Skincare Saturday: Eyes

Welcome to the first official Try This.Buy That post! You'll notice the other posts pertaining to skincare & beauty have been imported from All My Laundry. I've decided to separate the beauty & style blogs from All My Laundry in order to maintain a consistent theme, so welcome to TTBT - ultimately created for all of you looking for hair, skin, makeup, and fashion advice who don't really care to know much about me, my Wednesdays, or my thoughts. [although I do think that's a little shallow. also a little superficial.]

Eyes seem to be a popular answer when people are asked about their favourite features about themselves and I'm not surprised. Eyes are the first thing I notice when I meet new people and I am a huge fan of eye contact [note to self: write about inappropriate eye contact on Wednesday]. I don't think I am alone in having a special thing for eyes, and I would imagine if when I run in to Shamar Moore he will be looking deep in to my eyes, so f*ck - I'm going to take care of them.

I mentioned yesterday about the importance of using an eye cream and here's why: the skin under your eyes is much thinner and much more delicate than the rest of your face and is the first place where skin loses elasticity. Unless the moisturizer you are using all over your face is magically formulated to decipher the delicate skin under your eyes and transform itself to combat dark circles, fine lines and puffiness - you're doing your eyes a disservice. Eye creams go through a much stricter testing process than moisturizers because it must be safe if the product enters your eyes. Eye creams are not only specially formulated to be easy on the eyes [Shamar Moore], they are designed to treat puffiness, dark circles, discoloration, and fine lines.

I'm glad you've now decided you need an eye cream - now what to buy? Well, what are your concerns? For me, my concerns at the moment are puffiness, loss of elasticity, and dark circles due to my excessive drinking lifestyle. I'm more concerned with my 11's on my forehead [is 26 too young for Botox?] than fine lines around my eyes at the moment, but I'm all for preventative measures [in all areas of life fyi]. I also prefer my facial products to be light in texture as opposed to thick and creamy [um. giggles].

As always, here are the products I've had experience with, you'll see there aren't many [why does this sound like I'm implying another type of experience? That'll never come out, my mom reads this]

Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Puff Eyeroller: I liked this because it contains caffeine which really helps with circulation under your eyes, it also has a nice cool feeling to it and hey, I'm already a master at rolling my eyes, why not roll under them as well. If you are younger and are just looking for a 'freshen up' product around your eyes - this is great. If you are concerned with wrinkles, fine lines, loss of elasticity etc I wouldn't recommend this one.
Neutrogena Radiance Boost Eye Cream: Again, like the roller above - this really doesn't combat aging but I did see a difference in the brightness under my eyes which was nice. tip: I found myself using the roller and this one a couple minutes after I used my eye cream and the combination of a good all-around eye cream and a radiance boosting one was fantastic.
Laura Mercier Eyedration: I loved this. I used this until it was bone dry [just the way I like em. my cappuccinos you sicko] and I would have repurchased if I hadn't taken that one trip to shoppers with my mom and picked out the one I am currently using [for which I received numerous Optimum points]. This is your most basic all in one eye cream along with vitamins C and E to protect skin from the environment. Only downside - it's expensive, you have to dip your fingers in to it [ew], and for the same price, you can now get some eye creams that contain retinol which you now know all about!
Vichy Lift Activ CxP Eyes: this is the eye cream I am currently using and am dreading the day that it runs out due to my inability to purchase the same product twice, with a few exceptions. I love this, it has caffeine and pure Vitamin C to "detoxify the eye contour" and it really does. I've noticed firmer skin around my eyes, my dark circles have subsided, and my puffiness is reduced. I'd recommend this to all you ladies looking to tighten and brighten up - it's great.

Those are the ones I have tried, and since I am running out of my Vichy one, you can bet your a** I've been doing my research on what to purchase next and I think I've decided. Vichy's new Reti-C Eyes looks amazing - pure Vitamin C along with Retinol? Think So. The only one standing in the way of the Reti-C is the new Lift Activ Retinol Eyes - this baby is packed with Retinol and Hyaluronic Acid and looks to be pretty soothing - I'm just not sure if I need all of that since it is designed to combat three different types of wrinkles - and the only place where I have three different types of wrinkles is my thighs, and using an eye cream there would require a lot of rubbing [that's what she said].

I've always had success with Vichy products, but either way - look for an eye cream that fights all signs of aging - dark circles, puffiness, and fine lines and wrinkles. Vitamin C, E, Retinol, Hyaluronic Acid, caffeine etc are all good to have in an eye cream. If you really struggle with dark circles, try purchasing a brightening eye cream like the Neutrogena one and put it on right before you use undereye concealer - it'll help the concealer go on smoother and give a better brightening effect.

I always re-read my posts before writing my concluding paragraph to make sure that I've gotten in all the info, and the only thing that stands out is my uncanny ability to turn any discussion on any topic into something related to sex. I get that from my mother.

XxLm.