I really hate my face. My electrolicist tells me I have good skin and should be grateful for it, but she doesn't have to wear it. I look forward to the day I have the skin of my face peeled off and my bones ground down, woo-hoo party time, lol 

Anyway my therapist has been trying to teach me to not be so desperately sad, and one of the things we are working on is gratitude. Being grateful, even if you are faking it can raise serotonin levels a bit and sets other nice things in motion.

Today, I finally found something about my nasty face to be grateful for. I noticed this morning that a brow ridge is perfect for hooking a cucumber slice under. Wedge it in between your upper eye socket and cheekbone and it holds it securely in place and provides superior skin contact for those gross bags. So yeah it's a stretch I know...but today I'm grateful for a brow ridge.

I don't know if cucumbers are going to help yet, but it's worth a try. I have serious bags going on these days, the kind with a swollen fat pad in the parts closest to my nose. The cucumber seems to help with the discoloration, but not that pad. I don't want to spend 5k on an eyelift with ffs less than a year away, so I'd really be interested in advice if anyone has tried something other than cucumbers and tea bags.

Have you tried Preperation-H? I found this at www.makeupalley.com on the product reveiw section under eye treatments. I think they said the gel works the best.

Hm, that's an interesting notion. I found mention of that on the web but it sounded like an old wives tale. I'll give it a try, an anti-inflammatory would actually prolly work...thank you

Some of the ladies at www.makeupalley.com swear Monostat creme works perfectly as a makeup primer.

it can be caused by different things.. I did a quick google search on "what causes eye bags" and got a lot of pages with various causes, treatments, and cures. Found this on one page:

Symptom Relief

You may be tempted to don sunglasses first thing in the morning as a cover-up, but take heart, there are ways to deflate puffiness.

Start with a bracing splash. A splash of cold water on your face gets the circulation moving, according to Fredric Haberman, M.D., clinical instructor of dermatology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City and author of The Doctor's Beauty Hotline.

Tap into relief. Lightly tapping your upper and lower lids helps nudge fluids away from eyes, says Dr. Haberman. With a very light touch, and using fingertips only, gently tap puffy areas on upper and lower lids.

Mask the problem. Refrigerate a gel-filled eye mask and place it over your closed eyes for a few minutes after waking. If you don't have a mask, chilled teaspoons will work, says Dr. Haberman.

Try tea bags. Moisten two tea bags with cold water and rest with them on your closed eyes for 15 minutes. The tannin in the tea may help pull the skin taut and reduce the puffiness. "The main factor is the coolness, which reduces swelling," says Dr. Stefanyszyn.

Take a diuretic. If you're retaining water before your period, an over-the-counter product such as Midol may help reduce eye puffiness, says Dr. Stefanyszyn.

Try an antihistamine. If your puffy eyes are also red, itchy and scratchy, you may be having an allergic reaction. If that's the case, an antihistamine may help shrink the swelling, says Dr. Lazar.

Cover with a concealer. To minimize upper lid puffiness, apply a darker shade of makeup on your upper lid, from just below the brow to the crease. Then stroke a lighter shade on the lid from the crease to the lashes. Puffiness is less noticeable when you highlight the lower portion of the lid, says Dr. Haberman. For under-eye bags, use a slightly darker shade over your regular foundation.

Keeping Bags Away

Here's how to avoid puffiness tomorrow.

Raise the head of the bed. Six-inch wooden blocks placed under the headboard will elevate your head and help keep fluid from pooling around your eyes.

Skip the water at bedtime. Or restrict yourself to a few sips.

Cut out overly salty foods. And if you have Chinese food for dinner, tell the waiter to hold the monosodium glutamate (MSG). "Eating sodium-loaded Chinese food at dinner always gives me puffy eyes the next day," says Dr. Stefanyszyn.

Skip wrinkle removers. An eye cream designed for plumping up wrinkles may be doing its job too well, says Dr. Haberman. These products can backfire and give you bags by puffing up the surrounding eye area.

Switch to gel-type makeup. Water-based makeup and gels are lighter than oil-based and less likely to irritate delicate under-eye skin.

BIG BUMP & (((huggs))) for FairyGirl!