Review: Eye Creams

Hello! (especially to the my new followers :))

This post has been sitting in my drafts for nearly two weeks, essays and attempting to revise have taken over my life. But for the sake of my sanity I wanted to do some blogging and finish off this post, which consists of 4 mini reviews of the eye-creams I have in my collection.

(sorry this has come out a little grainy!)

LUSH Enchanted Eye Cream 45g £10.95 (here)

Comes with a pump dispenser, great for hygiene, but also works great for controlling how much product is dispensed. It's a white, almost lotion like, cream which when dabbed gently round the eye area feels very light and sinks in quickly. It doesn't really smell like much, but a sensitive nose might detect a very light lavender scent. It contains lavender and honey to smooth and refresh the under eye area.  It does claim to reduce fine lines, but I don't have any so I can't comment unfortunately.

I really love how quickly the cream is absorbed, with no stickiness at all. It means my concealer applies nicely, and the delicate skins remains moisturised.  I use these day and night. You also get a whole lot of product for a very reasonable price.

8/10

Origins GinZing 15ml £21 (here)

This product seems to make a bucket load of claims, but in reality all it's doing is 'reducing the look' of darkness, and puffiness. It does contain caffeine, which helps to stimulate and tightens the capillaries stopping fluid from gathering under the eye area making it puffy, although I personally didn't see any change! The unique thing about GinZing is that it has 'natural optical brighteners' which are supposed to give a brightened look to the undereye, I guess by reflecting light. It's quite a thick cream, which has a pink, almost shimmery, colour to it.

I didn't find it to be too moisturising, and around October I needed something a bit more, and so I went back to LUSH. But it seemed to be fine during the summer months. The 'brightening' effect is actually what I disliked the most, it sort of left a slight white-ish, and very greasy looking residue behind, which didn't sink it quickly at all. (You can see in the third photo it almost looks like a highlighter!)  I found myself getting very frustrated by it, teaches me for impulse buying! If I had tested it first, I wouldn't have bought a full size. It just seemed so many people raved about it, I thought I'd love it too. Also, for someone that needs to wear concealer, any brightening effect is really lost, as you're covering up those 'optic brighteners'. This might work well for someone who doesn't need to further cover up, the greasy residue does fade, but not quick enough for me when I'm waiting to conceal. I did try placing it on top, but it made a mess and pulled my make up around and ended up looking awful!

5/10

Clinique All About Eyes 15ml £23 (here)

I received a 7ml sample free when I bought some other skin care, and I've just about finished it. I've actually really enjoyed using it. It's a cream/gel mix, so it's really like and does sink in super quick. It can be used over the eyelights as well. It claims to diminish dark circles, puffiness and fine lines/

It makes a really good base for make up, sinking in quickly and makes your skin feel so soft. I've been really happy using it. However, I don't think it would be great for very dry under-eyes, and you'll probably need something a bit more moisturising. The price tag does put me off a bit, especially as right now my concern isn't really fine lines, but more about moisture. I've tended to use the LUSH in the evening before bed, and this in the mornings the last 2 months. As you can see I've finished it, and really enjoyed the velvety feel it left behind.

7/10

Clarins Eye Contour Gel 20ml £26.50 (here)

I know this isn't an eye cream, but I recently rediscovered it after it lost amongst my skin care stuff. I got it for Christmas last year, and it's a really nice refreshing, cooling blue gel that you apply along the contours of your eye, so not just underneath. Clarins have a video on their website which shows you how to apply to certain pressure point to help with drainage. It helps to drain toxins, helping minimises the look of puffiness and dark circles. You can also apply it over make up during the day as a bit of a pick me up, which I really liked, and it helped ease any cakeyness/dryness from my concealer and I will be popping it into my make up bag once lectures start again.

I've been using it the last 2/3 weeks, and found it sinks in pretty quickly, but again not create for moisturising. Often, I use it in conjunction with an eye cream, just directly under the eye. It's quite pricey, but you do get 5ml extra than you usually do with an eye cream. It's a nice little splurge if you want to treat yourself. They've changed the packing since I got mine, but I can't say if the formula is exactly the same. I've really enjoyed rediscovering this, and will definitely be using it more often. I am mostly impressed by the unique function that you can layer it on top of make up, and I can vouch for the fact it doesn't smear or drag your make up at all, just freshens things up, making it look like you just applied your make up. LOVE.

9/10
(not taking moisturising into considering!)

