Being a website that talks about the importance of under eye products, namely “eye creams” we often stress the importance of using a product that treats the obvious signs of aging that surface just below the eyes.  Dark under eye circles, bags, puffiness, fine lines, enlarged pores, and wrinkles start to become more apparent in this delicate area of skin.  Without a proper anti aging product, these signs of aging can grow more present and start to invade the space under the eyes, making you look older, weathered, and unhealthy.

Since we talk about eye creams, eye serums, and other anti aging facial products on a constant basis, we’ll just re-state the obvious one more time and move on to other habits you should look at forming when starting a skin care regimen:  you need an under eye product if you are over the age of 18.  If you care about keeping your skin under the eyes, a very delicate zone of skin that tends to weather and show signs of deterioration faster than any other part of skin on the human body, this is a must.  Serums seem to be the most potent “correcting” agent, while eye creams add moisture, prevent environmental damage, and add plumpness to the affected area.

Other habits that are good to form include using a daily cleanser.  A facial cleanser is the  base of all skin care routines, and it’s the first product that should be used when starting any skin care routine.  Removing dirt, oils, and other impurities from the skin will help enhance the effect and application of any other anti aging skin product.  Without removing the dirt, oils, and dead skin cells, you are simply cluttering your skin even further and not allowing the products you invested in to make you look younger.

If budget is a concern, just use soap and be diligent.

If you are the type of person who has a lot of fine lines and other signs of aging already set into the face, you probably want to use a “correcting cream.”  This usually means to use what has been called a “night cream” in recent years, and it refers to a cream that is applied to the face each night before sleeping, enabling the cream to work while the skin is in a relaxed mode.  A correcting cream can work to reduce age spots, treat deep wrinkles, and even help shrink enlarged pores.  One night cream that has been highly popular, according to a company that advertises here, is the Telomere Cell Cream by Elite Skin.  You can read more about that cream and it’s ability to work the DNA level to repair the skin by following the above link.

Of course, there are virtually hundreds of different targeted products that may or may not be up your alley, depending on your skin’s issues and conditions.  They range from acne creams, cellulite smoothing creams, neck firming treatments, and many more.  However, we thought we’d lay out a basic foundation people can reference and use to “get by” looking their best without having 90 products sitting around the bathroom.

Before we forget – happy new year!  Don’t forget to add your name to the email newsletter as we have secured many discounts to the top brands of skin care products and there are about 10 exclusive coupon codes you can use to save you big money on skin care products.  If you sign up, you’ll receive no more than one email per week – no obligation of course – and you can unlock huge savings.

Before you buy any eye cream, serum, or even gel, you should decide what symptom, (or symptoms) of aging you are attempting to treat.  Many people buy eye creams for different reasons.  Some look extensively for an eye cream that treats those nasty eye wrinkles that stem from the corner of our eyes.  Others only care about plumping the skin underneath the eyes and look for a more moisturizing effect.  Many people, especially in the younger generations, look to eye creams that treat puffiness and dark circles, two symptoms that plague people who do not get enough sleep or who overkill their body with toxins. 

After you identify what symptoms you are attempting to treat, you are ready to find the right eye cream to add to your skin care regimen.  It’s important to look for products that have been clinically tested according to the symptom you are looking to treat.  That isn’t to say that a product without clinical testing isn’t going to perform well or have any impact on the skin around your eyes, because everyone’s skin reacts different when it comes in contact with other products.  But, to attempt to explain this by making a comparison to education is probably the best way to explain it.

Let’s say two people get into a debate over a certain topic.  For examples sake we’ll use "History."  Person "A" claims to be an expert on the topic and states "My Great Grandfather was smart, and he taught me everything he knew about history.  This is why I know more than you."  

Person "B," on the other hand, has a degree from Harvard.  Person "B" majored in history.  One can easily point to the prestige of the degree earned from Harvard and agree that they are obviously more qualified on the subject of history.

While that example may not be the easiest way to follow the logic implied by clinical testing, you probably get the point.  It’s worth noting that clinical testing is NOT cheap, and it must be done according to many guidelines put out there by the FDA. 

For this reason, we are more impressed with eye creams and serums that have actual clinical tests performed than ones that do not.  In fact, it would be great if all eye creams had to go through the rigorous clinical tests that some companies pay massive amounts of money to perform.  This way, we could look at each eye creams from a statistical standpoint and compare their ability to treat the various signs of aging.

