After months of rain and gloomy skies, spring time finally brings some sunnier weather, brighter colours and lighter spirits. But for allergy sufferers, it’s the beginning of a multitude of problems. Anyone prone to hay fever will understand the frustrations that come with allergy symptoms, and how difficult it can be to conceal them. Try these helpful tips the next time you come down with the sniffles:
Dark circles and puffiness
The dreaded under eye circles seem to make their appearance as soon as allergies hit, and stay there regardless of how much sleep you get. The best way to hide them is to invest in a good quality under-eye concealer. If your eyes are puffy, hold a cold teaspoon against them for five minutes before applying a brightening eye cream (we love Clarins Super Restorative Total Eye Concentrate), before applying your concealer.
Chapped lips
Uncomfortable and unsightly, chapped lips also get really sore if the skin starts to tear. The best thing to do is to exfoliate them regularly with a lip scrub (LUSH Cosmetics have a lovely range available), or to just make your own by mixing olive oil and brown sugar. Be gentle though – the skin on the lips is very sensitive. Follow with a hydrating lip balm like Eucerin’s Intensive Lip Balm.
Dry skin
Antihistamines do wonders for allergy symptoms, but they can also dry out the skin. If you’re struggling with this problem, make sure you use a hydrating serum and moisturiser twice a day (something like Dermalogica’s Intensive Moisture Balance moisturiser). Drink lots of water to flush out toxins and help with your skin’s hydration.
Redness
Allergies bring redness to your eyes, cheeks and nose, and can be very difficult to cover with just a concealer or foundation. To neutralise redness, apply a green concealer to red areas before your foundation. We love the Inglot Freedom System Cream Concealer in green.
Tired eyes
Your eyes are bound to be a bit watery and dull when hay fever strikes, and the best way to liven them up is to add a bit of blue eye make-up to the mix. Blue makes the white of your eyes appear brighter, so play around with blue mascaras, eyeliners and shadows. We love the Benefit They’re Real Mascara in blue.
Other articles you may be interested in:
Is there a link between cow’s milk and acne?
Should you be drinking non-dairy milk?
How can I get my allergies under control?
Dealing with spring allergies
Season’s change
13 comments
Tanya
I suffer with allergies so this article is really helpful,Thanks
Siobhan Hughes
And I’m off to go and buy a blue liner – perhaps a midnight or navy blue to begin with!
Shivani Keshav
This is really such a good read, especially with Spring literally right around the corner! (pollen allergies, etc)
Cookie Nandlall
Handy Tips
lynn_nolan
Thank you for the blue eye shadow tip! wow! you learn something new everyday! Just what I need right now, I’m in the middle of a sinus attack!
Esme Van Jaarsveld
Chapped Lips is my middle name :( This is a very good article. I like it. Thank you
WAFIQA ABBAS
i suffer from terrible sinusitis during spring and my eyes get very teary and puffy, so these tips are perfect for me! I am currently using Essence concealer for dark under eye circles,but it doesn’t seem to be very effective, so will try Clarins Super Restorative Total Eye Concentrate
Martin
Thank you for the tips about dark circles. Will make use of it
Gloria M
No more chapped lips, thank you for the tips
Siobhan Hughes
I was wondering recently why my skin was so terribly dry after a bad bout of flu and allergies… Now I know why – all the anti histamines! I used Lush Oatfix face mask and it helped so much!