5 EYE CREAMs, 2 months
THE VERDICT IS IN…
BENJAMIN BUTTON YOURSELF…
The beauty industry remains divided on the matter of eye creams. Are they a gimmick? A waste of time and money? Should we just be sticking to an all over face moisturiser or serum? Meanwhile eye cream enthusiasts will tell you that the skin around our eyes is much thinner and more fragile than the rest of the face— and should be treated accordingly. They’ll tell you that using a thick, heavy duty moisturiser around the peepers is quite frankly insane behaviour. After cleansing, you should be dabbing a specifically formulated eye cream along the eye socket with the tip of your ring finger, allowing it to melt into the skin.
So… in the name of science, I’ve put five different eye creams to the test over the course of two months. But to judge whether the claims on the bottles really stack up, I’ve roped in my mum to test each product for —in polite terms— the maturer skin and make them work that little bit harder.
Scroll on for my comparative review of…
Omorovicza’s Gold Eye Lift
Omorovicza’s Reviving Eye Cream
Drunk Elephant’s C-Tango Multivitamin Eye Cream
Woods Copenhagen’s Complex Eye Cream
Origins’s Ginzing Refreshing Eye Cream
MY REVIEW
Omorovicza Gold Eye Lift
Omorovicza says: The nourishing Gold Eye Lift brightens and reduces dark circles, gives a dramatically lifted and firmer appearance to the eye area, while reversing sun damage.
Main ingredients: Colloidal Gold calms and heals micro-damage to strengthen the skin, Vitamin A reduces the depth and appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, Vitamin C boosts the production of collagen and brightens the skin. Omorovicza’s Patented Healing Concentrate™ also leaves skin firmer, suppler and more youthful in appearance.
Price per ml: £8 (sold in 15ml)
Fragrance: Subtle rose/floral scent
My review: Arguably one of the boujiest eye creams on the market— colloidal gold, anyone? In principal, I’m slightly skeptical about its efficacy, but let me just say, it’s love at first daub. Omorovicza’s Gold Eye Lift is a thick, oily cream consistency that melts into the skin beautifully. After applying the cream, the eye area feels insanely silky smooth and gives you that post-facial feeling long after use. It’s an incredible product, and sadly the price is reflective of that. It will be interesting to see if it has even greater benefits for a more mature skin and whether it diminishes the appearance of winkles…
Mature review: We have a hostage situation. I repeat we have a hostage situation. She has fallen in love with the product and now taken it as her own. Upon applying Omorovicza’s Gold Eye Lift, she agrees that the skin is left soft, hydrated and rejuvenated. Interestingly, she believes there’s an immediate effect on the skin appearance which is plumper and brighter. A month later, she also has some testimonials to back this up— she delights in the fact that a colleague remarked she looked more youthful (we cannot confirm the reason behind this comment, but we take it as a definite win for the eye cream), and someone she hadn’t seen since the 80s said quote ‘she hadn’t changed a bit’. For the maturer skin, this is definitely worth investing in.
Omorovicza Reviving Eye Cream
Omorovicza says: This reviving eye cream addresses puffiness and minimises the appearance of dark circles. Instantly absorbed and silky-smooth, it provides long-lasting hydration, while a subtle scent of cucumber refreshes and soothes tired eyes.
Main ingredients: Vitamin K diminishes dark circles. Arnica reduces puffiness. Cucumber Extract soothes and refreshes the eye contour. Hazelnut Peptide plumps and firms the skin, minimising the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Omorovicza’s Patented Healing Concentrate™ leaves skin firmer, suppler and more youthful in appearance.
Price per ml: £5.46 (sold in 15ml)
Fragrance: Cucumber
My review: First impressions of the Reviving Eye Cream are very different to the Gold Eye Lift. By contrast, it’s extremely lightweight and liquid— we’re talking almost milk texture (think whole milk, not semi-skimmed!). Perhaps the biggest difference is the sensation upon application, it’s super tingly and cooling to the point where the skin almost feels a bit irritated. In fact, it’s still feeling slightly irritated after an hour. It definitely brightens the eye area though and provides an instant glow to the surrounding skin. After my first application of the Reviving Eye Cream, I instantly know it’s going to play second fiddle. However, this does change after a week using the product. It’s worth noting that the prickly sensation is no longer an issue so it might be something your skin naturally accommodates to. The skin feels so much softer. It’s exactly what you’d want, and expect, from an eye cream of this price point.
Methodology: To compare results between the Omorovicza Gold Eye Lift and the Omorovicza Reviving Eye Cream, we tried a different product on the left and right eye areas. And just to add a little more drama to the proceedings, I didn’t disclose product prices.
