• eye creams

    Eye Creams | My Hits & Misses

    July 19, 2022

    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’Oréal | Maybelline | 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.

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  • 2019 beauty expenses

    Worth It? | My 20 Most Expensive Purchases

    January 24, 2020

    Hi Everyone!

    Today, I’m sharing my 20 most expensive beauty purchases. I wore makeup in high school, but I just wore eyeliner and a dab of concealer if needed. I thought foundation was unnecessary for some reason. My face was relatively clear, I would get breakouts every now and then, but nothing unmanageable. I started wearing foundation in university. Also, I would just use the same moisturizer my mom used…Complex Moisturizer from the drugstore. It wasn’t until a few years ago that we both decided to upgrade from that. Since I started blogging, I’ve tried a lot more makeup and skincare, but I’ve still only scratched the surface. I’ve tried a few higher end products which are on the list. Keep reading to find out if all 20 were worth it!

    1. Sigma Essential Brush Kit (12 brushes) – $99 from Winners
    2. Tula Illuminating Face Serum – $88.30 (15% off)
    3. Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation Kit – $83 from Sephora (included full-sized foundation, primer and a foundation brush)
    4. Tory Burch Eau de Parfum kit – $80 from Mac Warehouse Sale (included a full-sized perfume, a mini perfume and a full-sized hand lotion)
    5. Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel – $73.95 (15% off)
    6. Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gioia Eau de Parfum – $69
    7. Tarte Maracuja Oil (supersize) – $66 (25% off)
    8. Sephora Flatter Yourself Contour Brush Set – $60 (includes 3 brushes – angled blush, duo fiber, buffing)
    9. Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheer – $58.65 (15% off)
    10. Clé de Peau Stick Concealer – $55 (more than 40% off, purchased at Shiseido Warehouse Sale)
    11. Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder Compact – $55
    12. Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado – $51 (20% off)
    13. Dior BACKSTAGE Face & Body Foundation – $50
    14. Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder – $49.30 (15% off)
    15. NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer – $49.30 (15% off)
    16. Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Longwear Foundation Stick SPF21 – $46.75 (15% off)
    17. Laneige Water Bank Serum – $46
    18. Make Up For Ever Step 1 Equalizer Primer (Redness Correcting) – $45
    19. Lancôme Skin Feels Good Skin Nourishing Foundation SPF23 – $45
    20. Sephora PRO Featherweight Powder Brush #91 – $45.05 (15% off)

    I don’t know why I was so dumb before, but several items on this list were purchased at full price when I could’ve waited until the Sephora sale. Now I know better!

    Sigma Essential Brush Kit – This is a great brush kit. I’m glad I was able to find it at Winners for $99.

    Worth it? Yes!

    Tula Illuminating Face Serum (read my review) – This was one of my favourite serums, but Tula no longer sells to Canada.

    Worth it? Yes!

    Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation Kit – This was a beautiful foundation, but I still haven’t found my shade even though there are 40+. This is where I first tried the smoothing primer which I love and there brush is nice and soft.

    Worth it? Yes.

    Tory Burch Eau de Parfum kit – I love this perfume. I would’ve paid $80 or more just for the perfume.

    Worth it? Yes!

    Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel – I haven’t used this as an everyday cleanser, but it’s nothing SPECIAL.

    Worth it? No.

    Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gioia Eau de Parfum – Loved this perfume! It’s so much more expensive now though and the bottle is different. I don’t know if that means the formula has also changed.

    Worth it? Yes.

    Tarte Maracuja Oil (supersize) – I bought this during a Black Friday sale so instead of $88, it was $66 for the supersize bottle which is twice the size of the regular one.

    Worth it? Yes!

    Sephora Flatter Yourself Contour Brush Set – Sephora Collection brushes are okay, I’ve since bought a Sephora PRO brush which isn’t the same as any of the three brushes in this set, but it’s so much softer.

    Worth it? I would pass on this one.

    Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheer in #7 – I was buying my mom the Luminous Silk Powder Foundation and wanted to try the fluid sheer. It’s beautiful and looks great under foundation, mixed with foundation or on top of foundation. I have a shade that’s kind of pinky and it wasn’t the one I wanted originally, but it was all they had in stock. It’s beautiful though.

