Today, I’m reviewing my beauty expenses for 2023 and 2024. It’s already mid-November, I didn’t buy anything from the recent Sephora sale. I don’t think I plan to buy anything beauty-related for the rest of the year. If I do, I’ll update the graphs and table.
The Laura Mercier concealer was a repurchase. It’s great for covering up blemishes. I didn’t care for the Peace Out Acne Healing Dots. I prefer the Rael patches (see my pimple patch comparison post). The Kiehl’s cleanser is a nice cleanser, but I don’t know if it does anything special. I just got it to top up my order for free shipping.
2024 Top 3 Most Expensive Purchases
Dear, Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream – $37
Takuminowaza Japan High Class Stainless Steel Nail Clippers G-1114 – $27
Isntree Onion Newpair Sunscreen – $23
I haven’t tried the Dear, Klairs cream or the Isntree sunscreen. I know I really like the Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Watery Sun Gel, so I thought I’d try the Onion Newpair sunscreen. I’m still using the Hyaluronic Acid one. The Takuminowaza nail clippers are nice. I heard about them from my sister who mentioned that they’re in a reddit thread called BuyItForLife (For practical, durable and quality made products that are made to last). I decided to try them and they’re so much quieter than the other ones I have because they’re sharper. They’re big and you barely need any pressure to squeeze the clippers to trim your nails.
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.
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
26.99
14mL
1.93
Lkins Skincare Vitamin C Eye Gel
22.99 USD ~ 30 CAD
15mL
2
Saturday Skin Wide Awake Brightening Eye Cream
25 USD ~ 32 CAD
15mL
2.13
Saturday Skin Wide Awake Brightening Eye Cream
46 USD ~ 60 CAD
30mL
2
Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado
70
28g ~ 28mL
2.5
mini Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado
44
14g ~ 14mL
3.14
Origins Ginzing Refreshing Eye Cream to Depuff and Brighten
44
15mL
2.93
mini Origins Ginzing Refreshing Eye Cream to Depuff and Brighten
36
10mL
3.6
belif Moisturizing Eye Bomb
60
25mL
2.4
Cerave Eye Repair Cream
27.99
14.2 g ~ 14.2mL
1.97
Clinique Even Better Eyes Dark Circle Corrector
59
8.5mL
6.94
Goldfaden MD Bright Eyes Dark Circle Radiance Concentrate
55 USD ~ 71 CAD
15mL
4.73
Good Molecules Yerba Mate Wakeup Eye Gel
8
15mL
0.53
Volition Helix AM/PM Eye Gel
70
15mL
4.67
Tarte Maracuja C-Brighter Eye treatment
51
10mL
5.1
Youth to the People Dream Eye Cream
62
15mL
4.13
Tula Instant De-Puff Eye Renewal Serum
76
15mL
5.07
Pixi Botanical Collagen Eye Serum
34
25mL
1.36
Dear, Klairs Fundamental Nourishing Eye Butter
31
20g ~ 20mL
1.55
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.
Today, I’m sharing a K-beauty haul! I made an order from thekshop.ca…even though I have a lot of skincare to try already. Here’s what I ended up ordering:
Beauty of Joseon Green Plum Refreshing Cleanser | $18.99
Nacific Holiday-Edition Special Bundle (Cica) – NACIFIC X Stray Kids | $99
Fresh Cica Plus Clear Toner | $23.99
Fresh Cica Plus Clear Serum | $24.99
Fresh Cica Plus Clear Cream | $25.99
Vitamin C Newpair Cream (Spot Treatment) | $16.99
2 x Fresh Herb Origin Clear Spot Patches (18 per pack) | $5.99 x 2 = $11.98
8 Stray Kids Christmas Photocards
8 Stray Kids The Comeback of Hologram Photocards
Klairs Fundamental Nourishing Eye Butter | $31.99
samples: 3 x Iunik Black Snail Restore Serum
All the products in the Holiday bundle add up to $103.94 if you buy them separately. They also threw in the Nacific Salicylic Acid Clarifying Mask Pack ($3.99) which was a nice little bonus. They packaged the products individually, instead of sending them in the holiday box as pictured on their website. I was fine with this because it would be silly to pack a box in another box. Especially when each product also comes in boxes. The photocards come in plastic sleeves to protect them. One thing I was worried about though was that they put an elastic around the cards to secure them. It creased the edges of the plastic sleeves a bit, but the photocards were fine. I think it would’ve been better to package the cards into a larger sleeve/bag to keep them together. You don’t want the photocards to get damaged, especially if you’re buying the skincare set just for the 16 photocards.
I haven’t tried any of the products yet, but I look forward to trying all of them. I wanted to try Cica because I’ve read that it’s good for redness and irritation. My face has gotten clearer lately, but I still have redness around my nose.
Other skincare products I want to try in the future:
Beauty of Joseon Serums
Beauty of Joseon Radiance Cleansing Balm
Dear, Klairs – Midnight Blue Calming Cream
KraveBeauty Great Barrier Relief
KraveBeauty Kale-Lalu-yAHA
KraveBeauty Oat So Simple Water Cream
I also wanted to get a lip product, but they didn’t have any of the shades in stock: