Review: The Face Shop Smim Fermentation Concentrate Eye Cream

Samples I bought back in March 2013

This was an unexpected find. I've never tried much of The Face Shop's products. The only one that sticks out in my mind is The Face Shop Raspberry Lines & Lift Collagen Eye Patch which works wonders for the fine lines under my eyes. But the effects are only sustained if I use it almost everyday, which is impossible logistically (I have to put it up really close to my eye and leave it there for 30-45 minutes) and economically (these patches are $3 each?).

I say this was an unexpected find because when I was ordering online I could add one more sample and yet have the same shipping cost, so I just decided to randomly choose an eye cream sample and ended up with this one. And it ended up being my best eye cream for fine lines so far!

Description (from thefaceshop.net.my):

• A naturally-fermented complex that is deeply absorbed by the skin. 
• An anti-aging eye cream rich in nutrients and nourishes and restores eye area with cooling effects 
• Anti-wrinkle and lifting effects for the eye area 
• Includes platinum tip applicator for instant cooling and easing of swelling and under eye dark circle
• Contains Shea Butter, Lecithin - Anti wrinkle effects and increase skin resilience
• Every morning and evening, squeeze a small amount and lightly dab from inward to outward direction. Use the platinum tip applicator to massage gently in a circular motion with slight pressure for full absorption.

My impression:

[Update July 3 2013]: Problem solved! For those who have read my previous update, when I first bought these samples, they were all in Korean and when I went back to the website where I bought it, it only had the FACE cream samples on sale and not the eye cream. So I was worried I had mistakenly bought the FACE cream instead of the eye cream. But it turns out I was just paranoid. The samples I had bought were for the eye cream after all :D

**Please read** [Update June 24 2013]: When I bought this from roseroseshop.com, it was under the category eye cream, but a few weeks ago when I tried to find it again, I found this under the normal fermentation face cream. Therefore there is a possibility that I actually used the face cream instead of the eye cream. I don't understand Korean so I have no idea what the sample says but I have since bought the actual eye cream product and will be using it soon to try it out. So in summary, this post may end up being a review about the Smim Fermentation Concentrate (face) Cream once I figure everything out. Sorry about that!

Full sized version I bought June 2013

The back of the sample compared to the back of the full sized version. 

I can't read Korean but I can match characters and they are all the same. And the full sized version actually has English and it says EYE cream. So that means the sample that I tried WAS the eye cream. Phew! Sorry for the confusion everyone! Okay back to the review :D

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. Etude House Collagen Moistfull Collagen Eye Cream, despite reading bad reviews in many blogs, actually gave me the most results in diminishing the appearance of my fine lines than any of the eye creams I listed above. I was about to buy it but I thought I should wait until I finished trying this one. And I'm glad I did!

I put this cream on morning and night and put on Skinfood Salmon Brightening Eye Cream after for my dark circles. I'm gonna go down each description point because I think this eye cream does do much of what it promises.

Deeply absorbed by skin: Yes. During application, I already noticed that it was very easily absorbed on my eye. I didn't feel like I was just spreading eye cream on my skin. I felt as I was spreading it part of, it already got between my fine lines or got absorbed. Easily absorbed, no problem putting it in the morning when you're in a hurry.

Nourishes and restores eye area with cooling effects: Yes. Exceptional cooling effects. My eyes are pretty puffy but this eye cream has minimized the puffiness a lot. I think that has also indirectly minimized the appearance of my fine lines. Nourishing: Yes. Eyes definitely don't look dry like they did a few eye cream samples ago.

Anti-wrinkle and lifting effects: Yes! Well, the lifting comes indirectly from all the effects combined. But yes to anti-wrinkle because I have noticed a dramatic decrease in the appearance of my fine lines. More than any other cream I've tried so far (see list above). Part of it I believe is due to depuffing but still, it's basically as effective as The Face Shop Raspberry Lines & Lift Collagen Eye Patch in diminishing the appearance of fine lines.

Platinum tip applicator: N/A because I bought the sample.

Increases skin resilience: No. I don't think it firmed my under eyes or more elastic.

I should mention although I get great results, sometimes it's inconsistent. I don't know if it has to do with the way I put the cream on or how much I put it on. But every week there's maybe 1-2 days where the effects are not as pronounced as what I usually get (so less depuffing and less disappearance of fine lines).

All in all, I'm pretty impressed with this eye cream. The fact that each sample has enough eye cream to last me 1.5 weeks when applied twice a day is a bonus. I have two other "higher end" eye creams to try but for now I'm thinking that I will buy the full version for sure.

Summary:

Decreased the appearance of fine lines under my eyes dramatically--more than any other eye cream so far
Depuffs just as effectively
Doesn't firm my under eye area or make it more elastic
$35 for 30g on eBay

Grade: 4.5/5 because it decreased the appearance of my fine lines more than any other eye cream but didn't help with the resilience/firm my under eye area

Value: 4.5/5 because it's a bit more expensive than most Korean eye creams but it is also more effective

Repurchase? Yes!