Know what else it kills? Acne-causing bacteria. I've been spraying this stuff as soon as I take off my mask, and it's been an anti-maskne miracle.

Best for Lush Lashes

I have always been drawn to mascaras that give me long and fluttery lashes rather than thick ones, but I was tempted by a Laura Geller volumizing mascara. Her formulations are always on point, and I can never resist a Laura Geller mascara. But, the first few swipes of the new Love Your Body Volumizing Mascara were confusing: The product had the kind of grip that you usually get when a macara's drying out. I was preparing to de-clump when I realized... there were no clumps! Just thick, black, look-over-here lashes. And my goodness, the wear of this stuff: nary a flake. And my lashes actually felt soft. "As we age, eyelashes can be more brittle," says cosmetic chemist Ginger King, owner of Grace Kingdom Beauty. "The castor oil and panthenol in this formula care for the lash hairs." And I received multiple compliments on my eyes the very first time I wore it!