• VII Code

    VIIcode O₂M Oxygen Eye Mask for Dark Circles | #Sponsored Review

    Hi Everyone,

    This post is sponsored by VIIcode, a skincare brand that focuses on eyes. A few years ago, I reviewed their VIIcode O₂M Oxygen Eye Mask for All Night Repair (read my review). Today, I’ll be reviewing the VIIcode O₂M Oxygen Eye Mask for Dark Circles.

    These individually wrapped gentle oxygen eye masks are designed for continuous 8 hour use overnight. They contain a natural, alcohol-free, non-irritating formula and are completely safe to use.  Each mask is infused with a potent blend of nourishing ingredients that work hard to reduce dark circles and puffiness so you wake up looking youthful, refreshed and well-rested.

    VIIgarden website

    Ingredients: Aqua, Glycerin, Cellulose, Carbomer, Mentha Arvensis, Butylene Glycol, Cellulose Gum, Tetrasodium EDTA, Triethanol Amine, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, Allantoin, Tartaric Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate, Vitamin E, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Camellia Sinensis (White Tea) Leaf Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia, Aloe Barbadensis, Algin, CO-Q10, Sodium PCA, PEG-40, Betula Alba Extract, Glycyrrhetinic Acid, Sorbitol, y-PGA, Citric Acid, Butylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Propylparaben, Ethylbisiminomethylguaiacol Manganese Chloride.

    VIIcode recommends wearing the patches for 6-8 hours. On the back of the pack, it says to “let the masks work their brightening and hydrating magic no more than 8 hours, then remove.” Make sure to follow their instructions, since you don’t want to have any irritation (especially to your sensitive under eyes).

    Comparing these to the All Night Repair masks, these also have a cotton-y side and the other is like a gel-like membrane. It’s been a few years since I reviewed the All Night Repair ones, so I don’t know if they’ve changed the shape. The ones for Dark Circles are symmetrical, while the All Night Repair masks had one side that was slimmer. I prefer the symmetrical ones since it covers more surface area. Also, I like that both eye masks aren’t scented.

    To apply, your skin should be clean and dry.  Make sure to put them on carefully because repositioning them will make them less tacky on the sides and they might lift while you sleep. I tried wearing them both before bed and overnight. Some people might wear a sleep mask to bed, I don’t so I’m not used to having anything on my face while I sleep. While wearing them, you can definitely feel them on your face, but it’s not uncomfortable. They aren’t like pimple patches where you can’t feel them once you put them on. I can definitely tell they are on since they are quite big and right under my eyes. So when you move your face, you can feel them.

    If you’re wearing them to sleep and you’re a side/stomach sleeper, I would make sure to take them off a good amount of time before you leave the house, they left a mark on my face once or twice. Like when you wake up from a good sleep and realize you have a line on your face from your duvet. 

    I like that these are dry eye masks. They won’t slide down your face and because of the cotton-y side, you can wear them to bed without getting serum/product all over your pillowcase. The gel makes them stay in place, but they aren’t so sticky that it leaves a sticky residue after. It just feels tacky like you applied some eye cream, but it goes away once it absorbs into the skin and feels smooth. I didn’t get a chance to try, but I think makeup would apply nicely after wearing the masks overnight. 

    The gel of the eye masks makes them feel nice and cool. These would be great to use during the summer. Sometimes I throw my sheet masks into the fridge to cool them down, so I tried putting a pair of these eye masks in the fridge for half an hour. On the initial application, they felt quite cold. After a few seconds though, I got used to the cold and it didn’t feel that much different from the eye masks at room temperature. I also found it a bit harder to peel the backing off when they were cold (the gel seemed stickier), so I prefer keeping them at room temperature. 

    RATING: 3.5/5

    I think you would have to do more than 6 treatments to know whether these help in the long-term. You would have to be using them for a few months instead of just a few weeks. A box of masks comes with 6 pairs which is only enough for three weeks if you use them twice a week.

    I think I prefer the All Night Repair Masks since I don’t have dark circles. For me, these are more of a self-care item than a treatment since I’m not trying to target dark circles or wrinkles. 

    Check out VIIcode’s socials: Blog | Shop | Instagram

    Love,

    *This post was sponsored, but all opinions are my own. Links are NOT affiliate links.

  • eye creams

    Eye Creams | My Hits & Misses

    Hi Everyone!

    This is basically a repost of the blog post I wrote in May 2019, but I’ve added added new eye creams I’ve tried since then and also organized them into Hits, Likes and Misses. I’ve written a mini review of each eye cream I’ve tried and also said if I had a reaction to it or not.

