“You look so tired.” Anyone with dark under-eye bags has heard this well-intended, reverse compliment too many times. No matter how much sleep you get, those purply, puffy circles engulfing the delicate skin around your eyes just won’t go away. That’s because the cause of under-eye bags varies from person to person. For some, genetics can play a role as well as pigmentation, especially in darker skin. Fat loss in the face as we age can give the eyes a sunken look, pushing the area further into the shadows that emphasise dark circles. “The eye areas is one of the first areas to start ageing,” said Dr Kirshni Appanna, a cosmetic doctor at Jeunesse MedSpa in Hamilton.