Eye Cream Chat and Review- Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment With Avocado

When I was younger, I always considered eye-creams the cornerstone of skincare. As I got older, I realised that, in reality, they're less important than I thought. 

A good chemical exfoliation, followed by a great serum will go a lot further than an eye-cream to enhance the condition of your skin. I know some very clever people who are content to just bring their moisturisers and serums up towards their eyes and be done with it. Plus, the best eye creams are crazy expensive and full of anti-aging ingredients, which is not that necessary at my age. 

However, I am a girl who likes an eye cream, for 3 reasons

1. I'm a contact lense wearer- so try as I might, I do pull and tug a tiny bit at my eyes from time to time, which means I want to strengthen the skin as much as I can.

2. In my performing days, I used to grab a makeup removal wipe, and scrub my eyes to get all my makeup and false eyelashes off. I still shudder at the memory. So now I feel like I'm just doing eye-pennance.

3. The skin around my eyes is a bit sensitive- so I can't use my general moisturisers on it.

With all this in mind.... presenting- Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado

In a nutshell

Pros: Gentle, great for sensitive skin, very hydrating. 

Cons: Not many active ingredients- purely a hydrator

Price:  $41 for 14mL

Purpose: Eye cream- apply on the eyes every evening 

Packaging: Little white pot, compact and transportable. 

Re- Purchase? Yes. A good price for an eye cream, and perfect for my purposes. 

Firstly, this is not a product that claims too much. It promises to hydrate and protect, and that it does. From my perspective, that's terrific. Plus, hydrated skin is less likely to get fine lines in the first place.

The hydration comes from avocado oil and shea butter, terrific natural moisturisers. 

If, like me, you're looking for a not-so-expensive, sensitive/gentle eyecream, that helps to hydrate and strengthen the skin around my eyes- this is for you. I found that my eye area wasn't so dry and fragile looking, and felt very healthy and a bit more resilient. 

If you want something with more heavy lifting- to reduce the appearance of lines or remove dark circles, this isn't going to work for you. It's more of a preventative cream than a treatment, so great for the 20 something age group.

The colour is very reminiscent of a ripe avocado, a lovely yellow-ish green. The product has no scent, and comes in an easy to use pot. I've been using my pot since February, and still have a little bit left, which is pretty good value for money! At $41 I think it stacks up well compared to other eye creams- as they do tend to be a big ticket item.

The best part of this product for me, is the fact that it doesn't migrate into eyes. This is something they play up in all advertising of this product, and I can tell you that in my experience, they're absolutely right. I didn't have any migration, irritation or teary moments from stray moisturiser which was a great feature of the product. 

It is a slightly thicker eye cream, which I think is associated with its ability to stay put. I put a bit on my index finger, and, using gentle pressure, slowly massage up and out, along the occipital bone. 

I've seen some practitioners using the middle finger, and gently dabbing, but I like to get a bit of massage going, to encourage blood-flow and discourage dark circles. 

As you can see from my very artistic drawing, I always move up and out, never down, to encourage the skin against the pull of gravity. I'm very light, only ever with one finger, and never dragging or pulling. 

All in all, if you, like me, would like a bit of extra hydration and love for your eye-area, I can thoroughly recommend the Kiehl's Creamy Eye treatment- I love a product that does exactly what it promises, and this is exactly that!

What's in my basket? Springtime Skincare Favourites

Happy Monday! Hopefully someone is out enjoying the sunshine, even if I'm not. You might remember way-way back when, I posted my solution to organised skincare- a basket. 

The other day while I was reorganising things/playing a game of 'product tetris' I decided to lay everything out, and elaborate a bit more on what is currently in my skincare basket. 

These are things I use daily, or at least regularly enough to warrant promotion out of the cabinet to the basket.  I like to think each serves a different (and justifiable) purpose to warrant their spot in the basket, which I'll detail down below. I'll link where I've done reviews- but doing this has reminded me I need to do a lot more! (REN serums and acid exfoliants to come soon!) 

