Whether it’s broken air conditioning, a newborn baby, noisy neighbours, or stress of any kind, the reasons for sleep deprivation are endless. The methods for reversing the obvious signs of fatigue, however? Limited, but not entirely nonexistent. Working alongside practices that will tackle your insomnia, like undergoing a sleep cleanse or enlisting the help of a supplement, we’ve gathered the hacks that will help you fake it till you make it.
So while we’re just short of offering you the chance to go back in time and get those solid eight hours of shut-eye, here are a few quick and easy hacks to hide the evidence in the meantime.
1. De-puff your eyes
Unless you’ve been crying or are experiencing an allergic reaction, puffy eyes are generally an indication of a sleepless night.
On particularly puffy mornings, we recommend keeping a couple of spoons or a jade roller like the Revlon Cooling Facial Roller ($16.99, Chemist Warehouse) in the freezer and holding them to your under-eyes for a few minutes. This will cause the blood vessels to constrict, reduce inflammation and basically make you look more like a human and less like a zombie.
2. Nix dark circles
Is there a greater tell-tale sign of a late night than two whopping dark circles under your eyes? Don’t stress, we’ve got two equally as effective tips for fading those blue and purple hues. The first? Heal. By using a vitamin c-rich eye cream like the Bondi Sands Eye Spy ($14.99, Chemist Warehouse), the darker pigment under the eye will begin to brighten.
And for a more immediate response? We turn from healing to concealing. Brighten your dark circles by applying an illuminating concealer like the IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye ($40, Adore Beauty). Even if you don’t feel awake, at least your face will be telling a different story.
Want to take it one step further? Distract from your eyes entirely by wearing a bold lipstick.
3. Exfoliate
When you slough off the dead skin cells that have built up overnight, your skin will appear radiant and luminous. Better yet, find an exfoliator with caffeine in it like the Frank Body Original Face Scrub ($21.95, MECCA) to boost circulation and reduce puffiness.
4. Drink water
Let’s face it, water can fix just about everything. By consuming your allocated 3 litres a day, you’ll avoid crepey lines and reduce the severity of fatigue in your face.
5. Tan your face
Nothing breathes life into a tired complexion quite like a golden glow. If you’ve woken up on the wrong side of the bed, treat yourself to a wash of tanning water like the SugarBaby OUT-GLOWING ($26, Myer) to simultaneously hydrate and illuminate.
6. Coat your lashes in a volume-boosting mascara
Don’t underestimate the power of a wispy lash. Invest in a mascara with volume-enhancing and curling properties to open up your eyes and conceal any signs of fatigue.
We love the Maybelline New York Lash Sensational Mascara ($19.49, Chemist Warehouse) and Lancôme Virtuose Curling Mascara ($29.99, Chemist Warehouse).
7. Sweat it out
Have you ever noticed the glowing flush on your face after you’ve completed a vigorous cardio workout? While it’s a great solution for breathing life into a tired face, when you’re running low on sleep, intense exercise is one of the last things you have the energy for. This is where infrared saunas come in.
In addition to boosting collagen and increasing circulation, an infrared sauna session will also improve your quality of sleep and illuminate the skin as you sweat out toxins and detoxify your body.
Main image credit: @chey_maya
Do you have any tricks to looking less tired? If so, what are they?
Can be difficult to do a workout when tired. Other tips are doable.
I like the idea of spoons in the fridge. Costs nothing!!
Concealer:-)
I was thinking exactly the same thing.
I didn’t know the exfoliate trick
Needed to read this! Post covid fatigue has really gotten the better of me
yes I have the same problem -my head is full of covid worries and I am over it
Great illustrated information. I thank you for that. No doubt it will be very helpful for my future projects. I want to see some other articles on the same topic!
infected days
I haven’t been sleeping well lately, so I can use all of these suggestions.
Same here
I wash my face with cold water to help get rid of the puffiness
If I drank 3 litres a day, I’d be exhausted just from running to & from the loo.
Same here
I would love to get a full nights sleep and that would fix how tired I look. I’m putting it down to perimenopause. I like the idea of exfoliating though – makes sense.
Sometimes it’s genetics too. I’ve had dark circles since I was a child. Also if there are bigger than normal bags, get your thyroid checked.
I love my facial roller – it really makes a difference to puffy under-eyes. Eye masks work well, too.
I usually look haggard after a migraine, so I use navy eyeliner. If my scleras look bleary, navy liner makes them appear whiter.
I always have puffy under eye bags which make me look tired. I use a face roller but it doesn’t make that much difference if any.
cold cucumber on your eyes for a few minutes does wonders too
Cold eye mask works but I can be quite busy in the morning.
Great tips, sometimes you need an extra boost
Yes, tanning, sleep, water and exfoliation are good for my face appearance against sleepiness
Some good tips but 3 litres of water a day!!! Yeah, that might be a possibility for people with large storage capacity bladders, but that amount would have me spending a lot of time going to the toilet. There’s no way that would work for me, even 2 litres would be pushing it, except in summer when I sweat a lot. Consuming too much water is not good for you as it flushes out too many minerals and salts that the body needs.
Smile, have a shower and eat fruits. =D
I need a new volume mascara!
i exfoliate plus drink 3 litres of water daily
Great tips! I like the sound of the Bondi Sands Eye Spy cream
I do tend to drink a lot of water especially in summer but there is a teeny weeny problem with that…..I need to go the loo more often when out and about. I have used some exfoliate product with coffee and honestly, the fragrance of coffee smells lingered with me all day. Hubby hates coffee smell.
I find drinking water works the best for me.
Lots of water
I would prefer to sleep longer but these are great tips
A blast of cold water in the shower, using ‘gadgets’ to depuff your face.
Have a shower. I find a shower always wakes me up and makes me feel refreshed
I love a good caffeine exfoliating scrub! Its my saturday morning ritual. Gets me feeling good for the weekend and scrub away the week lol 🙂
Thank you for the interesting info. Will have to try some of them to see if the result is as good.
I didn’t know the exfoliating trick either
Interesting tips, I look (and feel) half dead all the time haha =) looking less tired is definitely something I wish I could pull off at the moment
I don’t have any special tricks for looking less tired but I must admit when I use an exfoliator my skin perks up.
All really great tips, I wish I could commit to all of them.
So many great Tips Thank You BH for an informative Article.
You missed cutting out/cutting down on alcohol. My eyes look much brighter now.
Some really god advice here, i like using cold rose water from the fridge for reducing swelling under my eyes and it wakes me up too
Who isn’t tired these days, good tips
Recently I watched I watched something on TV that made me have a good belly laugh. When I looked in the mirror later to get ready for bed, I reckon I looked younger. Add laughter to the mix.
That’s meant to be only one “I watched”, where’s the edit feature!
For me I’m tired all the time unfortunately, however some great tips I will be trying.
Fabulous ideas , a workout is ok yet that requires so much time esp with showering after
After a while almost all of these tips stop working… they’re fine for short term, though.
Great tips thankyou
Interesting…
Tanning water, never heard of this before.
I saw the spoon trick on a movie years ago, but she had them sitting in a glass of iced water.
Drinking water is a great tip.
Drink more water and sweat it out always works for me.
I always look a little tired (sometimes a lot). What makes me feel and look better is if someone tells me I’m looking well, and what makes me feel and look worse is if someone says that I look tired!
I find mascara always opens up my eyes and makes me look more awake.