Eye serums and treatments - the good, the great, the nifty and the ugly - NeoStrata, Clinique, Reviva Labs, DERMAdoctor and a confession!

 I have been super busy the last few months pampering my eyes - and then I realized that I had spent so much time slapping stuff on them that I had totally neglected to write about any of it!  So sorry for the late reviews but good things come to those who wait and these first three were worth waiting for!

NeoStrata Intense Eye Contour All-in-One Serum - 15ml - $45 - for wrinkles/fine line, crepiness, puffiness and dark circles.  If you've been looking for a treatment to address all of these concerns in one bottle, your search is over!  It contains a blend of Matrixyl (3%) and retinol (0.05%) to counter wrinkles, fine lines and crepiness; Eye Regener (2%) - rich in oligopeptides and ogliosaccharides which boosts lymphatic drainage and stimulates collagen production to help with puffiness; and MDI Complex (2%), SabiWhite (0.5%) and Cytobiol Lumin-Eye (5%) for darkness and under eye bags.  What I love about serums is how much lighter they are then creams - so they absorb easily.  If you have dry skin around your eyes you might prefer a thicker product or to layer this under something richer.  As usual NeoStrata knows what I want and delivers! This is a great product that I really enjoyed trying and liked the results of - the only thing I didn't like was having to listen to Christelle ask me what "crepiness" is...

Clinique All About Eyes Serum - 15ml - $33 - fragrance, oil free, allergy tested and safe for contact wearers.  It incorporates the soothing ingredients: Amentoflavone and Humulus Lupulus Extract as well as Caffeine to help reduce puffiness.  Regular readers will already be aware of my eye roller obsession - I don't care what other people say, I am convinced that a roller ball has magical properties to eliminate puffiness!  So of course whenever there is a new roller on the scene, I must try!  What I really like about this one is that it is specifically for puffiness, it isn't trying to be everything to everyone, it just wants to serve puffy people!  The other thing that I like is that it isn't meant to be a twice a day treatment, you can use it anytime you feel puffy - which for me tends to be every few hours, especially when I'm spending the day staring at my computer screen.  The formula is super light so there is no issue just rolling it on over my makeup!  And because it is light, it's also perfect if you want to layer it with other eye treatments - since it only does puffiness, you might want to wear something richer on top of it if your dry or fighting wrinkles.

Reviva Labs Collagen-Fibre Eye Pad Kit - $38 - the kit contains 4 sets of eye pads - containing hibiscus flower extract which relaxes facial muscles and 2oz of skin energizing gel - containing algae extract - diminishes wrinkles, dark circles and puffiness -  I am familiar with the whole eye pad thing but this product was something new and different - I'm used to the pads coming pre-moistened and you just open up the packet and apply them - but with this kit you apply the gel under your eyes first and then apply the fibre pads on top of the gel and use a wet cotton ball to mold them to your face.  Because you have to keep them on for 15-20 minutes, I like using eye pads on a Saturday or Sunday morning - depending on what night before I went out - my skin just doesn't bounce back like it used to when I stay up late! This product did an excellent job eliminating the scary morning after eye of fine lines/bags/dark circles!  The results are temporary but also cumulative - not sure how many times you would have to do it to get the full benefit.  You will run out of the pads before you finish the gel so you can either order replacement pads or use the gel by itself - they recommend rubbing a couple of drops into your face like a serum.  Check it out and purchase at the website here!

DERMAdoctor Wrinkle Revenge Rescue & Protect Eye Balm - 15ml - $52.80 - helps facilitate a visible improvement of puffiness and dark circles while skin firms and lines fade with continued use - Now just so you don't think I'm a crazy person who buys any beauty product she sees - I do all of the same things you do when I get it into my head to buy something - especially when it's pricey!  I read reviews on blogs and Sephora and try to gauge from other people's experiences if I think it will work for me or not.  Of course you can do all the research in the world and it won't mean a think when you get something home and it TOTALLY disagrees with you!  From the first application of this eye balm my eyes started stinging and burning.  I figured I had accidentally gotten it in my eye so I tried again the next day being very careful not to get it too close - same problem only this time little white bumps formed under my eyes too.  Undeterred and determined to have the same wonderful experience with it that everyone else seemed to have had - I waited a few days, made sure there was nothing else on my face (in case it was reacting with another product) and gingerly applied it well away from my tear ducts or waterline - IT BURNS!  I quickly washed it off and put it aside to be returned.

Now here's something weird about my beauty personality - I hate returning things, and very rarely do it.  It somehow feels like I have failed when I have to take something back that just isn't working for me.  I can prove this by the numerous shelves full of things that I bought, used once but haven't been able to bring myself to either throw away or take back.  I am convinced that if I wait and try again that it will somehow have morphed into something that works for me.  I'm looking into a 12 step program to help me with that.  If I can't find one expect to see me on Hoarders - the beauty edition - soon!

Am I the only one?

- Lisamarie -