Friday, September 21, 2012

Review: Skinfood Salmon Brightening Eye Cream


Recently I've been worried about the fine lines under my eyes but dark circles have been my biggest concern for not just my eyes but my whole face ever since... high school. So far I've tried Shiseido's White Lucent, Origins GinZing and A Perfect World with White Tea, Clinique's All About Eyes and All About Eyes Rich, Jack Black Protein Booster Eye Rescue (yes, this brand is for men; now you know how desperate I am for an eye cream) and a bunch of other things I don't even remember. Shiseido's White Lucent and both Origins products were money down the drain. Clinique's All About Eyes Rich actually did show some improvement but I wasn't completely satisfied. After reading some reviews and since I'm still on my Skinfood craze I decided to buy this.

Description (taken from eng.theskinfood.com):
  • Containing arbutin and the extracts of Omega 3-rich salmon roe produced in Hokkaido Japan, this eye cream brightens and relieves dark circles around the eyes.
  • After using the toner, apply an appropriate amount around your eyes, and tap the area lightly to help the skin absorb it.
My impression:

Its consistency is much more watery than I thought.. when I opened it I almost toppled some over. I would say it's around the same as Clinique's All About Eyes. Moisture level was also similar so it's more moisturizing as Shiseido's White Lucent. It's not moisturizing enough for me so I put this on top of Skinfood Gold Caviar Double Collagen Eye Serum.

One of the two active ingredients in this eye cream is arbutin, which helps brighten eye circles since arbutin inhibits melanin production but dark eye circles are caused by lack of blood circulation in the blood vessels under the eyes and not melanin. But I've had a noticeable improvement in my dark circles. I realized the difference in two ways: from looking at my eyes in the mirror and also from the amount/type of concealer I need to use.

Case in point: I used to use Bobbi Brown creamy concealer kit and pink concealer. I would put on two layers of concealer, first the pink one to counteract the purple, and then the beige concealer to hide the blue discoloration and brighten the skin. My dark circles needed that kind of heavy duty concealing to get things done (even then it wasn't completely covered, but to a point where it wasn't too noticeable and "natural" enough).

Before I bought this cream, I bought and tried using the Skinfood Salmon Dark Circle Concealer Cream. I needed several applications and even then, it didn't cover my dark circles as well as Bobbi Brown. As a result of the multiple applications, my whole under eye area looked lighter than the rest of my face.

But now, after used this eye cream for 2 weeks, I tried using the Skinfood Salmon Dark Circle Concealer Cream again. I only needed 1 layer and it adequately covered my dark eye circles without making my whole under eye area lighter than the rest of my face. It's also a lot easier to put on now because my under eye is smoother but I think that is more the work of Skinfood Gold Caviar Double Collagen Eye Serum than this eye cream.

Even now, without my concealer, my face looks like I just put some whitening/brightening sheet mask on just because of the fact that those dark circles aren't as dark anymore.  

My eyelids are also darker than the rest of my face, though of course not as dark as my dark under eye circles. I've also noticed a slight improvement in that area, though not as much as my under eye.

As my dark circles are pretty crazy, I understand this may be why this eye cream made such a "dramatic" difference in such a short amount of time. Since my dark circles are a lot better now, I don't think this cream will continue to work so effectively. I also don't expect this to cure my dark circles completely. This is, after all, only a cream and my dark circles are genetic as well. But I'm very impressed as I've tried many eye creams before, pricey and inexpensive, and this one is the most effective one yet.

Summary:

Most effective eye cream for my eye circles that I've tried to date
My whole face looks brighter because of lighter dark circles
Efficient results (I saw noticeable results in 2 weeks)
$22 for 30g on eBay

Grade: 5/5 not because it made my dark circles disappear completely (I don't think that's ever possible with a cream) but it is the most effective dark circle eye cream I've tried to date

Value: 5/5 because eye creams that don't do anything but moisturize cost more than $22 at Sephora

Repurchase? Definitely.

19 comments:

  1. hi babe! which skinfood eye cream do you think is the best out of the lot? :)

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    1. Hi there^^
      Hmm it depends on what effect you're looking for! To me the salmon brightening eye cream has been the best because it's helped my dark circles a lot. But if you don't have dark circles then this won't do much for you (because it is not very hydrating and doesn't do anything for fine lines).
      Hope that helps! If I misunderstood your question, ask me again! :)

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  2. Hi, I would like to ask what should I apply after cleansing my face? Toner, Moisturiser, Eye Cream, Primer and then make up? Or I should use the eye cream before the moisturiser? And may I know what moisturiser is the best? I'm using Etude House Wonder Pore Freshner toner. Thanks! :)

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    1. Hi there,
      I don't think the order of moisturizer and eye cream matter since you don't put moisturizer on your eyes and vice versa. But other than that, the order you've written sounds fine :) In terms of moiturizer..that really depends on what your skin troubles are. Whitening? Aging? Dry skin? Sun burn? Hope that helps!

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  3. Thanks a lot for this review! I myself have been looking for an effective dark circle treatment and has not found anything really. I have just got into Korean brand products, especially Skinfood,and Etude house.. There are so many out there I wasn't sure what to get, but now I will definitely give this product a try!

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  4. hi! where can i get this product? any specific outlet? :)

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    1. Hi there, hm, most outlets have them, the biggest difference is in the shipping fees, so it depends on where you live and how much you're buying in one order. I don't have a specific one that I use, it depends on if I'm buying a lot (then G Market is worth the shipping fee), or if I'm not buying a lot (then I just go with trusted eBay sellers with a good rating).

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  5. hello I live in Malaysia. Can I know the price of this product on skinfood outlet at Malaysia?

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    Replies
    1. Hello,
      I don't live in Malaysia so I have no idea about the prices there. Sorry about that!

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    2. hi, I live in Malaysia...the price for this eye cream is RM50 to RM60++ in online stores but might be a little expensive in physical store

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  6. can't wait to get my hands on this!

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  7. Thanks for ur review..i need this to treat my undereye dark circle too!!

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  8. hello. so would you recommend this or Skinfood Salmon Dark Circle Concealer Cream? what's the difference may i know?

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    Replies
    1. Hi there, the Skinfood Salmon Dark Circle Concealer Cream is just a concealer. It does not actually try to get rid of your dark eye circles. I would recommend this because this is actually a cream that tries to treat the underlying cause and get rid of your dark circles. Hope this helps!

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  9. I clicked on this review, excited the results but before I started I see that it contains arbutin, which is bummer because I am allergic to it. SIGH PIEEEEEE.

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    Replies
    1. Damn you're allergic to arbutin? That sucks. If you're looking for an eye cream for dark circles, I've found that the Sulwhasoo Essential Rejuvenating Eye Cream also works for my dark circles. I'm currently using it right now. I checked the ingredients on us.sulwhasoo.com and I didn't find arbutin but feel free to check it out. I've done a review of it here http://madaboutmyskin.blogspot.ca/2013/06/review-sulwhasoo-essential-rejuvenating.html

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