I Had My Doubts When This Product Went Viral on TikTok—Now I Rave About It

Welcome to Deep Reviews—your one-stop destination to discover the absolute best products and brands the beauty industry has to offer. The Who What Wear staffers you already know and trust will research, test, and review the market's most sought-after and buzzed-about products to see which formulas (of the hundreds up for consideration) are truly worth your hard-earned money and attention. You can expect honest, completely uncensored feedback and no-BS recommendations our hard-to-please testers endorse without reservations.

The majority of our Deep Reviews will feature our editors' honest, ultra-hot takes on entire product categories or multiple products from a particular beauty brand, but every so often, we'll sprinkle in a special single-product format called Honestly, I Love It. As the name suggests, these reviews will hone in on one standout beauty formula our editors quite literally can't shut up about. This time around, I'm highlighting Lumify's Redness Reliever Eye Drops ($20).

These eye drops initially came onto my radar when I was scrolling through TikTok to find yet another viral product. Creators were raving about the fact that with just a single drop, any redness, irritation, or pesky veins that just won't go away magically disappear. My initial thought was hesitance since I've found myself "deinfluenced" as of late as a result of being overwhelmed by seemingly viral products, a few of which have disappointed me. But for the sake of my Who What Wear readers, I decided I was going to give it a try. Spoiler alert: I was impressed.

My first concern when I heard about Lumify eye drops was related to my dependence on contact lenses. I am a "one-day contact lens" girly, meaning that I'm not really interested in taking them out and putting them back in just to apply a product. This led to my initial question for Jennifer Tsai, OD, and she assured me that the drops won't irritate my contact lenses. I just had to wait 10 minutes after applying the drops. My only complaint about the product is that, should I have an emergency crying session or a sudden surge of stress that requires a reapplication later in the day, I would have to take out my contact lenses, so I'm learning to be sure to apply it early in the day.

If you're someone who is thinking of applying the product multiple times throughout the day, Tsai suggests waiting six to eight hours between applications and never exceeding four uses a day. All you need to know is you should "use Lumify as needed." This means it can really be a play-by-ear experience.

I wanted to know how this instantaneous change in the eyes was possible, and Tsai let me in on the secret. She attributes it to "low-dose brimonidine tartrate (0.025%). Brimonidine has a unique mechanism of action that primarily acts on receptors in the veins, whereas other redness relievers (formulated with ingredients like tetrahydrozoline) also target receptors in the arteries. This reduces the flow of blood and oxygen to the eye and causes rebound redness. Brimonidine helps the eyes to look whiter without reducing oxygen flow to the eye." I never liked science growing up, but this information is super fascinating. 

The benefits are clearly whiter and brighter eyes, which give a widening effect as well. My mom has talked to me a lot about experiencing dry eyes, so I was curious if Lumify would be helpful there. Tsai says, "Lumify is FDA approved for redness relief. It is not intended for dry-eye relief. However, it is always great to use it in conjunction with artificial tears or dry-eye treatment options, as dry eye can lead to redness." My eyes felt very hydrated post-application.

This series is called Honestly, I Love It, and I just want to say that I honestly thought I was witnessing a magic trick the first time I used the drops. I have irritated veins in my eyes that have been red for as long as I can remember. With just one drop and maybe 30 seconds, it was gone. The before-and-after photos literally looked like Photoshop to me. My eyes were whiter and brighter, so if that is your desired effect, I promise you that you won't be disappointed. 

With this all being said, if you're hoping for long-term effects, Tsai suggests determining and treating the cause of your eye redness. "Typically, this can be due to inflammation, lack of tear production, or dry eyes. Lumify is for temporary relief of redness. It does not treat the underlying causes," she says.

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