Kitchen Glamour - 3 Ways to Combat Puffy Eyes!

My eyes are super sensitive, they get puffy if any random allergies flare up, I have used make up wipes, there is a lot of dust around, basically they are the equivalent of a High Society Victorian lady who has forgotten her smelling salts. I have found that if I can take care of them as soon as the they start to inflate I have a better chance of restoring face status quo.

I have tried quite a few different things ranging from natural remedies to over the counter creams. But these are my favourite three 'go to' remedies. 

Cucumber is lovely and you will probably have it lingering in your fridge. Cucumber is 90% water and if you chop two slices of cucumber straight out of the fridge they are wonderfully cooling and hydrating for your eyes. 

Tea bags are an age old remedy for eyes that are in desperate need of R&R. The tannin in the tea bag gently reduces swelling and discolouration whilst the caffeine will help get your eyes back to their sparkly selves. Regular black tea is the best to use, keep some tea bags after you have made yourself a cuppa, let them cool (or put them in some cold water for a few minutes) give them a gentle squeeze and lay them on your eyes. You can put them in the fridge before you use them so they are nice and cool if you have the time. Lay them on your eyes for about 20 minutes and relax, I usually do this before bed so I can really chill out. After 20 minutes take the tea bags off and rinse your face with some cold water or you will look like a tea stained panda! 

The third trick I have up my sleeve is aloe vera, I usually use this if my eyes are feeling itchy and grainy. I chop off a little bit and squeeze the goo out and massage around my eyes. You can put the rest of the aloe in the fridge to use again if your eyes persist in being pests. You can pick up an aloe vera plant from about £5 and they are so useful, I keep one in the kitchen because they are brilliant to use on burns.

I have found that none of these are miracle cures that work right away, I will use a combination of these methods 2-3 times a day to get the best effect. Hope these tips will help your tired, puffy, peepers <3

xkx 

Tuesday Teacup

Being British means that you categorically have to drink tea. I love tea... green, black, white, its all yummy, as long as you get the good quality leaves! If any of you have tried green tea bags that are just off the supermarket shelf you probably will have pulled that 'eeek it's bitter' face. This is because they use the good quality leaves for the loose leaf and then chop up and chuck the rest into tea bags. (There are some top quality tea bags though such as Tea Pig). Every Tuesday I will share my favourite tea of the moment with you to try and spread the tea love <3

So my Tuesday Teacup this week is one of my own blends that I have been drinking a lot this week in the day time, I like to call it Floral Gunpowder. I blend 1-2 tsps Gunpowder Green Tea with 1 tsp Jasmi Yin Hao Lotus. I pour not quite boiling water onto the leaves and leave them for around 3-4 minutes before pouring. It is best not to use boiling water as this can scald the leaves and it can make it taste a bit funky. Experiment with the brewing time as well depending on how strong you like your tea. I finish off this tea with dropping one Damask Rose Tea Bud into it. The gunpowder tea has grey green leaves that will unfurl to produce a slightly fruity flavour, this is why it works beautifully with the heady fragrance and taste of the Jasmine tea (which I find too strong to drink on its own). I sacrifice a rose bud to this tea because it adds a heady subtle sweetness that promises turkish delight. The tea leaves should last for 2 pots of tea and the rose bud should last up to 5 cups so its rather pleasing on the pocket as well.