Liz Earle is well known for her approach to clean, unfussy skincare so when I was on the hunt for a new eye cream, I decided to give them a whirl.
As I am nearing the end of my 20s, I am becoming much more aware of some small fine lines that are starting to appear and ideally, I would prefer that these didn’t get any bigger, although to halt my impending forehead wrinkle I will need to stop frowning as much! After a browse on the website, I decided to try out the Round the Clock Eyecare Kit which consists of a Daily Eye Repair and a Smoothing Line Serum. They are designed to be used in conjunction with one another and to help keep the fragile skin around the eyes smooth, supple and bright and are suitable for all skin types.
If you are familiar with Liz Earle skincare, you will know that the essence of the brand is to use naturally active botanical ingredients which are kind to your skin. As a result, many of her products have a distinctly ‘herbal’ scent, which although not overly unpleasant, can be something of an acquired taste!
As I am nearing the end of my 20s, I am becoming much more aware of some small fine lines that are starting to appear and ideally, I would prefer that these didn’t get any bigger, although to halt my impending forehead wrinkle I will need to stop frowning as much! After a browse on the website, I decided to try out the Round the Clock Eyecare Kit which consists of a Daily Eye Repair and a Smoothing Line Serum. They are designed to be used in conjunction with one another and to help keep the fragile skin around the eyes smooth, supple and bright and are suitable for all skin types.
If you are familiar with Liz Earle skincare, you will know that the essence of the brand is to use naturally active botanical ingredients which are kind to your skin. As a result, many of her products have a distinctly ‘herbal’ scent, which although not overly unpleasant, can be something of an acquired taste!
To start with, I will talk about the Daily Eye Repair. I have been using this only in the morning as I prefer to use the serum in the evening and I don’t like to overload my eye area with products as I find it can end up quite dark and congested if I overdo it with rich creams.
The eye repair comes in a small tube with a very small pipette for targeted dispensing of the cream. It is very easy to control the amount dispensed, although I do prefer jars of eye cream. I realise that tubes are more sanitary, it is just a personal preference. The exterior packaging is in line with other products from the Liz Earle Brand and is very simplistic but functional. The cream itself is of medium consistency, perhaps leaning a little to the runny side and you only need a couple of small squeezes to dispense enough product for both eyes. There is no discernable scent to the product which is good, as I prefer not to use highly scented products close to my eyes.
The eye repair comes in a small tube with a very small pipette for targeted dispensing of the cream. It is very easy to control the amount dispensed, although I do prefer jars of eye cream. I realise that tubes are more sanitary, it is just a personal preference. The exterior packaging is in line with other products from the Liz Earle Brand and is very simplistic but functional. The cream itself is of medium consistency, perhaps leaning a little to the runny side and you only need a couple of small squeezes to dispense enough product for both eyes. There is no discernable scent to the product which is good, as I prefer not to use highly scented products close to my eyes.
The cream is said to contain light-reflective particles to brighten dark under-eye shadows, and also includes SPF10 mineral sunscreen to help protect from UV light. The main benefit of this product is to reduce the appearance of fine lines, and nowhere in the product description does it mention that it moisturises the eye area. Usually with an eye cream, I tend to look for moistursing formulas as using eye make up remover frequently can dry some of the delicate skin around your eye area.
In terms of brightening under–eye shadows, I cannot really say that this has made a difference, mainly as I usually use YSL’s Touche Eclat each day to brighten my under eye area and I find it does an excellent job. After applying this cream, even without makeup, I confess I haven’t really seen a discernable difference. The addition of SPF10 is a nice touch for everyday wear, but not really enough for summer when you wuold need a separate SPF. I would say my one disappointment with this product is that it wasn’t overly moisturising. Whether that was because I needed to use more or apply it more than once a day I am not sure, but it really didn’t seem to do much to the skin around my eye at all and often just seemed to sit on the surface of my skin, taking quite some time to sink in.
