I’m an exhausted 50-year-old mum – the £3.80 tape that took 10 years off my eye wrinkles and helped me age backwards

PLASTIC surgeons have seen a 70 per cent rise in women having eyelid surgery.

Blepharoplasty is a quick but costly procedure that removes excess skin or fat from the eyelids to help tighten up the area.

But at £3,000, it is a fabulous refresh that most of us cannot afford.

Luckily, there are cheaper alternatives you can try at home.

As a 50-year-old mum of three who is fed up of looking exhausted and older than my age, I wanted to give some a go to see if they worked.

I tested eight DIY methods and marked them out of five for practicality and effectiveness.

• Additional reporting: Kirsten Jones

Lift your lids with sticky tape

Doirollr Eyelid Tape, £3.85, Amazon

What is it? Small arched stickers which lift the hood of the eye socket, reducing the appearance of saggy skin.

The tape banishes baggy folds around the eyelid by holding them in place.

How to do it: Place the top part of the tape on the natural wrinkle or crease of the eye and smooth it down.

Apply eyeshadow in the same colour as the tape to conceal it.

Olivia’s verdict: I wasn’t convinced this cheap bit of tape would do anything to help drooping lids.

But it totally transformed my face. I instantly looked fresher and more alert.

The tape won’t hold forever but it is so cheap, it is well worth a try.

Fight inflammation with potato

What is it? Slicing up ordinary white potatoes and placing them on your eyelids is said to help fight inflammation and tighten the skin.

And it is all thanks to the enzymes and astringents inside, which cause our skin to contract.

How to do it: Slice up white potatoes and put them on closed eyes for several minutes.

Olivia’s verdict: This may help reduce puffiness for some people, but results can vary and my baggy eyes didn’t look or feel any different afterwards.

Ban wrinkles with a cold spoon

What is it? Put a spoon in the freezer overnight and then use it to tighten the skin around the eyes.

The cold temperature constricts blood vessels, temporarily masking the appearance of wrinkles.

How to do it: Place an ice-cold spoon on the upper eyelids for between ten and 20 minutes.

Olivia’s verdict: Despite making me look like an alien, the cold-spoon hack was a quick way to reduce puffiness.

It tightened my skin for about a minute afterwards.

But unless I had freezing-cold spoons on hand all day, it’s not worth the effort.

Let lashes do the heavy lifting

Kiss My Lash But Better false eyelashes, £4.66, Superdrug

What is it? False lashes applied higher than the eyelash line to give a cat-eye effect and conceal drooping skin.

How to do it: Using tweezers, apply your lashes slightly higher at the outer edges of the eye, leaving a millimetre between them and your real lashes that you fill with black eyeliner and use it to make a wing, creating the illusion of lifted eyelids.

Olivia’s verdict: The hack definitely made my eyelids look tighter without being too dramatic.

I wouldn’t have time for this every day, but it’s a go-to trick for a big night out.

Repair skin with an egg white

What is it? Whisked egg whites are thought to soften the eyelids and improve the skin’s elasticity.

Enzymes and proteins such as albumin encourage cells to grow and repair themselves, helping skin look younger.

How to do it: Whisk up an egg white and apply it to clean, dry eyelids using a cotton bud.

Let it dry, then wash it off with cold water.

Olivia’s verdict: The egg white tightened my skin for a short period but as soon as I washed it off, my eyelids went back to their droopy selves.

Boost collagen with cupping

Cupping therapy set, £11.69, Amazon

What is it? These mini cups use suction to bring blood to the skin’s surface, which may reduce wrinkles and boost collagen.

How to do it: Apply your choice of serum, then take the cups and place them on your eyelids.

Squeeze them to achieve suction and leave on for up to a minute.

Olivia’s verdict: This felt very strange, but not unpleasant.

Applying the cups for just a few seconds made my skin tighten and my eyes look more open and alert.

But I just looked so silly! I wouldn’t try this in front of anyone else.

Reduce puffiness with cucumber

What is it? Studies have shown that cucumber juice can help to restore skin’s natural elasticity, therefore reducing wrinkles.

Chilled slices are full of vitamin C, which wakes up the skin and stimulates new cell growth.

How to do it: Put chilled cucumber slices over the eyes and leave them on for between 15 and 20 minutes.

Olivia’s verdict: It is no miracle cure, but the cucumbers temporarily reduced puffiness and the cooling effect was so refreshing that I’d happily do this every day.

Hide creases with contouring

e.l.f. rose gold eyeshadow palette, Nude Rose Gold 14g, £10, Sephora

What is it? This make-up technique claims to hide drooping eyelids using a mixture of eyeshadow shades to create an illusion defining the eyes.

How to do it? Apply a pale cream-coloured eyeshadow across the lid, and a darker colour in the crease.

Then apply highlighter below the brow bone to create the illusion of tighter, brighter eyes.

Olivia’s verdict: I don’t usually wear eyeshadow but the contouring effect was so surprising.

My droopy eyelids looked like they’d disappeared and I felt so confident.

I’ll be using this technique again.