Eye Do! (Clinique All About Eyes)

Member Name: cyberem78

Product:	Clinique All About Eyes
Date:	25/08/09 (186 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Illuminates skin around eyes, cools skin.

Disadvantages: Horrible fragrance.

I have suffered from dark circles and eye puffiness since I was a teenager. Whilst the dark circles are permanant the delicate skin in this area often becomes reddish brown and inflamed too. This can occur, along with the swelling of the flesh around the eyes, if I'm tired, in the pollen-heavy air of the summertime, as a reaction to the chemical-laden environment or simply because I wear contact lenses and my eyes become irritated by the foreign body! As a solution to this problem I have been using eye creams for a few years now in an attempt to cool and refresh eyes and to disguise the brown-red colourings too. I tend to stick to budget products and high street brands like Simple but I got this Clinique 'All About Eyes Rich' as part of a promotional bundle in my local department store and have been using it for several months.

The product costs around £22 for a 15ml pot and and I bought it along with a few other Clinique products as part of a deal. Clinique is a high quality brand and all of their products are quite pricey. If you want to try this I'd suggest looking for similar 'buy two for one' or 'free gift' offers to get the best price available.

I have a 7mls sized pot of corn-coloured cream packaged in a transparent pink pot. There is very limited information on the actual pot and what there is is printed in languages other than English. However, more detailed information about the cream can be found at the Clinique website. There are two different products listed in the range - the regular 'All About Eyes' and the 'Rich' formula, which I have. The difference in the products is that the 'Rich' forumula is especially for very dry or dry skin types whereas the regular formula suits all skin types.

The brand claim this cream helps "diminish...undereye circles, shadows, puffs and fine lines...". It contains "calming botanicals" to help soothe skin and also forms a barrier against chemical irritants. This product comes with two stamps of approval too: it has won a badge of merit for its performance at the SHE magazine beauty awards 2008 and also in the Bridal Awards 2008.

The cream itself has a sharp, chemical fragrance that I actually don't like at all. It is like a household cleaner smell or even as bad as fly killer spray - much too bitter and not at all feminine. I definately feel that the brand could improve on the fragrance.

The texture of the cream is thick and waxy - you have to really push your finger into the cream to get any to come out. It helps to have warm fingers in order to melt the cream a bit. It is easy to apply and once on warm skin seems to sink in very quickly. It reminds me a little of marscapone cheese, very creamy and soft. I apply the cream around the contours of the eye socket and over the edges of my crows feet wrinkles at the corner of my eyes. It is extremely moisturising and makes dry skin soft and springy.

The effect of the cream is very helpful and stunning. Firstly, the cream seems to lighten the area, reducing the appearance of dark circles. It seems to illuminate the skin without there being any obvious gaudy sparkles in the cream's make-up. Second, the cream has a cooling effect and instantly refreshes tired eyes and dampens down any swelling or puffiness. This makes it an excellent cream to use in the mornings when you might be a bit weary! The cream makes a good base for make-up and I am able to apply concealers and high-lighters over it without any problems.

I can not say with any certainty that this eye cream reduces wrinkles. I have not noticed that my fine lines look any less pronounced or that I have stopped ageing! I do however, rely on this cream to give me an instant fix and therefore feel it's price it (just about) justified. £22 is a lot of money for a product this size (15mls) but it lasts a long time and it is the best eye cream I've ever used.

Check out:

http://www.clinique.co.uk

for the full range of prooducts, suppliers or to buy online.

Summary: An effective if costly eye cream by Clinique.