    Worth it? Yes! Would definitely try other shades.

    Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder Compact – This is a face powder, but I use it as more of a highlight. Although it would be beautiful as a face powder for that glowy/dewy luminous look.

    Worth it? Yes.

    Clé de Peau Stick Concealer – This stick concealer isn’t as emollient as other sticks I’ve tried. I don’t know if it’s dried out because I bought it from the Warehouse sale, but it definitely wouldn’t be worth the full price at $93.

    Worth it? No.

    Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado – My under eyes had a reaction to this eye cream. I had to give it to my sister.

    Worth it? No.

    Dior BACKSTAGE Face & Body Foundation (read my review) – While this was a beautiful finish and looked very natural, it didn’t last very long on my skin. Dior foundations are also very fragranced. I gave this to my friend.

    Worth it? Not for me.

    Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder – This powder is a very finely milled pressed powder. It’s beautiful on the skin, but can look cakey if you apply too much. It also pans really quickly and there’s only 3 shades available. The medium one is the shade that I bought and it’s too orange for me.

    Worth it? Not for me.

    NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer – Beautiful tinted moisturizer!

    Worth it? Yes.

    Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Longwear Foundation Stick SPF21 – I really like this foundation stick.

    Worth it? Yes.

    Laneige Water Bank Serum – I originally loved this, but after using it for a month or so, my skin started having a reaction. This is also very scented. Ended up giving this to my sister as well.

    Worth it? Not for me.

    Make Up For Ever Step 1 Equalizer Primer (Redness Correcting) – I love the Smoothing primer from Make Up For Ever, but this redness correcting one didn’t do a lot. If you want to colour correct, use a colour correcting concealer.

    Worth it? No.

    Lancôme Skin Feels Good Skin Nourishing Foundation SPF23 (read my review) – The shade range of this foundation is crap, but it’s a beautiful foundation/tinted moisturizer. I would definitely repurchase if they came out with more shades because the one I had wasn’t quite right and the shades above are too dark.

    Worth it? Yes.

    Sephora PRO Featherweight Powder Brush – According to the reviews on Sephora, this is called the ‘bunny punch’ because it’s so soft and fluffy. I really like this brush. Although it’s a little top heavy, it’s nice for setting.

    Worth it? Yes.

    As you can see, most of the purchases WERE worth it. Unfortunately some of them didn’t work out for me.

    What expensive makeup and skincare products have you purchased?

    Love,

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  • Eye Creams I’ve Tried

    May 10, 2019

    Hi Everyone!

    Today, I’m going to be talking about eye creams I’ve tried. I never realized that I’ve tried quite a few and there’s actually only one that I love that made my under eyes feel smooth and didn’t give me milia. Several of the eye creams were just okay for me. I need one that hydrates because I have dry under eyes, but I also want one that helps with dark circles. Usually eye creams are hydrating OR for dark circles. So, maybe I have to find one to use for the day and one for night. I’m still on the hunt for one. While I do have a fave on this list, it’s the most expensive eye cream out of all of them, but you don’t get a lot for the cost.

    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. Keep reading to find out which one is my fave!

    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.

    Tula Multi-Spectrum Eye Renewal Serum (read my review)

    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, 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.

    Clinique Even Better Eyes Dark Circle Corrector

    I love the metal applicator on this and this is my favourite eye cream I’ve tried so far! It kept my under eyes smooth and hydrated. It also helped with darkness around my eyes for a while, but I stopped seeing results after a while. Maybe it did everything it could or my skin got used to it and stopped working for my dark circles. It still kept my under eyes nice and hydrated though. This is the most expensive eye cream I’ve tried (if you work out cost per mL). I like that it comes in a tube and not a pot which keeps it hygienic.

    Reaction? No reaction.

    Here are some eye creams that I want to try:

    • IT Cosmetics Confidence in an Eye Cream
    • IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Eye Cream
    • Tarte Maracuja C-Brighter Eye Treatment
    • Drunk Elephant C-Tango Multivitamin Eye Cream
    • Drunk Elephant Shaba Complex Eye Serum

    What’s your fave eye cream?

    Love,

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