“My bags are chanel,” declares model and creative Vera van Erp, referring to her eye bags rather than the iconic quilted crossbody. Chanel's under-eye patches are back by popular demand and, just like that, fashion girl-coded eye masks have become 2026's ultimate brag.
Over the past year, the two square centimetres of skin under our eyes has become prime real estate, with some beauty critics such as Jessica DeFino, describing our faces as becoming like “free ad space”. That's no accident. Under-eye patches are being marketed as “on-the-go skincare", appealing to both selfie culture and our time-poor lifestyles.
It's no exaggeration to say that our social feeds are awash with It girls wearing under-eye patches featuring a brand's name or logo on the commute, on coffee runs, and especially to pilates classes. Nods of approval come not from slapping a pair of nondescript translucent slugs on your face in the privacy of your bathroom, but instead wearing branded merch out in the wild.
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“Catch me outside with my @chanel.beauty eye patches, on my way to pilates 🤸🏽,” @brunabear says. “In Utah all the girls in my Pilates class wore eye patched and I decided I was bringing that back to NY,” notes fashion influencer Courtney Grow, before adding “I reach for Rhode the most.” While Arshia Moorjani shows her 559K followers that her in-flight beauty routine revolves around Dior's Hydrating Eye Patches.
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111Skin, meanwhile, takes a more novel approach. Arguably one of the first to popularise luxury masking, it's like the Prince of the eye patch world. It doesn't need to be named – the distinctive black colour of its Celestial Black Diamond Eye Mask is enough for those in the know to instantly recognise that Harry Styles is wearing them in a recent Instagram post.
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From a skincare perspective, they offer instant gratification. Under-eye patches are, by their very essence, designed to shuttle much-needed moisture into the skin fast. In the case of Chanel's Le Lift Flash Eye, tiny molecules of hyaluronic acid dive deep into the skin to hydrate and tighten, all without being so slippery that they slide down your cheeks. I should know – I've worn them on the train and at my desk for the last two weeks.
Designer beauty products are also a more attainable way of owning something from an aspirational brand. A Chanel Classic 11.12 handbag, which now costs an eye-watering £8,850, is wildly expensive for the average person, but an £8.60 eye mask embossed with the brand's name may not be out of the realms of possibility.
Then there's the social cache of wearing an under-eye mask with a cool logo splashed all over it. It catapults the product beyond just being skincare. Instead, it's fun, it's a desirable accessory, the new street style and 2026's answer to a band T-shirt. It acts as a shared language of identity and allows like-minded fans to bond.
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Nara Smith's video of the Chanel under-eye patches has gone TikTok viral with 2.1 million views and counting. Meanwhile, Rhode's Peptide Eye Prep has become a bestseller thanks to founder Hailey Bieber wearing the patches in her car, under sunglasses and while chilling at home. Her 5 million+ super fans follow suit and Hailey shares their content to promote the product organically and build community.
According to Chelsea Mtada, a senior strategist at global PR firm the SEEN Group, “creating joyful, sensory rituals” is key for brands and products to stand out in today's saturated beauty space. That's how branded under-eye masks seem to be winning us over. Oh, and they'll boost your followers on social media, too.
For more from Fiona Embleton, Glamour's Associate Beauty Director, follow her on @fiembleton.