Round Up
Although I'm impressed by LUSH and it was the winner, especially in terms of price and moisturising capabilities, it's not quite holy grail material, as when I compare it to the Clinique, my concealer doesn't apply AS smoothly.  Clinique would probably be my favourite and go to cream during the summer, but right now I definitely need something more. I will happily continue to use my LUSH till it runs out (which might be a while) but I'm eager to try out something new when that that times. The Clarins I am super impressed with and can't wait to use it more as a 'refresher', and think I will more than likely repurchase it.  During long days I often notice my under-eyes starting to look a little dull and drier and it really gives that freshly applied look. I will most definitely NOT be rebuying GinZing, but as mentioned above would recommend for those who don't use under-eye concealer.

I've included links to the official brand websites so if you want further details, such as claims, ingredients etc you can have a look!

(My rating was based on overall effectiveness, moisturising effects, feel and how it worked with my concealor, and to some extent price. Remember, my under-eyes aren't overly dry!)

Would love to hear any recommendations!

Thanks for reading and good luck to anyone else doing exams/ assignments as well!

Nic xxx

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Review: Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions

Over the last year, my skin has got progressively worse. I've never had perfect skin, but it's never been this bad, it's mostly the stubborn under the skin spots, which I've never had before! Considering I'm 21 this is beyond frustrating. So around mid- October I went to Clinique to have a chat and a mini-consultation. I ended walking away with the Cleansing Foam and Clarifying Lotion. ( I didn't get the moisturiser as I'd recently bought a new Liz Earle one.)

My Skin Type

Combination/ Oily. Prone to break outs. Undereyes/cheeks can get dry.

My routine (mid October- end November)

Liz Earle Cleanse+Polish to remove make up

Clinique Cleansing Foam

Clinique Clarifying Lotion

Liz Earle Skin Repair Moisturiser Light

Cleansing Foam £13.00 125ml

Comes with a pump dispenser and I tend to use 1-1/2 pumps to a wet face, morning and night. 

Not only is it supposed to remove dirt, but also help to unclog pores and helps with excess oil production. I also read that it helps reduce redness, while it calms the skin. It does feel quite cool on the skin, and it definitely does feel quite refreshed afterwards. My skin didn't feel tight at all, which is always a plus.

Clarifying Lotion £16.50 200ml

This is the product I was most excited about using, I've been reading a lot about 'exfoliting' lotions/liquids. They clear old dried up skin cells, which basically if they remain on the skin can get trapped in the pores when mixed with excess oil and cause a spot to form. (This is a very brief, untechinical explanation, and is my basic understanding. There's loads online if you want to understand spots and exfoliating lotions, which I would recommend reading.) It also contains a powder which settles at the bottom, so you need to shake it up before use. This is supposed to be oil absorbing to help reduce shine. The smell might put people off, it is quite a strong almost chemical smell.

My Results

Unfortunately, I didn't notice any improvement after 5/6 weeks concerning my break outs. However, I've been doing a bit of reading about my pill, and a lot of people have commented how their skin got progressively worse while they were on. So, I've just come off it and will see if it makes a difference. And I don't think it would be fair to judge blemish control, if there's another factor which I don't believe the product will help.

One major major plus for me is that I no longer have oily skin in the slightest, which I am super happy about. My foundation lasts so much longer on me, and I don't have to worry about blotting/ powdering at all. But, my skin also dried up, the instructions do warn to reduce usage if drying occurs, which I didn't. So maybe that's my fault! The over all texture of my skin has definitely improved though, the appearance of my pores reduced and my skin definitely feels a lot smoother. So, I was very impressed by that.

Would I rebuy?

I think I would rebuy the toner and use it once a day instead of twice a day. I feel like a need a something a little more hardcore than my Liz Earle tonic (which I do love), but does nothing to help my break outs. I'm unsure about the foam, if my break outs control even though I'm off my pill, I might try it once more so it would be a bit more of a fair test. I am definitely impressed with the results in terms of texture though.

It is definitely worth trying out, and I would recommend it to anyone suffering with break outs, or looking for something with good oil control. Clinique also offer a 4 week returns policy, if you don't see any improvement then you can return and get your money back. Which is great especially when you're investing quite a lot of my money.

My skin at the moment

At the beginning of December I decided to stop neglecting my Clarisonic, I've stopped using the foam cleanser, even though I have a bit left because the dryness was doing my head in. I'm impressed at how long the product has lasted me though. I'm still using the lotion a few times a week. Been off my pill for 2 weeks and starting to notice a difference. I bought myself some Philosophy and I will do a review after a few weeks use.

Thanks for reading :)
Nic xxx

 

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