Mature review: She agrees that the Reviving Eye Cream gives an unusual prickly sensation during application, and doesn’t feel it has the same plumping effect as the Gold Eye Lift. She also prefers a thicker consistency to this fluid, lightweight one. However, she believes that it has done the devil’s work in improving the appearance of dark circles— much more so than the Gold Eye Lift. The combination of the two could be *the one*.
Drunk Elephant C-Tango Multivitamin Eye Cream
Drunk Elephant says: Rich and restorative, the C-Tango Multivitamin Eye Cream brightens and firms for stronger, more even and more youthful-looking skin around your eyes.
Main ingredients: It contains potent antioxidants, replenishing ceramides, plant oils and soothing actives. The stars of the show are eight peptides, five forms of vitamin C and cucumber extract.
Price per ml: £3.60 (sold in 15ml)
Fragrance: No
My review: Firstly I am obsessed with the funky neon packaging— very cute, very Instagrammable. Plus the square twist-up package reminds me of those delicious pop-up ice lollies. What’s great about this cream is you only need a tiny amount of the product. I’d say a small dot will suffice and the pump makes it very easy to squeeze out the perfect amount. On first impression, the consistency is thicker and creamier than some of the other products here, which makes it incredibly soothing and nourishing. It also has an instant moisturising effect that’s perfect if you have drier skin, but could feel on the greasy side if you have an oilier complexion. However, it does absorb relatively quickly so any oiliness is temporary. Once it’s soaked in the treated skin is instantly softer, firmer and more hydrated. This is genuinely the best vitamin-rich option when it comes clean beauty eye creams.
Mature review: She’s already sold on the Omorovicza Gold Eye Lift, so by this point it’s hard to tear her away and convince her to explore other options. The grass isn’t always greener is her mantra right now. Anyway, I think she’s intrigued by the bright packaging so agrees to give it a whirl. Her first impressions of the Drunk Elephant C-Tango cream are different to mine— she reports a tingly sensation, and says it’s cold and refreshing. On the record quote: the skin “feels alive”. In terms of the actual visible results, we both agree that it has made a slight improvement as the skin is now brighter and looks much more hydrated. It still doesn’t surpass the Gold Eye Lift, but she is very impressed nonetheless.
Woods Complex Eye Cream
Woods says: This hydrating eye cream works effectively to reduce wrinkles and puffiness while brightening the delicate skin around the eye area.
Main ingredients: Line-smoothing and skin-tightening α-glucosyl hesperidin (AGH) and nourishing jojoba seed oil,
Price per ml: 2.30 euros (sold in 20ml)
Fragrance: No
My review: As with all of Woods’ products, their Complex Eye Cream is a great introduction to organic skin care. The formula is very light, velvety and glides over the skin with ease. It feels so cooling on the skin which makes it perfect for applying as a primer under your makeup. The main benefit of this eye cream is the instant hydration it provides to the eye area, and would make a perfect pairing with their facial Daily Mineral Gel (reviewed here).
Mature review: She agrees that it’s wonderfully smooth to apply, with an almost gel like texture that disappears into the skin. It deeply moisturises and awakens the eye area— this is partly due to the addition of jojoba oil which is identical to the natural sebum produced by our own skin, giving it the ability to penetrate deep into the skin. Woods’ Complex Eye Cream is also very calming to the eye area and would be suited to both sensitive and dry skin types. A great, fail-safe addition to your skincare regime.
Origins Ginzing Refreshing Eye Cream
Origins says: A refreshing eye cream that visibly brightens the eye area by diminishing the appearance of dark circles and puffiness.
Main ingredients: It’s formulated with caffeine, panax ginseng, magnolia extract, and natural optic brighteners to rapidly wake up, refresh, and restore radiance to tired eyes.
Price per ml: £1.50 (sold in 15ml)
My review: My immediate reaction to this eye cream is wow!! After applying a generous daub around the eye area, the brightening effect is instantly visible— are they putting highlighter in this formula?! On further inspection of the ingredients, yes they are— hello, natural optic brighteners. In this respect it provides a great priming base for under-eye concealers, giving a smooth texture and a boost of radiance. It also has a light cooling sensation upon application. Here’s the catch… unlike the previous products, it’s worth noting that the effects are short lived. It does soften the skin slightly, but it’s really more of a quick fix make up product than advanced skincare. It will be interesting to see how it fares on a more mature skin and whether it diminishes the appearance of darker circles…
Mature review: “It’s done nothing for me”… as suspected, the cream does little to de-puff and conceal dark circles. If anything the highlighting effect of the product draws attention to the area so they’re more noticeable than before. The product is also very watery so you need a lot of it per use. The only redeeming factor is the cooling feel of the product as it melts into the skin and the lack of greasy residue. For younger people, this is a nice pep-up to apply before your makeup but has little redeeming features for the maturer skin. As the cheapest product in the mix, it’s a great price point but isn’t going to set your skincare regime alight. Put your budget elsewhere.