If you are looking for an eye cream that treats dark circles, there may not be a better option on the market than the Dark Circle Serum by Wrinkle System.  This eye serum is specifically designed for concealing dark circles and reducing puffiness.  Here is a breakdown of it’s clinical testing:

• 35% reduction in dark circles
• 31% reduction in puffiness
• 42% improvement in skin smoothness

Those numbers a based on clinical tests of subjects that applied the eye serum twice daily for 30 days.  Pretty impressive by all standards.  For those of you looking for a dark circle cure, it’s also competitively priced at $59.  If you order in the month of March, you can even use the discount code "save5" for $5 off your purchase at their official website:  Wrinkle System.

• Amazon.  This is a marketplace, like eBay, that allows consumers to post comments regarding the transaction.  Many people prefer to use Amazon instead of purchasing on the sellers main retail website because of the ability to post reviews after buying.  This is a true consumer review in the sense that one cannot post a review unless they actually did purchase the product.  If you really want to get honest consumer reviews, Amazon is the best source.
• Consumer Review blogs and websites.  This is a tricky one, because there are many websites out there written by people trying to sell products and earn a commission.  If a review is overwhelming, chances are it falls into this category.  That is not to say that all eye cream review blogs are fake or written with a purpose, but it’s important that when you read them you look for information you can take away.  Example:  look for eye cream review blogs that talk about the ingredients in the product, as well as WHY they worked.  If they state that a certain eye cream performed well, see what exactly made it work.  Was it good at removing dark circles?  If so, why?  (It must have a good concentration of seaweed extract , haloxyl, or another ingredient that works well on dark circles.)
• Publications.  Often times magazines will come out with an analysis or opinion on a product.  For example, a leading plastic surgery magazine, called "Plastic Surgery Practice" offered an analysis on the Age Defying System by EliteSkin.  They called it an "Anti Aging Breakthrough," and praised it’s use of cosmeceutical ingredients.  The marquee product in this skin rejuvenation system is the Elite Serum, an advertiser on our website that has been the recipient of solid reviews.  While you can certainly value the authority of any review written by plastic surgeons, the real way to critique this review is to read the next issue. Often times when a publication comes out with opinions, reviews, or informational articles on a certain subject, you can look in the next issue for letters to the editors.  Often times, actual users of the said product will give their "two cents" on the topic and share their experience in a letter or email.

These are all methods we advise eye cream consumers to use when buying eye creams.  While the initial purchase price of any eye cream may or may not be busting your bank account, when you annualize the purchase price over time eye creams can certainly add up and be somewhat of a serious expense incurred. 

We’re always geared towards being a website providing leading eye cream research.  Please use our constant advice and analysis when you buy eye creams. 

Today we’ll look at eye creams, in particular, and compare the pro’s and con’s of buying at the mall versus buying online. 

Buying Retail – The Advantages

• Retail malls normally provide an ample amount of samples
• Knowledgeable sales staff can explain the benefits of eye creams in person
• Professional displays and visuals provide in depth information
• Many different brands are available at arms length
• Products are paid for and obtained in the same moment

Buying Retail – The Disadvantages

• Sales people are incentivized by commissions and bonuses
• Retail products are subject to exquisite packaging demands in order to compete – which is passed on to the consumer
• Retail contracts prohibit certain brands from circulation, shelf space
• Purchases can be subject to State sales tax
• Sales force can be pushy, invasive, and annoying

Buying Online – The Advantages

• No pushy sales force
• Information is at your fingertips
• Ingredient claims can be researched and backed up
• When products are bought direct, customer service is superior and returns are handled directly by the manufacturer
• Sales tax is only applicable if you buy from a company within your own State
• Consumer reviews are widely available
• Product packaging isn’t as expensive, meaning a superior product in less appealing packaging can be a great value in terms of therapeutic benefits on the skin

Buying Online – The Disadvantages

• Companies aren’t always as reputable
• Customer must wait for product to arrive
• Some consumer reviews could mislead consumers
• No face to face interaction or "testing of product

Those are the hard, cold facts, folks.  While you can see there are numerous pro’s and con’s of each way to buy eye creams, there are numerous items we’d like to weight in on.  Here is our analysis and additional information on the subject. 

Retail or Mail Order?  Final analysis…..

While we love a trip to the mall to buy pretty much anything, there are many factors that shy us away from buying skin care products, such as eye creams, in retail outlets.  For starters, we don’t like the fact that sales staff is incentivized to sell certain brands at certain times of the year.  We’ve worked in enough retail outlets to know that there are always sales contests that reward sales staff for selling certain brands.  When a certain incentive is offered to someone in sales, it can often times sway the customer away from buying the best product for their skin’s needs in order for the sales person to make their sales goals or obtain a commission.

