"You can have the most incredible hair and skincare routines in the world, but your eyes are the window to your soul," celebrity hairstylist and men’s grooming expert Kristan Serafino says. "Eyes are a tell-all. They tell me exactly what you’ve been up to… Maybe you’re a workaholic or maybe you’re dealing with a hangover."
Eyes, as many say, are a window into your soul. Or, at least according to Serafino, what you did last night. As such, routine visits to an optometrist are a solid foundation, but so too is at-home care: wearing blue light glasses while you work, applying eye creams to the skin under your eye and, most of all, keeping your actual eye hydrated and healthy.
Moisture is an eye drop's primary benefit. When your eyes get dry, they can feel insane, and eye drops help them return to form — and fast. But what about redness, which can be a side effect of exhaustion, overexertion or even, ahem, overconsumption (if you know what I mean)? That's where over-the-counter options come in — like Lumify.
You might've seen this purple capped option alongside cheaper alternatives from Bausch and Lomb or Visine. But Lumify is made by Bausch and Lomb — it's just their higher-end option. On Amazon, it's around $20, whereas Visine's popular Red Eye Comfort drops are just $3.
What's the difference, you ask? Well, a lot. Let me explain.
Why Lumify Eye Drops Are Worth It
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Lumify Redness Reliever Eye Drops (0.25 fl oz) Read More
I was admittedly skeptical of these eye drops, especially after a few family members promised "instant results." Many were using them to whiten and brighten their eyes, traits TikTok had convinced them were attractive. Maybe so, but livelier eyes have always been "in," though, especially since bloodshot eyes are the most obvious way to tell if someone's stoned. But you can simply be tired or stressed out, too, and these eye drops offer a fast fix.
They make your eyes visibly whiter.
Lumify's formula is the only one on the market infused with low dose brimonidine tartrate, a common glaucoma treatment at higher doses that addresses the superficial veins in the eye, not the actual flow of blood and oxygen to the surrounding tissue. That means, when used for redness, your visible veins subside fast and without the risk of unwanted side effects.
"Not all redness relievers are made the same," Dr. Jennifer Tsai, O.D., says. "Certain eye drops contain an ingredient called tetrahydrozoline which shrinks the eye's arteries. This causes concerns for reduced oxygen flow as well as leads to a redness rebound effect. Unlike these, LUMIFY selectively targets superficial veins only... making it less likely that redness will worsen after usage."
They act fast.
After taking my own tiny bottle home, the first time my eyes got red — which is often, considering I'm always on the computer — I used Lumify. I expected my eyes to remain red for at least another five minutes, as this is typically the case with my traditional eye drops. But I started noticing a difference by the time I titled my head back down and looked into the mirror. It was kind of like magic, even though there's real science behind it all.
They last up to eight hours.
Most eye drops last a little while but need reapplied rapidly in order to work. For simpler, moisture-only formulas, I find I need two or three drops in each eye to really feel relieved. With these, a single drop in each reduced the redness without causing any other issues.
That being said, these aren't all that hydrating. In fact, redness relief is the only reason you should use these, in my opinion. There are better eye drops for simply delivering moisture.
There are few side effects, if any.
"In terms of tolerability, brimonidine was rated as very comfortable and comparable to vehicle as evaluated by two independent assessments, comfort score and drop description," a 2018 study by Eugene McLaurin, MD, revealed. "With regard to adverse events, brimonidine 0.025% appeared safe when administered four times daily for a month in this study."
I didn't deal with any discomfort or itching, and the redness didn't return stronger. That being said, my eyes did feel slightly... tight? They didn't quite sting, but they felt a little bit different. This went away the less I focused on it, though.
You can use them regularly.
As mentioned above, eye drops with low dose brimonidine are safe for daily use, up to four times a day, to boot. That being said, you shouldn't use them more than four times a day. Plus, you shouldn't apply Lumify drops while your contact lenses are in, a weird hiccup that might deter constant contact wearers from using them. But you can remove your contact, drop the drops, wait five minutes and put your contacts back in. That's a hassle if you're at work or out to dinner, but perfectly fine if you use eye drops as soon as you wake up.