Just realised- my headbands made the first photo (top left) they're for....uh... keeping the hair off your face. Extremely high-tech. 

First little group is things for getting my face nice and clean. I've got....

The Gentle, Softening One- The Body Shop- Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter 

The Scrubby One- Lush- Angels on Bare Skin Facial Cleanser 

Hardcore Acid Exfoliant (once weekly at most)- Dr Dennis Gross- Alpha Beta Daily Face Peel

More Gentle Acids (twice weekly)- Go To Skincare- Exfoliating Swipeys

Heavy Eye Makeup/Lipstick Remover- Bioderma 

(I've also got a big pump-pack of Sukin Sensitive Cleanser which is my all purpose cleanser)

On to the serums. I possibly have a few too many of these, but they all do something a bit different! Plus, as the most active, concentrated element of my routine, I figure they're worth splurging on. 

The Super Luxe Serum- REN Rose Synergy O12 Restoring Facial Serum

Economical Night Serum- Sukin Purely Ageless Intensive Firming Serum 

Anti-Aging Serum- Olay Regenerist Night Resurfacing Elixir

Splurge-ish Daily Serum- REN Radiance Perfecting Serum

Economical Daily Serum-  Rosehip Plus Rosehip Oil- this is the one I meant to take to Port Douglas, as replacement for my A'Kin one. 

I'm still on the search for a perfect moisturiser, but here's what I'm working with at the moment

All Purpose Gentle Night Time- Swisse - Sensitive Vitamin E Face Moisturiser 

Day Time, with some SPF- Aveeno - Positively Radiant Daily Moisturiser

Anti-Aging Night Time-  First Aid Beauty- 5 in 1 Restore Cream Age Delay

General light weight moisturiser for daytime? Still searching! I've just picked up two Lush moisturiser samples, to consider (Imperialis and Celestial)

Finally, things that can't really be categorised and stand by themselves. 

Mask-  Puretopia - Purify and Renew Deep Cleansing Clay Mask

Refreshing Face Spritz- Lemongrass House-  Green Tea Toner

Eye Cream-  Kiehl's- Avocado Eye Treatment- 

And here they all are! More detailed reviews to come, but for now, that's a snapshot of the kind of things I'm loving this Spring, that warrant a prized basket-position. 

Holiday Skin Part II- Sunscreen Reviews, Lierac Solaire, La Roche-Posay, Nivea Sun and Natural Instinct

There's nothing like setting off on a trip with a bag full of sunscreen and a head full of optimism that you'll come back with the porcelain skin of a new born babe. Luckily, this trip I didn't do too badly, and, finished up with three go-to favourites, and one unfortunate thumbs-down.

A few notes to start with,  I'm only reviewing facial sunscreens at this point, I tend to think they're more important as they go on my face, neck and decollete while I just slap more generic product on arms and legs. All of the sunscreens I'm reviewing stopped me from getting burnt, so I'll focus on the other factors (feel, whiteness, packaging etc) than efficacy at being a sunscreen. 

Also, To keep things brief, I'm not going to get into the nitty-gritty on physical v chemical sunscreens, also because Zoe Foster-Blake does a terrific job here. For the record, I tend to use a mix of physical and chemical. I know physical is better and will defer to it when I'm in the sun for a long day, but I find that chemical is much more gentle and compatible with my skin. Essentially, I figure that some sunscreen is better than no sunscreen, although I try to use physical when I can. 

Let's start with the good news, my front line favourite protection. 

In no particular order...

 Lierac Solaire High Protection Fact Cream- sadly discontinued but replaced by this

La Roche-Posay Anthelios Fluid 

Nivea Sun Light Feel Daily Face Veil

Lierac Solaire

I feel a bit silly reviewing this, as it's now discontinued, but I have high hopes that they're just repackaged it, as I really like this sunscreen. 

It's a physical sunscreen, so forms a barrier between rays and your skin. These are the most effective sunscreens, although they can be a bit un-glamorous as they're essentially zinc. For that reason, I'm very careful to double-cleanse thoroughly at the end of the day to take all of the sunscreen off. 

