Easy beauty answer
Puffy eyes are caused by lack of sleep, too much alcohol, salt (causing water retention) or caffeine, but you can also blame it on your genes. What you're really seeing is an accumulation of lymphatic fluid pooling in the orbital area.

Things also seem to get worse as we age and the skin around the eyes 'relaxes' and becomes a reservoir for fluid. But puffy eyes are still one of the easiest beauty fiascos to remedy.

Bad behaviour aside, we also contribute to the puffy eye syndrome through the incorrect use of face creams. Some ingredients used in moisturisers, such as fragrances, emulsifiers and emolients, can irritate the sensitive eye area, causing redness and puffiness. Don't apply your cream on the eyelid either, this only aggravates the problem.

Don't use an extra rich cream or eye cream if you don't really need the anti-wrinkling help – they'll only puff-up your eyes even more. Rather, use a gel-formula eye moisturiser, which will help firm and tighten the area and thereby reduce swelling without over-stimulating the delicate skin. Apply it from the inner corner to the outer corner, then sweep back, to stimulate lymph fluid drainage.

A great product to try that won't break the bank is Olay Firming Eye Gel. Applied at night, this will help ensure you don't wake up with baggy eyes. Lastly, sleep on a generous pillow that will keep your head higher than your body and facilitate fluid flow-down.

Hot tip: Keep your gel eye moisturiser refrigerated for an added firming effect.

If you have a bit of time in the morning after the puffy-eye inducing night before, take a ten-minute break and place two chilled green tea teabags over your eyes. Just lie still and let it work.

You could also use chilled cucumber rings or slices of potato. Pond's Cucumber Eye Treatments contain anti-oxidant vitamins and witch hazel and are great of you'd rather eat your veggies than slap them on your face.

Pat the area under and around the eyes with tiny, rapid pitter-patters to help decongest the area.

If you're up to it – or desperate – dunk your face in a basin filled with ice cubes and cold water. Do this for at about 20 – 30 seconds if you can, it really works.

Make-up can help draw attention away from the bags under your eyes. Apply concealer over the entire eye area, up to the brow, and set with powder. Use your favourite eyeshadow and apply eyeliner and mascara to upper lashline and lashes only (so as not to draw more attention to the under-eye area).

Going for a workout – any cardiovascular exercise like aerobics, running walking or cycling – will get a sluggish circulation going, flushing out water you could be retaining.

If all else fails, don a pair of sunglasses and pretend you're a Hollywood star.

Tools of the puffy eye trade