Today, at this very moment, this current time in my life, if I were to choose a skin concern that bothers me the most, that would be my under eye wrinkles. I’ve come to peace with what used to bothers me in the past (acne marks) because I soon realized that it was my under eye wrinkles that made me look 10 times older.

I love to use eye cream. I think I went overboard with the amount I used over the past one year so I’ve developed ‘another’ concern and that is tiny bits of oil seeds. Add that with under eye wrinkles and you get one very unhappy girl. That is me. So when I was invited for an upcoming Clarins Extra-Firming Eye Complete Rejuvenating Cream press preview launch two months ago, boy oh boy I was more than delighted to go. Before you all go “what? another eye cream?”, then I gotta tell you this in advance before my review below. In the Extra-Firming range, Clarins actually had an eye serum AND an eye cream – the Clarins Advanced Extra Firming Eye Contour Serum and Eye Contour Cream. Most users feedback that it is troublesome to apply two separate product just for the eyes so Clarins took that duo away and replaced with THIS 😀

At the launch of 4th generation of Clarins Shaping Facial Lift Total V Contouring Serum not too long ago, I found out that Asian women carries larger face pockets on the jawline thus having a rounder face feature comparing to Caucasian women. It is not a surprise that both group have different eye shape and sizes but what we don’t know is that because of this dissimilarity, the aging process of Asian eyes is also at a more rapid rate. This is why I have been saying over and over again that we shouldn’t skip eye care routine. I believe each and every one of us have been searching for the ultimate eye cream that is powerful enough to target all concern at once. Clarins said that you can now be at ease because the search is finally over as Clarins Extra-Firming Eye Complete Rejuvenating Cream offers a complete solution to age defying eyes especially for Asian women.

Fun facts. 50% of Asian women doesn’t have upper eyelid crease therefore the eyelid skin is relatively heavier, thicker and puffy that will descent faster as age catches up. Clarins, armed with half a century eye contour care pioneering research and innovation aimed to deliver four actions against aging.

• Smoothen wrinkles
• Reduce dark circles
• Lift eyelids
• Reduce eye bags

I can tell you first hand that I do like a number of features of this new eye cream. First of all, the cute little frosty glass jar packaging. I’m not so particular now with dipping my finger into the jar as I always do it with newly washed hand. The jar although filled with 15ml of product, it feels heavy on the hand. I would want to pay RM199 for a small pot of eye cream that feels like it’s RM300 😀 . Another plus point of having a jar product is that I can see how much product left in the jar so that I can estimate when to repurchase a new tub. Each of Clarins product that comes in a jar form comes with an inner lid as well. This one is not exceptional. Next feature is none other than the scent. I absolutely adore the scent of all Clarins products. I can’t pinpoint the scent description of Extra-Firming Eye Complete Rejuvenating Cream but I can tell you it is definitely not nose clogging. The scent doesn’t lingers on the eye area for long. In fact it disappear after I finish dabbing onto my eye area. It does smells luxurious though. Then we have the soft, smooth and non-oily cream texture. It is a cream but light in texture that absorbed into the skin almost immediately, leaving no oily residue on top of the skin surface.

Clarins Triangle of Youth

Clarins Extra-Firming Eye Complete Rejuvenating Cream is set to targets the most key aging areas – two ‘triangles of youth’ on the eyes which is also known as Lateral Triangle and Lower Triangle. The idea was inspired by Asian’s cutting edge aesthetic medical procedures in Asia. Through these triangles, Clarins is then able to identify four signs of aging:

1. Droppy outer eyelids with the loss of skin firmness and the natural heaviness of the eyelids.
2. Visible eye bags, caused by the increase of fat pad as well as the loss of skin’s firmness.
3. Crow’s feet and fine lines appearance.
4. Dark circles from thinning, aging skin.

Lateral Triangle aging problems and it’s powerful plants and actions

Lateral Triangle is the outer corner area of the eyes, which easily collapses with slackness and heaviness of upper eyelid. If you’ve heard me complaining a lot of my outer eye shape that is droppy which makes eye lining hard, this is exactly what I was facing. Appearance of fine lines and wrinkles from facial contractions is also easily formed as the skin aged.

+ Organic Green Banana + Lemon Thyme – to reinforce overall dermal structure to firm the skin.
+ Essential Rose Wax – to instantly diminish lines and wrinkles.
+ Oat – to immediately lift the skin.

Lower Triangle aging problems and it’s powerful plants and actions

This Lower Triangle area would be my main concern of all. On the past years I don’t have dark circles as I make sure I sleep more than 8 hours per day. Recent two years I’ve been having just 4-5 hours of sleep. As a result, the skin on my under eyes becomes thinner and loses it’s density and so dark circles appear. Eye bag and puffy eyelids was also formed with the increase of fat tissue due to aging.

+ Organic Green Banana + Lemon Thyme – to reinforce overall dermal structure to firm the skin.
+ Albizia Extract – to reduce puffiness and dark circles due to aging.
+ Escin from Horse Chestnut – to improve micro-circulation to reduce dark circles.
+ Caffeine – to stimulate lipolysis to minimize puffiness.

I’ve been using this since 8th July and the last photo I took for the After is on the 15th August. I started using Clarins Extra-Firming Eye Complete Rejuvenating Cream with a tiny bit extra than the usual amount that I would use. I don’t have to do so but I always get this mentality that I need to apply more for better result and also because I wanted to stop the creasing of my under eye concealer. Let’s just say this method doesn’t work for me and that I notice my under eye area could be over moisturized that my power caked up even more. I recall back at the press launch where Nathalie Issachar, Research and Development Director of Clarins Group said only a very tiny bit will do the trick. Surprisingly with even lesser amount of product, I see a difference. Sadly the difference is not on the under eye wrinkles but more on the overall look. Remember I said earlier that I have tiny oil seeds? It actually gone from bad to worse because of the amount I used (kiasu me hehe) but then when I cut down, my eyes looked better and more even. I still have those nasty oil seeds but the appearance of it was toned down. Fine lines on the other hand is now more smooth as my eye area is not as dry as before. The only downside for me is the long and deep wrinkles. It’s still there. I don’t think I will ever get rid of them.

Here is the ingredient lists for those who are interested.

All in one, the Clarins Extra-Firming Eye Complete Rejuvenating Cream is quite a decent eye cream to use. It is way better than some of the eye cream that I’ve tested but not reviewed over the past one year. Advanced Extra Firming Eye Contour Serum and Eye Contour Cream loyal users will be happy to know that the substitute product will take lesser of their time that works equally good if not better. The price on the other hand is not as pricey as I thought. It’s reasonably priced at RM199 for a 15ml, which is the standard eye cream price among other brands. This small tub will last you probably 5-6 months as you only need a rice size amount each use due to it’s powerful plant extracts ingredients.

Have you try any of Clarins eye cream before? I have tried one or two and I must say Clarins do come out with pretty good eye care products as their laboratory is constantly conducting studies and research on Asian women skin structure.

Disclaimer: Press sample.