I’ve heard stories about teenagers getting Botox to avoid smiling too much, so they never develop crows feet and smile lines. That is just scary stuff! But if you love to smile and you’ve lived to adulthood, chances are that you have some fine lines and wrinkles around your eyes. Instead of giving up on smiling, there’s a new product from Clinique that may help you avoid further damage, and mitigate the fine lines and wrinkles you’ve earned. It’s no crime to smile!
Launching just this month, Clinique’s Repairwear laser Focus Wrinkle Correcting Eye Cream ($63.00 30/ml or $43.50 14 ml) is a product that purports to strengthen the skin’s moisture barrier, and repair UV damage, while visibly improving the look of those lines and wrinkles you loathe! It isn’t an anti-wrinkle cream, it’ s a de-aging cream.
In a jar, most eye creams look alike, but they’re not. According to the press literature that came with my jar of Repairwear Focus Wrinkle Correcting Eye Cream, the people Clinique tested saw a noticeable 54% reduction in active smile lines around the eye area and it increased the skin’s barrier strength by 72% , all in just 12 weeks!
Before I go into the high tech and pretty amazing ingredients in this little jar of cream, it’s important to note that the skin under your eye has no oil glands, and it is thin and delicate. In fact, according to Clinique, the skin around your eye area is approximately one tenth the thickness of the skin on your palm. So keeping that skin hydrated and protected is particularly important. Oddly, it’s one of the areas that most people tend to neglect. Rosemary Leaf Extract (to strengthen the skin’s barrier and stimulate natural collagen production), Cucumber and sunflower extracts, to mimic the skin’s lipid membrane to help build the skin’s barrier repair function, and trehalose, a sugar derived ingredient that stabilizes the structure of the skin lipid systems to help your skin attract and retain moisture from the environment, are key ingredients and benefits.
But what I really like about this cream is that it works to repair UV damage. This alone gives you reason to smile more. It is formulated with a key ingredient called micrococccus lysate (ultrasomes found in the powerful serum). Apparently, enzymes found in the organism Micrococcus Luteous, are some of the most UV-resistant organisms known to science. Theoretically, these work over time to gradually repair the appearance of skin damage resulting from direct UV exposure. vitamins C and E also help fight free radicals and protect your skin against environmental aggressors to prevent further damage. Other ingredients that can do good things for your eye area include: purified whey protein (a natural and high quality polypeptide rich in amino acids that can help skin’s support structure); Xylinum Black Tea Ferment (to help improve skin density and minimize to appearance of lines and wrinkles and to smooth undereye cross hatching; and Chlorelia Vulgaris, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide plus Siegesbeckie Orientalis Extract. All of these work together to stimulate your skin’s production of natural collagen and make skin plumper, more resilient, and therefore, smoother and firmer.
This all sounds great, but The Advice Sisters couldn’t use it for 12 weeks and then get a facial skin scan to see whether or not UV damage has been reduced. But there are plenty of good ingredients in the jar, which should help to make that under-eye area, less of a disaster area! And, as with all skincare products, the real results come with regular and approved use. You simply apply the cream morning and night after cleansing your face, and wear it alone or under makeup, The cream is dermatologist tested and safe to use on all skin types and tones. This is really great, especially if you suffer from sensitive skin. the last thing you want near your eyes is something that burns or itches or turns your skin red. Clinique’s products will never sabotage your efforts! Clinique’s products are always allergy tested and 100% fragrance free. In fact, if only one person gets a reaction one time, out of the 600 people they test a dozen times, they go back to the drawing board. If you really want a one-two punch, you can even pair this eye cream with Clinique’s Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle & UV Damage Corrector.
If I have any issues with the product, it is with the use of the word “Laser.” I really love Clinique’s products, and I think Clinique does an amazing job. I am reluctant to endorse the claim that Repairwear Laser Focus products will lead to visible wrinkle reducing results similar to that of a laser. The only way to know that for sure would be to try a skin scan using one side of your face with the creams and serums, the other with a laser treatment. I’m guessing no one reading this (and certainly not The Advice Sisters) are going to test this product that way. And there’s another issue I have with this product, and that is with the packaging. Why must this be a in a screw-top jar? I don’t care how thick a cream is, it would be beneficial to put in into packaging where you don’t have to open the top, expose it to air, and stick your fingers in it. Open jars invite bacteria and other contaminents, and reduce the freshness and the life of the product.
Still, those issues aside, the high tech ingredients, non-irritating formula and the promise that in 3 months you will truly have a reason to smile at your improved skin, makes this product worth a try. Get yours at all Clinique counters and at www.clinique.com
