Can the new No7 Laboratories Dark Circle Corrector live up to the hype?

No 7 Laboratories launched two new serums last April – their Firming Booster Serum and Dark Spot Correcting Booster serum – to huge waiting lists.

This is standard for a No7 release, in part due to the brand’s reputation as one of the first to provide research and science-based skincare outside of the luxury market, and also because the marketing machine behind No7 is one of the savvier in the industry. Waiting lists are in themselves a form of advertising.

Since the brand's revamp earlier this year, the now-No7 Laboratories is aiming at an ever-more informed and discerning skincare customer. Even though we still love a luxury product, Irish consumers are more clued-in than ever, and want efficacy in products above all else. The No7 Laboratories range is oriented around this principle. There is no faff.

The Dark Circle Corrector (€37) comes in two tones – a light/medium shade for lighter skin tones, and a medium/dark for deeper skin tones. The application head is similar to the multirollerball massage head of the brand’s Firming Booster Serum. Five cooling metal spheres are lovely for morning depuffing and drainage.

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Dark under eye circles – blue, brown or reddish pigment under the eye area, usually around the tear trough – the curved dip between your nose and the area under your eye – are common. Under eye pigmentation is such a common issue among all ages, genders and ethnicities that this will likely fly off shelves.

Stress, tiredness, dehydration, alcohol consumption and sugar intake can make the issue of under eye circles worse, but there is a significant genetic component in there too. The pigment also tends to become more obvious and more pronounced with age as the skin thins and the area under the eye becomes less full.

A modern, and rather expensive solution is tear trough fillers. London-based  reconstructive surgeon Sabrina Shah-Desai is widely known for her signature EyeBoost technique, which volumises pronounced tear troughs, plumps out recessed areas and rejuvenates the whole eye area by injecting a hyaluronic acid-based dermal filler along the skin of the lower eyelid and through the tear trough.

It is particularly effective at restoring lost volume and de-emphasising under eye darkness. Prices start at £450. The process is very skilled and it is not advisable to let anyone but a highly trained specialist doctor put a needle anywhere near your eye. Fillers are not regulated in Ireland – anyone can administer them, so under eye filler is a minefield and Shah-Desai's patented technique is unique to her so you won't be able to find it just anywhere.

For those who can’t make it all the way to her Harley Street clinic or afford significant sums for injectables in Ireland, eye creams, facial massage and diet are the next best option for darkness around the eye, apart from clever correctors and concealers to mask the pigment.

No7 Laboratories Dark Circle Corrector is available from Boots and online at boots.ie from June 5th.