Review: Sulwhasoo Snowise Ex Whitening Eye Treatment

My second Sulwhasoo eye cream. This is from their Snowise line, which is their whitening line. Now, the whitening for eyes is a bit different than the usual whitening for the face. The whitening for the face is for tan lines, but the whitening for the eyes that I'm looking for is to "whiten" my dark circles. I'm actually trying The History of Whoo's whitening line right now, but unfortunately they don't have an eye cream from that line, so I decided to try out Sulwhasoo's instead.

If I were to summarize my eye creams until now, for my dark circles, Skinfood Salmon Brightening Eye Cream has been the most effective (doesn't remove it completely of course..for details you can read my review here).

Description (from us.sulwhasoo.com):

• A brightening eye treatment formulated with traditional Korean herbs that soothes and brightens the tired eye area. 
• Applies smoothly and gently for instant brightness, while Baikal Skullcap extract gives radiance around the eye area
• The use of cooling metal-tip applicator helps to reduce the visible signs of fatigue around the eye area, promoting micro-circulation for enhanced vitality.
• Use every morning and evening after applying Snowise EX Whitening Whitening Fluid. Release a certain amount onto your fingertips and gently spread around your eyes. Use the cooling metal-tip applicator to massage the eye area and promote circulation.

My impression:

I used the samples so I can't say anything about the metal tip. But I have the full version of The Face Shop Smim Fermentation Concentrate Eye Cream which also has a metal tip application, but I find it harder to spread around and that it just drags along the skin under my eyes more than using my fingers. I have eye bags already, don't really want to loosen the skin under my eyes any more than I have to!

I do not think that this cream applies smoothly and gently as it claims. This eye cream reminds me of Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Eye Treatment, which is discontinued now I think and changed into eye cream. It's consistency is similar to Shiseido's in that it's hard to spread under my eyes. It isn't also as quick to absorb compared to The Face Shop Smim Fermentation Concentrate Eye Cream. All of this basically means that I have to pat/rub/smooth the cream onto my under eyes for longer than usual, which is not good because it loosens the skin under my eyes.

I do agree with the instant brightness though, but that's not because of its ingredients but rather because this eye cream has some sparkles to make the under eye visibly better upon application. I would say it concealed maybe 15-20% of my dark circles? Shiseido's White Lucent Brightening Eye Treatment also had a concealing effect immediately upon application.

Unfortunately, it didn't do as great of a job in actually helping my dark circles as  Skinfood Salmon Brightening Eye Cream or  Sulwhasoo Essential Rejuvenating Eye Cream. I could tell because I've been using more Skinfood Salmon Dark Circle Concealer Cream than usual and still find that my dark circles are more visible than before. And I used this eye cream during the summer so I don't think sleep was a problem here.

I used this eye cream for almost a month (from August 6th inclusive). I used it twice a day, as the first eye cream, and layered The Face Shop Smim Fermentation Concentrate Eye Cream, which is for my fine lines, on top. I was planning on giving this a longer try but I think I've given this enough of a chance...I want my lighter dark circles back T_T

Summary:

Did not brighten my dark eye circles
Hard to spread along my under eye and hard to absorb
Has some sparkles in the cream that acts as a concealer for "instant" brightening
$70 for 15ml on Amazon US site

Grade: 2.5/5 because it did not brighten my eyes, was hard to spread on my eyes and hard to absorb

Value: 3/5 because as Sulwhasoo products ago $70 is pretty cheap for an eye cream. I guess you get what you pay for...

Repurchase? No