Under-eye patches aren’t just skincare anymore. Now, they're a flex.

• Under-eye patches from brands like Topicals and Alo are now beauty status symbols.
• Eye patches are not just skincare; they are a new form of self-expression and luxury.
• Brands like Hailey Bieber's Rhode Beauty make eye patches that combine fashion with skincare benefits.

Logomania may be "out" in fashion, but that's certainly not the case in beauty.

Wearing a monogram on your face thanks to under-eye masks and patches has increasingly become a flex. These little patches, once reserved for the hidden stages of getting ready in the bathroom, are now vehicles for self-expression, as professionals wear them while running errands, grabbing a cup of coffee, or even posting selfies online.

"Under-eye masks have been a staple in beauty for years, but they've evolved from purely functional skincare products into cultural and social beauty moments," Nicolette Bosco, vice president and divisional merchandise manager for Macy's Beauty, told Business Insider.

Over the past few years, under-eye patches have evolved into branded, graphic patches that have become beauty status symbols. Chanel and Dior are early examples, releasing their patches in 2018 and 2022, respectively. These two luxury fashion brands, with some of the most recognizable logos in the world, unleashed their monograms in skincare and never looked back.

Today, under-eye patches are like the beauty version of carrying a hot handbag, whether they're cult favorites or widely beloved. A Topicals mask might be like a Luar Ana bag on your face; a Dior patch might channel the skincare-version vibes of a Saddle.

And like a bag, they're not just for wearing IRL — whether that's a chill house party, a swanky first class seat, or a workout class — but also for posting online. Their popularity is the latest evolution in social skincare, or the current era where once-private routines are not only public but also worth flaunting.

A little taste of luxury

There's an affordability factor as well. Designer-brand eye patches are a more accessible way to wear the coveted branding.

Dior's five-pack sells for $84, which costs much less than the several-thousand-dollar Saddle Bag. A 10-pack of Chanel's patches goes for $120, which is still a far cry from the brand's infamous, more-than-$10,000 Flap Bags.

Still, it's not only about the flashy designer logos. Today's most beloved graphic under-eye patches also include Dieux Skin, which uniquely has reusable ones, Hailey Bieber's Rhode Beauty, Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty, and Topicals. They all sell patches with the logo treatment, and they're all bestsellers at Sephora.

Topicals, for example, which debuted its $22 under-eye masks in November 2022, remain among the brightest on the market thanks to its bright pink hue. Topicals founder and CEO Olamide Olowe said she wanted customers to feel like they were wearing something cultural, not just another skincare product.

"We were really inspired by streetwear and the way that clothing and accessories can become signals of identity and community. We wanted to bring that same energy into skincare," Olowe told Business Insider.

None of these patches is simply for show; each claims an antiaging benefit. Rhode's peptides plump away the appearance of fine lines; Dior's hyaluronic acid hydrates the skin; and Topicals' niacinamide lessens the look of hyperpigmentation.

Your eye patches are sending a message

Creating something functional is only part of the equation for brands. Developing an eye patch that customers want to wear outside is now a major part of the challenge.

"There was a time when these rituals were very private," Summer Nacewicz, Alo's executive vice president of marketing and creative, said. "Wearing an eye mask out is a little signal that says, 'I'm taking care of myself, and I'm not hiding it.'"

"Now people wear their eye masks to coffee, planes, on their morning walk… and of course, they post them," she added.

This is what inspired Alo to launch its own Bio NAD+ Recovery Eye Masks, each dotted with Alo's classic sans-serif and lowercase lettering, this summer.

"At our Alo Wellness Clubs, we started noticing people coming in first thing in the morning already wearing eye masks," Nacewicz said. "It signaled something bigger: Beauty and recovery rituals that used to happen behind closed doors were becoming something people were comfortable taking out into the world."

These patches have quickly become popular among influencers and beauty aficionados as a way to luxurify and romanticize skincare routines. It wasn't long before patches began flooding algorithms. Graphic eye masks "visual appeal makes them highly shareable on social media," Bosco added. (Think Starface, with its bright, star-shaped pimple patches, famously adored by Gen Z.)

To Olowe, this is fundamentally about a shift in values. "There's something powerful about being seen trying… whether that's trying a new product, taking care of your skin, or simply expressing yourself," she said.

The post Under-eye patches aren’t just skincare anymore. Now, they're a flex. appeared first on Business Insider