I never used to wear this until I hit thirty (feels about fifty years ago now) when, almost over night, I had lines around my eyes when I smiled.

One solution whispered to me by a glamourous woman I was talking to that same evening –  and said in all seriousness – was to teach myself not to smile and laugh too much…and if I must smile and laugh, it should be done with minimum expression. (I am not one of those annoying people who finds everything funny and there are excesses I want and need to cut down on in my life, but these mainly come in the form of carbs…not laughs.)

I thought the best idea was to probably invest in an eye cream that worked.

So far I have used five atas ones, (read exorbitantly priced) three of which I would buy again in a heartbeat.

There is sadly nothing particularly clever about them* except that they do actually seem to work; when you look in the mirror after about a week of religious usage, you really could swear that you see a difference.  A slight one anyway (this is in a jar, not a syringe) and after a month or so, lines definitely do seem to be in soft focus.

1. The ‘quick, hide the receipt’ option.  Yup good old Creme de la Mer. I was given mine in last year’s Tatler Ball goody bag and it’s lasted me ages. Almost finished now, its potent green cream is something I pat on sparingly day and night no matter how late (or in what state) I arrive home.  Not cheap, it does at least last for years; I also like that it’s in a tub so you can moderate how much you use, versus a pump:

2. Locally made surgeon’s secret: ‘Rapture’ is concocted in the laboratories of the glam Dr Vanessa Phua.  She’s a full on plastic surgeon – aesthetics vs hip op – to the stars, as well as us mere mortals (she’s actually a family friend…and no, I am yet to see her in a professional capacity) and this is her own, potent eye elixir.   You can feel it working as soon as you put it on (sort of gentle tightening sensation, more pronounced that the CDLM stuff).  She tells me the secret ingredient (among other things I hope – we are talking around $200 a tube!) is apple seeds.  It’s in a small pump action bottle so the amount dispensed is not up to you.  Again, it lasts for ages although you can’t eek it out quite as much as the Creme de la Mer pot.

3. SK-II Wrinkle Specialist cream – Someone I know well went to a school reunion recently (she’s 62) and extracted some information from the one woman there who still looked about 40 years old: she has used SK-II for thirty years.

Obviously it does depend on your skin type but I love this glossy red tube of rich buttery cream designed for the bit you miss with your round-the-socket application of eye cream.  This is for crows feet and you are supposed to use it every day, down the sides of your face running from the outer corner of your eye down towards your ear, where the deep lines really form.

Preventive rather than a cure, you only need a tiny amount of this to make you feel as if you are at least trying.  Very hard.

Prices for each product listed above may be eye watering but the only solace I can offer is that, in this instance, you do seem to get what you pay for. (I’ve tried the cheapies too.)

* I am a huge advocate of inexpensive beauty products that work…and there are plenty out there but in terms of eye creams, I haven’t found them yet!

Rapture image courtesy of Dr Vanessa Phua; SK-II Wrinkle Specialist shot via amazon and scary needle picture courtesy of Daily Mail