Review: Etude House Collagen Moistfull Firming Eye Cream

I wonder how much money I've spent on eye cream samples so far. Probably enough to buy a jar of nice Shiseido eye cream! Nothing seems to work very well except for Skinfood Salmon Brightening Eye Cream, which I bought a full jar of because there were no samples. Yes, this is my attitude these days when I try new eye creams these days. I actually never thought I'd try this eye cream but I've read reviews and they haven't been that great. But I saw it on eBay for $2 including shipping so I thought, well, why not? Fortunately, this time I was pleasantly surprised.

Description (from prettyandcute.com):

• Specially formulated adhesive jelly texture, provides long-lasting contact for better results. 
• Firms surrounding eye area for smoother younger looking skin. 
• Collagen properties increase collagen synthesis, plumping the skin and allowing an increase in elasticity. 
• Baobab seed oil contains abundant amount of nutrients to nurture the dry skin area around the eyes.
• After Essence, apply an appropriate amount to surrounding eye area. Tap lightly to help absorption.

My impression:

My under eyes are very dry and I've got quite a bit of fine lines. I've been trying out anti-wrinkle creams for the past 3-4 months now, starting with Skinfood Royal Honey Eye Cream which did nothing, Laniege Water Bank Eye Gel which did nothing and cost a lot, Skinfood Gold Caviar Collagen Eye Cream which has given me the best results back in summer but didn't do much this time around when I tried to use it again during winter, Skinfood Platinum Grape Cell Eye Cream which was second best, Skinfood Black Raspberry Eye Cream which had a smell that put me off, and IOPE V-Fit Lift Eye Cream which I had high hopes for but wasn't moisturizing enough. My most recent one was Skinfood Gold Caviar Lifting Eye Serum, which didn't do any lifting and gave me dried up muck between my eyelashes :(

I've been using this day and night with light application in the day and more during the night. I use this eye cream first before using Skinfood Salmon Brightening Eye Cream for my dark circles. Etude House has got to be the cheapest brand out there when it comes to samples. Usually 3 Skinfood eye cream samples will last me 3 weeks. 3 samples of this eye cream lasted me 1.5 weeks. I bought samples of the Etude House Silk Scarf Shampoo and Conditioner too and one sample was not enough to spread through my shoulder length hair.

I was all ready to bash on this eye cream (with the bad reviews and lack of substance in each sample) but it wasn't as bad as I thought. My under eyes feel smoother and more importantly, it decreased the appearance of my fine lines more than any eye cream I've tried so far. I would say around 70-75% of the effect of The Face Shop Raspberry Lines & Lift Collagen Eye Patch for my fine lines. Perhaps this is the "plumping" the description talked about with the collagen? My under eyes don't feel more firm though.

Am I completely satisfied with this product to end my search for eye creams? Unfortunately, no. But I think it deserves some credit for decreasing the appearance of my fine lines the most out of all the other eye creams that I've tried in the winter.

[Edit 2013 Mar 10]: Good thing I didn't buy the full version of this product yet. Because I tried The Face Shop Smim Fermentation Concentrate Eye Cream and it's more effective for diminishing my fine lines. I would say it's equally effective as The Face Shop Raspberry Lines & Lift Collagen Eye Patch for my fine lines.

Summary:

Decreased the appearance of my fine lines more than any other eye cream
Did not firm my under eye
Moisturizing, no milia
$18 for 25g on eBay

Grade: 4/5 because it decreased the appearance of my fine lines more than any other eye cream but not as much as The Face Shop Smim Fermentation Concentrate Eye Cream and didn't firm my under eye area

Value: 4.5/5 because it's relatively inexpensive for 25g of eye cream

Repurchase? No, because The Face Shop Smim Fermentation Concentrate Eye Cream is more effective