For that reason, it's not surprising that this product is a thicker-cream type sunscreen, however it has a very nice, subtle smell and isn't too heavy, as you can see from my hand modelling. 

After a few swipes, it blends in nicely, although it does leave a bit of a sheen. As a far as physical sunscreens go, this kind of blend-ability puts it up there with the benchmark product (Invisible Zinc)

The old-school tube packaging can be a bit of a draw back as far as mess goes, but it's easy to pack and less likely to leak. Overall, I give this product a solid 8.5/10 with points lost only for the slight residue, and packaging. As I said, discontinued but can still be found here if you're quick! 

La Roche-Posay

Now this is a sunscreen that you barely feel. It's not a physical sunscreen, so no zinc, but as far as chemical sunscreens go, it's absolutely top notch. 

It says a lot that this is my second bottle of this, in as many years. There's nothing I'd rather put on my face, and I've tried a lot of different sunscreens. 

The big selling point to me is the consistency, it's a milk! It's so gentle, watch it run down my hand! I love the feeling of this sunscreen on my skin, and I will always always return to it if a physical sunscreen has made my skin a bit cranky. 

I didn't try very had to blend this, or there'd be a photo of just my hand. Believe me, it blends very easily, to an almost powder-dry finish. This is what it looks like after just one hand swipe. You can see that the centre of the swipe, where my finger probably applied the most pressure, has already become transparent. 

If you're looking for a sunscreen that you can't feel at all- this is your best bet. 

Finally, love the packaging. It's easy to shake, the little nozzle means you don't spurt out too much, and it's small and easy to pack. 9.5/10 only because it's a chemical sunscreen not a physical one. But seriously, I love this sunscreen. It's $28 for 50ml and in my humble opinion, worth every penny. 

Nivea Sun 

Over the past five years, I've bought at least three of these little bottles, to throw in my bag for a last minute quickie sunscreen. Again it's a chemical, not a physical sunscreen, but I still have a lot of time for my old friend Nivea. 

Firstly, the consistency, light feel is the correct way to describe it plus it's a terrific consistency for a lower-priced sunscreen.  (Retails for about $13 for 50ml- although I often see it reduced to $10)  

It does have a slight scent, although I now love the scent as I associate it with being on holiday, quite a clean Nivea-typical smell. It goes on and almost instantly becomes clear- as you can see below. This is a great sunscreen for people who hate 'ghosting' or any kind of white residue. My only quibble is that it can be a little oily/greasy on the skin as it sinks in. I tend to be left with a small film, compared to the completely dry finish I get from La-Roche Posay

Packaging for this product is terrific, a small container with a blue screw off lid. Super unlikely to leak, not going to get messy means I'll happily toss these in my purse. While the slight film means I'm unlikely to use it as a first choice for face, it's a great economical go-to sunscreen, and one I tend to use all over my chest and neck, 8/10. 

Switching pace for a minute, it's time for my sunscreen disappointment

Natural Instinct Micro Mineral Sunscreen

I really wanted to like this one, it's got aloe vera and vitamin E, and is a natural product, and a great price.  (RRP $15.95) Plus I'm trying to apply mineral sunscreens when I can, as deep down I know they're better. But unfortunately from the first application, this didn't really work for me. As you can see, it's a think white paste. 

....Which is a hellava lot of work to rub in. I managed to smear some over my face, but when it came to neck/chest area, I was seriously struggling. This is a heavy duty zinc, as you can see on my hand below. It's quite sticky and difficult to disperse into the skin. 

If you're very concerned about ingredients, Natural Instinct might be the sunscreen for you. I have no doubt that it protects well, but I just couldn't get over the thick, sticky consistency, 4/10 from me.

That's all for my sunscreen instalment, feel free to comment if you've found a good one, as I'm always on the hunt for the sunscreen holy grail- particularly as we head into summer. Until then, here's Jim Gaffigan.