Step 8: Eye Cream

Eye scream, you scream, we all scream for eye cream! I didn’t use eye cream until I was introduced to Korean Skincare. Actually, I always thought it was a luxury skincare item that was a waste of money. I used to be one of those people who thinks they can just ignore their eyes, or slather a thick moisturizer everywhere and be good to go. That is so false!

The first thing you need to know is that the skin around your eyes is the thinnest skin on your face. The moisturizer you use on the rest of your face just doesn’t cut it. Moisturizers tend to be too thick and heavy for your eye area. This can cause irritation or milia (those tiny white dots). Eye creams are formulated to be moisturizing yet gentle. They are similar to what essences and serums are for the rest of your face; eye creams often have a higher concentration of ingredients that will benefit that area.

There are various types of eye creams out there with different formulations depending on your concern. Common skin concerns are puffiness, dark circles, dryness, and wrinkles. I personally try to improve all of the above. As I always say, it’s easier to prevent than to fix.

Some eye creams may be more of a thick consistency, while others might be more gel-like. I’ve seen tubes that are easy to apply to the skin, jars, and roll on eye cream. I personally find it easier to use the tubes. I store my eye creams in the fridge, because it creates a cooling effect that aids in de-puffing.

It’s very important to apply eye cream properly. The biggest mistake is rubbing, I repeat, rubbing in the product! Eye cream should be gently tapped into the skin. You should use either your ring or pinky finger to apply the product. Tap into the skin just under the eye, along the orbital bone, and like-wise above the eye. This keeps you from tugging at the skin, possibly making wrinkles worse, and creates better absorption of the product. Be sure not to get too close to your water line, as that will cause irritation.

I know an eye cream is effective when my eye area is glowing, plump, full, and still hydrated when I wake up in the morning. I’ve tried a couple different eye creams here and there, but I’ve experienced some real stand-out products. Here are the eye creams I’d recommend:

Lush, Enchanted Eye Cream

Photo: basedonblog.com

$27.95

Lush’s eye cream was the first one I ever tried. It is very light weight with a light, floral scent. It features beautiful ingredients like lavender honey water, almond oil, and jojoba oil. These ingredients are nourishing, lock in moisture, and are very helpful for de-puffing. It comes in a convenient pump bottle that lasts so long. This product lasted me about a year! That may be too long to keep using it, but that’s still a great quality.

I always noticed calmed, tightened, and moisturized skin around my eyes when I used this. Overtime there were even improvements with my dark circles. If you want something light, natural, and simple, definitely give this eye cream a go. The price point is pretty great for an eye cream with 1.5 oz. Check it out on Lush’s website.

Hanskin, Bio Origin the Eye Cream

$58

You all know I love the Hanskin Hyaluron Essence, so there’s no doubt that I loved the eye cream from the same line. This eye cream is so rich, creamy, and moisturizing, but doesn’t cause milia! It is the most luxurious eye cream I’ve tried. Some key ingredients are niacinamide, sunflower seed oil, adenosine, squalane, cocoa extract, and saccharomyces ferment filtrate.

There is a floral, perfume-like fragrance to this eye cream. It didn’t bother me, but if you are sensitive to fragrance you might not like it. I found this cream to be ultra moisturizing, and was just an overall great experience to use. I didn’t notice any huge changes in wrinkles, but it helped de-puff and brighten my under eyes.

Now let’s talk about the elephant in the room; the Hanskin eye cream is $58 which is very expensive. Honestly, the only reason I tried it is because I had a Soko Glam gift card. With 1.01 oz. the product does last a long time, but I would categorize it as a splurge item. If you have the leeway or don’t care how much you spend, this eye cream is worth a try. Find it on Soko Glam’s website.

Benton, Fermentation Eye Cream

Photo: sokoglam.com

$27

I mentioned this eye cream last week in my All Eyes on Aloe post, but it deserves a spot here too! This eye cream is one of the better ones I’ve tried. It contains fermented ingredients, ceramides, aloe leaf extract, and adenosine. The product has a smooth, creamy texture with no scent. The tube makes application very easy. You can either apply directly to your eye area, or squeeze some onto your ring finger and apply; a little goes a long way. I love how moisturized the skin around my eyes feel with this cream.

I know an eye cream is effective when I wake up and my eyes aren’t dry and crusty. TMI, but true! It is also great at de-puffing, and I did notice some gradual brightening to my under eyes. This cream lasts forever, so it’s definitely worth the price. Find it on Soko Glam.

Elensilia, CPP Collagen 80% Intensive Eye Cream

$20

I’m currently using the Elensilia eye cream and I like it a lot so far! It contains 80% hydrolyzed French collagen, niacinamide, shea butter, adenosine, cocoa extract, and 2 patented ingredients. The first is SYN-COLL™, which boosts collagen production and helps decrease collagen degradation. The second is Haloxyl™, which helps decrease puffiness and dark circles. To top it off there is gold in here too! It’s great for anti-inflammatory properties and just makes you feel like a star.

The texture is gel like, which you already know I love. It melts and absorbs right into the skin. There isn’t much of a scent either. The only thing I want to note, is to be especially cautious of getting too close to the water line with this eye cream. Because it spreads easily, it can get into the eye if you get too close. Trust me, it happened to me once and it was not fun.

Other than that, I have really enjoyed using this eye cream. It’s SO hydrating and really makes my eyes glow. I always wake up with smooth, hydrated skin around my eyes. It’s only been a couple weeks or so, but it looks like there has been some improvement with my dark circles as well. This eye cream is a great price. There is only .67 fl. oz. in the tube, but once again, eye cream lasts a long time because you only need a little bit. I purchased this product from Soko Glam.

Here are a few eye creams I’ve been hearing great things about, and look forward to trying:

Kiehls, Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado

Photo: amazon.com

$30-$48

Erborian, Seve de Bamboo Eye Matte

Photo: sokoglam.com

$34

Youth to the People, Superfood Peptide Eye Cream

Photo: sephora.com

$35

Skinfood, Royal Honey Eye Cream

Photo: sokoglam.com

$30

Using eye cream may sound unnecessary, but if you don’t want to look like a corpse that doesn’t sleep, you should start. What eye creams do you guys enjoy using?