5 Eye Creams You Need to Know About

Our eyes may be the windows to our soul but they are also is the first area to show the early signs of aging and fatigue with dark circles, puffiness, fine lines, and wrinkles.

While nothing beats a sound 10 hour sleep and sun protection to help prevent these problems, there are some great products on out there to help you keep your peepers looking fresh and rectify the tell-tales signs of tiredness and premature aging.

1. Dermalogica Intensive Eye Repair 15ml 
Winter dries out my oily combo skin and I'm currently experiencing a bout of dry patches across my face and the skin under the eye area is rather dehydrated.

Enter this little gem from Dermalogica, an ultra rich gel but not heavy or greasy on skin, it instantly hydrates skin to eliminate fine lines and crepiness and keeps the skin moisturised throughout the day.

Contains a cocktail of antioxidant-rich ingredients like cucumber extract, arnica and wild yam extract, vitamin A, B5, C, E to fight free radicals as well as help repair prematurely aging skin. It also primes skin to help makeup sit on skin better rather than sink into the fine lines.

This is a FITE product so its sale will help fund a female entrepreneur in a developing country. To find out more, visit www.joinFITE.org

RRP A$71 at selected salons and at the FacialCompany.

2. Olay Regenerist Anti-aging Roller 6ml*

Click the end of this anti-aging pen to dispense the product out and then massage it into the under eye skin area with 3 precision massaging rollers. You will be greeted with instant coolness against your skin from the metal rollers whilst the massaging action improves blood circulation around the eye area and allows the caffeine and vitamin E infused serum to be delivered deeper into the skin to reduces eye puffiness. Before you know it, you'll be de-puffed and looking wide awake. 

It also has dimethicone to fill in lines and smooth over wrinkles to give a more youthful under eye area appearance.

RRP A$49.99 at supermarkets, Priceline and most pharmacies.

3. Kiehl's Ultimate White Darkness Diminishing Activated Eye Treatment 15ml* 
Now that you've sorted out the hydration and puffiness, attack the dark circles with this potent eye cream that will gradually fade darkness with vitamin C, plum fruit extract and glucoside. You will have to be persistent with this cream as it won't give you results overnight but you will get that brigthened translucent under-eye skin in 3 weeks time. It also gives very excellent hydration to dry, tired eyes.

RRP A$62 at Kiehl's counters or Kiehl's Online.

4. Elizabeth Arden Prevage Anti-aging Eye Serum 15ml
The holy grail of all eye creams. That is all.
Oh alright, I'll elaborate. I love this eye serum because when I wake up in mornings after using it the night before, I have next to no sign of puffiness in sight. My dark circles are lighter, the skin in my under eye area is firmer, hydrated and fine lines are barely visible - all thanks to the 0.5% idebenone formula that my skin is such a fan of. If I didn't have a mortgage, I'd be hauling this by the truckload to use forever.

RRP A$165 at Elizabeth Arden counters

5. Peter Thomas Roth Power K Eye Rescue 15g
Given my very bad dark circles, I'm always trying to find quick fixes for them and this was one of those purchase I wish I hadn't made.  Lured by the promise of vitamin K (at 5% concentration which this clearly isn't, it's proven to fade dark circles and help treat bruises) and flanked with a stellar line up ingredients such as vitamin c, green tea, kojic acid, arnica and CQ10, this rich gel was too hard to resist.

I admit I enjoy bursting the CQ10 micro-capsule when rubbing the gel into my under eye skin and although it is a good eye gel in all other aspects, it just didn't do the one thing I wanted it for - reduce dark circles.
For the price, I want to see results pronto but  after 1 whole week of use, my skin just didn't respond. I didn't see improvements in darkness nor was it any better at reducing puffiness than the Olay eye serum so yes I'll be holding a grudge against Mr. Thomas Roth for this particular eye treatment.

Personally, I would choose the others eye serums before forking out such an exorbitant amount that didn't deliver more than its budget-friendly counterparts.

RRP A$125 at Kit Cosmetics counters or Mecca Cosmetica.