In terms of brightening under–eye shadows, I cannot really say that this has made a difference, mainly as I usually use YSL’s Touche Eclat each day to brighten my under eye area and I find it does an excellent job. After applying this cream, even without makeup, I confess I haven’t really seen a discernable difference. The addition of SPF10 is a nice touch for everyday wear, but not really enough for summer when you wuold need a separate SPF. I would say my one disappointment with this product is that it wasn’t overly moisturising. Whether that was because I needed to use more or apply it more than once a day I am not sure, but it really didn’t seem to do much to the skin around my eye at all and often just seemed to sit on the surface of my skin, taking quite some time to sink in.
I used the Smoothing Line Serum in conjunction with the Daily Eye Repair and used it only in the evening, after cleansing and moisturising, just before bed. It comes in a small container with a pump dispenser, which again made it very easy to control the amount of product required and again, there was no scent. The serum was a clear, gel-like substance which I have to confess I wasn’t expecting. For some reason I thought it would be more like a cream, but not being a big user of serums, perhaps all serums are like this? I found one and a half pumps sufficient for moisturing both eye areas.
The serum is said to help plump and firm skin around the eyes, lips, forehead and décolletage. I tended to use it only around the eye area, although if I had any product remaining, I used a little on my forehead. The full-sized product is very small at only 10ml so I couldn’t imagine it would last very long if you used it on all the specified areas! I patted and smoothed it around my eyes and it did feel quite refreshing and much more moisturising than the Daily Eye Repair. The serum conatins antioxidant grapeseed extract and soothing echinacea both of which are said to help aid smoother and softer skin.
Verdict
After using these products for a month, I feel that both of them are in the ok, but not a must buy category for me. They didn’t do anything bad, but I don’t feel that they made a significant difference to my eye area, and I much prefer Bobbi Brown’s Eye Cream for its moisturising properties. I think if you are looking for a first eye cream and are perhaps in you are in your early 20s, the Daily Eye Repair may be of use, although you can probably find similar products in other brands. I did like the serum, as I feel it was more moisturising and helped to ‘plump’ my skin, but the fact that it comes in such a small container and you are expected to use it over a wide area such as your neck, decolliage and forehead would stop me from repurchasing as I think I would get through it very fast. You also have no way of telling how much product is remaining as the container is not transparent.
3.5/5
Price - £26 for the Round the Clock Eyecare Kit, £13.75 for 10ml of the Daily Eye Repair or the Smoothing Line Serum (both products can be bought as a 5ml tube for £7.25.
Where to buy – Liz Earle, John Lewis (if you buy directly from the Liz Earle Website you can request some samples of other products you would like to try free of charge when you make your order which is a good way of trying other products that you may be interested in).
Verdict
After using these products for a month, I feel that both of them are in the ok, but not a must buy category for me. They didn’t do anything bad, but I don’t feel that they made a significant difference to my eye area, and I much prefer Bobbi Brown’s Eye Cream for its moisturising properties. I think if you are looking for a first eye cream and are perhaps in you are in your early 20s, the Daily Eye Repair may be of use, although you can probably find similar products in other brands. I did like the serum, as I feel it was more moisturising and helped to ‘plump’ my skin, but the fact that it comes in such a small container and you are expected to use it over a wide area such as your neck, decolliage and forehead would stop me from repurchasing as I think I would get through it very fast. You also have no way of telling how much product is remaining as the container is not transparent.
3.5/5
Price - £26 for the Round the Clock Eyecare Kit, £13.75 for 10ml of the Daily Eye Repair or the Smoothing Line Serum (both products can be bought as a 5ml tube for £7.25.
Where to buy – Liz Earle, John Lewis (if you buy directly from the Liz Earle Website you can request some samples of other products you would like to try free of charge when you make your order which is a good way of trying other products that you may be interested in).
great review! I'm actually using the eye cream right now, I got it as a sample when I bought my cleanse and polish set so i'm giving it a trial run now! So far I like it but haven't used it long enough to really know! The line reducing serum sounds pretty good but seems a bit expensive for 10 ml especially if your meant to use it on larger areas! Maybe i'll get this as a sample when I make my next lis earle purchase! xx
ReplyDeleteGreat review huni :) been looking for some eye creams myself Xx
ReplyDeleteBlog-a-beaute - Good to hear someone else is using it and it seems to be working well for you. I would certainly recommend the serum as a sample with your next purchase if you can.
ReplyDeleteClaire Louise - I'm still searching for my HG eye cream although I do very much like my Bobbi Brown one.
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