Sales tax, depending on what State you are located in, can play a big part of the final price.  Just think of annualizing all of your skin care purchases and multiple the number by the local sales tax percentage.  That’s pretty hefty.  We usually know which products we like, and at times, we will visit malls and find products of interest, only to take our search to the web to find them for sale for cheaper.  Often times, the web provides sources for discount codes, coupons, and free shipping offers. If you can navigate the web with ease, you will have no problem finding skin care products for sale at cheaper prices – without pushy sales people.

Let’s look at the packaging aspect of the eye cream business.  Sure, you can go to the mall and find the eye-appealing La Prairie Eye Lifting Cream – packaged to the nines, and arguably the best packaged skin care product in ages.  BUT, you will pay a premium for this packaging.  You have to ask yourself, is having a nice product on display in your bathroom worth a 100% mark-up at times? Or, would you rather have an eye cream that WORKS yield better skin, less dark circles, and less puffiness – without the fancy packaging? 

The world wide web is full of useful information. If you can find this information, as well as sift through various eye cream reviews, there is no doubt that you can find the best eye cream at a much cheaper price point, without any greedy sales force trying to earn commissions and talk you into a product only to fatten their paycheck.

Keep those facts in mind as you shop for eye creams and other skin care products – happy surfing!

Many thanks to the loyal readers of our website who have been kind enough to send us comments.  We welcome all forms of contact and answer all emails within two business days.  

Here is the question of the day:

Question:

Am I supposed to use a cleanser each and every time I apply my eye cream?

Sandy Jenks, San Antonio, Texas

Answer:

First off, thanks for submitting your question.  This is a common question among people, as many skin care companies do not explain the importance of facial cleansers in a skin care regimen. 

Using a facial cleanser is very important in a daily skin care routine.  If possible, use a facial cleanser twice daily.  If you cannot use a facial cleanser on a twice-per-day basis, it’s best to use it at night, prior to sleeping.  This way your skin can reap the benefits of the cleanser without any interference by outside elements.

Using a cleanser prior to applying an eye cream is a great way to ensure the surface of the skin is clean.  Clean skin reacts much better to anti aging creams than skin that may have clogged pores or other types of dirt on the surface. 

Do you have a question about eye creams? 

Email us at info@eyecream.com and we will help.  All published questions are used with the permission of our readers prior to posting. 

Let’s take a look at some of the warning signs out there that exist in today’s marketplace.

1.  The eye cream talks about being an "end all, all in one solution."  There are some great eye creams out there that are formulated to work therapeutically, therefore they may have the power to "wear a lot of hats" and subsequently reduce wrinkle depth, eye puffiness, and under eye bags.  BUT, and that’s a big but, don’t go and buy one cream for your entire face if it makes claims that make it seem like it’s an eye cream, anti wrinkle cream, and overall moisturizer.  It’s way too difficult for even the world’s top product formulators to make one product that really does all that.  Eye creams are made for the skin under the eyes, and nowhere else.

2.  Free trials.  Be very careful here. Many companies create very wordy, difficult to escape billing agreements that sound great upfront, but end up being a pain in the end.  Sure, there are exceptions to every rule, and there are some great companies out there that play this game well and treat people fair, but the majority of them gave the rest a black eye, and therefore we can’t suggest you go this route. 

3.  Being touted our recommended on only one website.  If you are having a hard time finding information about a product or brand, chances are it’s either brand spanking new or just not out there in the media.  Whatever the answer is to that scenario, it’s not a good sign.  You should be able to find information about a product. It’s the world wide web, and nobody can hide from criticism nor can they avoid praise.  Try to avoid buying a product because only one site covered it or reviewed it.  It’s also best to avoid product picks from amateur bloggers.  Some companies use these people as cheap marketing tools and pay them commissions.  The best products will get their necessary exposure, and information will always be abundant should you know where to look for it.

4.  Watch where you buy from.  It’s not an absolute must, but it’s always a good idea to buy American-made products.  That is not to say they are formulated better, and it’s certainly not a knock on the great products that come from France and Switzerland.  The only reason this matters is because other countries do NOT have the same FDA and State Health Board regulations to follow, nor are their facilities routinely inspected.  If you were to receive a contaminated eye cream on accident, you could be in for trouble.  There is also very seldom any insurance offered by foreign countries, should there be a case of a breakout that required any medical assistance.  

Here are some tips to help you find the best eye cream and not get scammed:

*Ask many questions before buying.  Email or call the company, and probe them.  A good company will have solid customer service and always reply in a courteous manner. 

*Look around the web.  See if there are any eye cream reviews posted about the said product.  If it gets good reviews, what makes it better than the other eye creams you are looking at?  Is it ingredient mixes?  Is it price?  Decide why you need the eye cream and make a decision based on your needs.