Out of the five, you all know which is my favourite but a close second is the Dermalogica Intensive Rich repair for it super hydrating properties whilst the Kiehl's Darkness Diminishing Activated eye treatment is slowly winning me over as I start to see results of lighter dark circles.

Do you use eye creams on a daily basis? What are your favourite eye creams?

Products marked * were provided for consideration. All other products were purchased by me. 

My Evening Skincare Routine

Following the morning skincare routine post, I will continue today with the products that I use during the evenings.

My routine is simlar to my daytime routine, in fact I would use some of these items morning and night and it's only out of preference that I showcase them in the evening routine post. I start off with removal of makeup and then follow up with cleansing before treatment and moisturising. 

1. Lancome Bi-Facil 125ml A$48

Activate this 2 phase solution (by shaking it before use) and it works its magic to eraser everything off your skin swiftly and gently. No waterproof eye liner or cream and emollient makeup are no match for it. It also leaves a conditioning residue on skin aftewards and has an subtle lingering rose scent.


2. Invisible Zinc 12% Glycolic Cleanser 200ml $35 
Help slough away stubborn flaky skin and reveal a glowing face with this AHA based cleanser. It effectively removes makeup residue and was made to remove water resistance products (though I won't advise trying to remove eye makeup with it as it may sting your eyes). It has a slight fermented pinapple scent (from the AHA perhaps) and can also be used as a treatment mask by leaving on skin for 5 minutes to help clear breakout prone skin and helps give skin a clearer complexion.


3. Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronised Recovery Complex 30ml A$105
Little wonder this wonder serum has won so many awards from Marie Claire to InStyle in 2010 and Glossacars this year. It is a great prep for skin by plumping and hydrating it and protecting it from free radical damage and improves uneven skintone after a period of use. Slightly sticky upon application it dries off to a matte feel and soothes and calms irritate skin (was a god send with a recent breakout I had).


4. Elizabeth Arden Prevage anti-aging eye serum 15ml A$165 

Very effective with de-puffing eyes and lightening dark circles, I use this at night and in mornings when I don't get enough sleep and my peepers are feeling super dehydrated. Containing 0.5% idebenone, the most powerful antioxidant discovered to date, it does a great job of brightening up the eye are and filling in fine lines so under eye makeup just glides on rather sinking in. 


5. Elizabeth Arden Prevage Face Advanced Anti-aging Serum 30ml A$195* 
My absolute HG serum to date - also with 0.5% idebenone, it clarifies, firms and plumps skin and evens out skintone and delivers on every promise it makes. A canary yellow cream that's silky in texture, a little goes a long way as it spreads very well. I cannot tell you enough how much I love this product, I used this morning and night when skin is sallow and dull and needs extra TLC by giving me radiance and glow as if I've had a lot of restful sleep. I've now finished my bottle and am about to restock.


6. Dr. Lewinn's Oil Free Day and Nigh Cream 56g A$64.95 
This pale yellow gel-like consistency cream is great for hydrating the skin without adding any oils to it. Non irritating it is particularly great for sensitised skin that's on the heal from chemical peel or burns (I used this after my recent fraxel which would be similar to having burnt skin).


7. Vitacreme B-12 50ml US$25.60 (purchase via sasa.com)
I've been using this highly popular moisturiser since last year as it was the rage across the Asian community. A unique pink cream, it has vitamin b12 which assists with cell regeneration and promotes healing. I found it to be an excellent moisturiser for both day and night, keeping skin well hydrated and soft and is great for sensitive skin. It can be slightly too oily for oily skin types to use during the day but would suit night use. I didn't find that it did anything beyond what great moisturisers do and didn't feel that the vitamin B12 sped up blemish healing or fades the marks any faster than other good moisturisers but I do enjoy this cream and is impressed by how well priced it is.

My HG products from the above bunch would have to be the Prevage eye and face serum - it's the bomb of all skincare I'd tried so far. And Bi-Facil has been my all time favourite makeup removers.

Products marked * were sent for consideration. 

All other products were purchased by yours truly.