Happy Thursday everyone!
My apologies for the lack of posting here for the past week. I helped out at the Australian Consulate here in NYC for a few days for the Australian Election. I'm back though and what better way to be back and with a classic segment from my YouTube channel: Thrifty Thursday!
If you've been subscribed to my channel for a while, you'll remember a segment I used to do almost weekly where I showed some of the best beauty buys under $10. I'm thinking about rebooting the series, but maybe changing the requirements a little and probably not doing it weekly, but sporadically as I find things from the drugstore, indie brands, or elsewhere I think is a good buy for the quality of product. Let me know your thoughts :)
For today though, we're talking all things eye cream, more specifically, the CeraVe Eye Repair Cream.
I picked this eye cream up at CVS a few weeks ago after I had a few questions on my channel for a more wallet friendly eye cream that still had some good ingredients. See a photo below of the ingredients on the box:
Listed here as well for those of you like myself who need to be able to copy and paste to google random things:
Purified Water, Niacinamide, Cetyl Alcohol, Capric Triglyceride, Caprylic, Glycerin, Propanediol, Isononyl Isononanoate, Jojoba Esters, PEG-20 Methyl Glucose Sesquistearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Methyl Glucose Sesquistearate, Ceramide 3, Ceramide 6-II, Ceramide 1, Hyaluronic Acid, Zinc Citrate, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil (Almond), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Crysanthellum Indicum Extract, Tocopherol, Equisetum Arvense Extract, Asparagopsis Armata Extract, Ascophyllum Nodosum Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Carbomer, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Sorbitol, Triethanolamine, Laureth-4, Butylene Glycol, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Tetrasodium EDTA, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Sodium Hydroxide, Phytosphingosine, Cholesterol, Xanthan Gum
I like this eye cream. I don't think it's the end-all-be-all eye cream, but it's good...and not even "good for $14," but actually good. I've tried it for a few weeks on and off, but I did use it solely by itself morning and night for a full week. I didn't notice any benefit in terms of dark circles (one of the claims of this product -- I subscribe to the school of thought that eye cream won't really help with dark circles though), but I did notice my undereye area was plumped up and smoothed over for a few hours after use. In the AM after using in the evening, I'd notice my undereye wasn't dry looking, but it could definitely benefit from a little eye cream (tiny fine lines looked more apparent).
Looking at the ingredient list, you'll notice the second ingredient is Niacinamide (Shown to increase ceramides and fatty acid levels in the skin which will help with moisture retention making the skin look smoother), followed by Cetyl Alcohol, Capric Triglyceride, Caprylic, and Glycerin, all of which are there for moisture. With this many heavy ingredients in the eye cream, I actually expected this to feel a bit greasy, however, it's almost whipped, but still provides good hydration. If I had to rate the hydrating level from 1-10, 1 being absolutely useless and 10 being uber greasy, I'd rate this somewhere around a 6 or a 7. Below is a photo showing the consistency of it next to some of the other eye products in my current arsenal:
Kate Somerville Cytocell is the closest in texture, but I find the CeraVe more hydrating. Kate Somerville Line Release is thinner and more slippy (higher silicone content). M-61 Hydraboost is creamier and feels more hydrating. Dr Gross Ferulic and Retinol Eye Serum is thinner and less hydrating. Caudalie Premier Cru is creamier and almost a touch more "oily" feeling. Drunk Elephant's Shaba Complex Eye Serum is thinner and faster absorbing.
Overall, I'll happily use this eye cream up, but I don't think I'll need to repurchase (I've always got way too many eye cream open). I'd definitely recommend trying it out if you're looking to save a little on your skincare somewhere (Unfortunately my favorite way to use this is over the Drunk Elephant Eye Serum which is $85, so, I'm not really saving, am I?). If your eye area is actually quite sensitive or reactive, I'd say you might like this as it's fragrance free and isn't overly active in terms of things like acids or retinol. For the makeup wearers out there, this sits beautifully under concealer and I don't find I get additional creasing or a dry looking undereye throughout the day. I don't wear mascara or liner on my bottom lashes, so, I can't help there -- sorry!
CeraVe Eye Repair Cream is roughly $10-$14 and can be found at the links below:
Ulta.com (Currently BOGO 50% -- $13.99)
Drugstore.com (Currently 15% off -- $11.89)
Target.com ($10.79)
Helpful hint with this eye cream -- don't leave it on the arm of the couch while you make a cup of coffee. The Jeffrey in your life might steal it and decide to chew on it a bit:
I'll forgive him because today is his 1st birthday :) Happy Birthday Jeffrey!
What's your favorite eye cream? Leave me a comment and let me know!
Josh