    Check out my other Hits & Misses posts!

    MAKEUP || Primers | Foundations | Powders | Concealers | Brows | Mascara

    BRANDS || Bobbi Brown | Burt’s Bees | L’OréalMaybelline | Nude by Nature | NYX | TULA | Volition Beauty

    Before you read this post, please remember that we all have difference preferences and skin types. These are MY hits, misses and likes. You might love something I don’t like or dislike something I love.


    HITS

    DearKlairs Fundamental Nourishing Eye Butter – I like this eye cream. Based on the name, I thought it would be a bit creamier/heavier, but it’s a bit like a gel cream. At first, I was on the fence about repurchasing it since the Cerave Eye Repair Cream is a bit similar (and Cerave is a bit easier for me to purchase). After checking the cost per mL though, this one is actually cheaper because there’s more in the tube. So I think I would get this one instead. I’ve already been using it for about 8 months (once daily) and there’s still quite a bit left in the tube. I was using this one as my PM eye cream, but I think I would prefer using it as an AM and using one of the thicker ones at night. At the time, I was using the Pixi Botanical Collagen Eye Serum which is a bit tacky, so I preferred using that one during the day, so naturally, this one became a part of my night routine.

    Reaction? No reaction.

    Cerave Eye Repair Cream with Hyaluronic Acid & 3 Ceramides – When I first started using this, I was a bit underwhelmed. I thought it would moisturize my under eyes more. I’ve finished the tube now and I changed my opinion about it. I liked this eye cream.

    Reaction? No reaction.

    Youth to the People Dream Eye Cream with Vitamin C and Ceramides – I’ve been enjoying using this eye cream. I have been using it at night, while I used the Cerave Eye Repair Cream during my morning routine.

    Reaction? No reaction.

    Pixi Retinol Eye Cream* – I enjoyed this one and my under eyes didn’t feel dry after using it. The tube also lasted a long time (8 months of using it twice daily).

    Reaction? No reaction.

    Pixi Botanical Collagen Eye Serum* – If you like a more gel-like eye cream, this one is quite nice. If you prefer a cream, the retinol one is good. It is a little bit tacky, so I liked to use this one for AM.

    Reaction? No reaction.

    LIKES

    Tarte Maracuja C-Brighter Eye Treatment – If I remember correctly, this one was similar to the Youth to the People one in terms of how thickness. It was a good one for my night routine.

    Reaction? No reaction.

    Clinique Even Better Eyes Dark Circle Corrector – In my 2019 blog post, I said this was my favourite eye cream I’ve tried so far. I’ve tried several sine then and this one has been bumped from its top spot. Although it made my under eyes feel smooth, it didn’t really hydrate as well as other eye creams. When I initially purchased this, I had bought it from a warehouse sale for about $20-25 (15mL tube). I purchased it during the Sephora sale more recently and not only have they raised the price, they’ve also made the tube smaller (8.5mL). While I used the new tube, I found that I didn’t have the same love for it as I did four years ago. Also, I can no longer justify the price, especially when I don’t love it as much as I once did. 

    Reaction? No reaction.

    Volition Beauty Helix AM/PM Eye Gel (read my review) – I think I would’ve liked this more if I had tried it in the summer time. It’s more of a smoothing eye gel than a hydrating or moisturizing one. They’ve also changed the packaging. I tried it in a pot, but now they have it in a bottle with a pump.

    Reaction? No reaction.

    belif Moisturizing Eye Bomb – I had a sample of this one and I enjoyed it. Although I’m not crazy about the slight scent to it (natural fragrance, it’s not scented).

    Reaction? No reaction.

    Good Molecules Yerba Mate Wake Up Eye Gel* (read my review) – Even though I gave this a pretty high rating in my review, I found that my eye would twitch occasionally when I would use this so I had to stop using it. I also didn’t love the tackiness of it.

    Reaction? Occasional eye twitching from caffeine.

    Goldfaden MD Bright Eyes Dark Circle Radiance Concentrate* – I received this from Calissa.com when I was receiving boxes from them. While I did like this eye cream, it’s not really as accessible to me as the other eye creams I’ve tried. I don’t know if it would cost an arm and a leg to pay for shipping or duties. It was a nice eye cream, but it wouldn’t be worth it for me.

    Reaction? No reaction.

    Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel Cream for Eyes (read my review) – Unlike the Hydro Boost Cream for the face, this didn’t have a smell and it wasn’t tacky at all, but it just didn’t ‘wow’ me.

    Reaction? No reaction.

    Lkins Skincare Vitamin C Eye Gel* (read my review) – This was a nice gel texture, but it just wasn’t hydrating enough. I have really dry under eyes.

    Reaction? No reaction.

    Saturday Skin Wide Awake Brightening Eye Cream (read my review) – This one didn’t do much for me. It didn’t hydrate my under eyes as much as I needed it to and I didn’t get any reaction from it.

    Reaction? No reaction.

    OLE HENRIKSEN Banana Bright Eye Crème – I liked this eye cream, but after hearing about the lawsuit for allergic reactions for this eye cream, I decided not to risk re-purchasing it.

    Reaction? No reaction after using the travel-sized pot.

    MISSES

    Tula Multi-Spectrum Eye Renewal Serum (read my review) – It seems like they’ve renamed a lot of their products. I believe this was renamed: Instant De-Puff Eye Renewal Serum. Both my mom and I tried this eye renewal serum. We both felt itchy using it and it wasn’t allergies or anything because we were using this in the winter time.

    Reaction? No physical reaction (appearance-wise), but eyes felt itchy.

    Origins Ginzing Refreshing Eye Cream to Depuff and Brighten (read my review)

    I’m not a huge fan of the smell of this. I accidentally bought this instead of another product – I meant to get the Ginzing moisturizer. A little goes a long way and while this does brighten the under eyes, you have to be careful not to use too much or it looks too white. I was using this off and on because I got one spot and I wasn’t sure if it was the eye cream or something else. I stopped using it until it got better and then I used it again and I’ve had a bit of texture under the eyes since. So, I won’t be using this anymore. 

    Reaction? Got a milium (singular of milia) and also got red bumpy spots

    Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado (read my review) – I’ve been using this for about a while now and I’ve been using it on and off because whenever I use it, I get 1-2 red spots under both eyes. Also, it has a weird texture that’s almost glue-y. If you use too much, it doesn’t blend in very well, but if you use a very small amount, it absorbs into the skin and almost feels like water.

    Reaction? Red spots under eyes whenever I used it.

    Kiehl’s Eye Fuel* – After my reaction to the Creamy Eye Treatment, Kiehl’s messaged me asking if I would like to try a different product and I chose the Eye Fuel. THIS MADE ONE OF MY EYES TWITCH SO MUCH.

    Reaction? Eye was twitching like crazy.

    Price (CAD)Size (mL)Cost per mL
    Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel Cream for Eyes 26.9914mL1.93
    Lkins Skincare Vitamin C Eye Gel 22.99 USD ~ 30 CAD15mL2
    Saturday Skin Wide Awake Brightening Eye Cream 25 USD ~ 32 CAD15mL2.13
    Saturday Skin Wide Awake Brightening Eye Cream 46 USD ~ 60 CAD30mL2
    Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado 7028g ~ 28mL2.5
    mini Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado 4414g ~ 14mL3.14
    Origins Ginzing Refreshing Eye Cream to Depuff and Brighten 4415mL2.93
    mini Origins Ginzing Refreshing Eye Cream to Depuff and Brighten 3610mL3.6
    belif Moisturizing Eye Bomb6025mL2.4
    Cerave Eye Repair Cream27.9914.2 g ~ 14.2mL1.97
    Clinique Even Better Eyes Dark Circle Corrector598.5mL6.94
    Goldfaden MD Bright Eyes Dark Circle Radiance Concentrate55 USD ~ 71 CAD15mL4.73
    Good Molecules Yerba Mate Wakeup Eye Gel815mL 0.53
    Volition Helix AM/PM Eye Gel70 15mL4.67
    Tarte Maracuja C-Brighter Eye treatment5110mL5.1
    Youth to the People Dream Eye Cream6215mL4.13
    Tula Instant De-Puff Eye Renewal Serum 7615mL5.07
    Pixi Botanical Collagen Eye Serum3425mL1.36
    Dear, Klairs Fundamental Nourishing Eye Butter3120g ~ 20mL1.55

    Here are some eye creams that I want to try:

    • Cetaphil Optimal Hydration Eye Serum
    • COSRX Advanced Snail Peptide Eye Cream
    • I’m From Ginseng Eye Cream
    • PURITO Centella Green Level Eye Cream

    I’ve been looking for eye creams that don’t have caffeine because my right eye keeps twitching whenever I use eye creams with caffeine.

    What’s your fave eye cream?

    Love,

    Last updated Aug 2023

    Products marked with * were sent to me for review.