First Aid Beauty 5 in 1 Eye Cream: A comparison and review

Hey Girlies, 

Before I start this review can I just point out that this post has actually drove me round the bend the past few days. I've done umpteen rough drafts and I'm still not happy with the final outcome. But hey ho I'm gonna press publish anyway, its not like its an English Exam paper is it?  

So sometime last week whilst I was completing my morning skincare routine I noticed my Clinique's All about Eyes was about to run out. I was also dismayed as I looked at the sight of premature wrinkles taunting me in my reflection in the mirror. I must admit that until December of last year, an eye cream was omitted from my skincare routine. I was only 22, I had all the time in the world to worry about the dreaded anti-wrinkle potions right? Wrong! Hours straining at the computer, rubbing my eyes constantly, sleeping on my stomach and not drinking enough water or using SPF have resulted in the skin around my eyes becoming scarred with wrinkles, an uneven skin tone and a dehydrated texture.   

So since December,when I purchased All about Eyes, I have been using an eye cream religiously every day hoping to rectify said problems. It was a cream that I thought would be up to the job, it has featured in various glossy mags, won The Sunday Times 2010 beauty award and was ranked a respectable 3.4 from makeupalley.  

But alas, it just didn't work and it has made me very reluctant to shell out another 22 quid on an eye cream.  

I know all you girls out there are very busy so I'm just going to reduce my overly worded ramble to a simplified list of pros and cons of Clinique's All about Eyes. 

What I liked about All about Eyes: 

* The expensive looking and sleek packaging. 

*The gel consistency as I'm wary of putting too rich of a formula on my skin and causing more harm than good. 

* The fact that it isn't tested on animals, is fragrance free and contains essential for the eyes Vitamin E and C. 

What I didn't like about All about Eyes: 

* It didn't really have any effect on my skins texture after 5 months continuous use.

*Cost of £22, which I don't mind paying if a product works.  

*Does not contain any SPF 

*The open lid packaging, firstly because air exposure decreases effectiveness of anti-toxins in the product, and secondly because it is really unhygienic plunging my fingers into the tube every day. 

Just look at how unhygienic it is: 

So what eye cream did I then go for after such a disastrous first try at high end eye cream? 

Behold, First Aid Beauty‘s (FAB) 5 in 1 eye cream.

 FAB is a relatively new brand that was born in America in 2009 and only launched this side of the pond in March of this year. I only came across this brand in Boots perchance when I was handed a £5 off voucher in store whilst hastily rummaging the aisles desperately searching for a cream to hydrate my eye’s skin and smooth those wrinkles away.

 FAB is the brainchild of Lilli Gordon who saw a gap in the market for effective, science proven skincare in the high end prestige market. As a blogger, who suffers from problematic acne prone skin, all too often I have to sacrifice luxury for effectiveness and buy from chemists or supermarkets.  Optamil is neither sexy nor glamorous- but that’s a whole other blog topic. FAB products promise to deliver effective results by being a solution based brand operating in the prestige skincare market. 

5 in 1 eye cream claims to

1>    Reduce the appearance of wrinkles

2>    Improve radiance

3>    Correct uneven skin tone

4>     nourish and moisturise

5>    Combat free radical

This is delivered by the inclusion of Retinyl Palmitate (a milder form of retinyol), Homeostatine, Alpha Arubtin, Niacinamide and silicon. Excluded in this product are parabens, harsh chemicals or colourants and it is suitable for sensitive skin.I apologise if I have come across all scientific all of a sudden, however, the reasoning for this is FAB products is marketed to be scientific. It doesn’t mask its ingredients in small unreadable writing and marketing jargon instead its ingredients are in bold large writing, they are included in the marketing incept at the back and for the first time it really made me think and research what chemicals I used on my skin. De-mystifying the ingredients used in beauty products is an important feature of FAB products and it aims to give its packaging “A voice”.  

  

As much as I am becoming increasingly aware of the need for toxic free products my evaluation of any product will come down to one thing. The bread and butter if you like. Does it work? Hell yeah it worked! 

Only after one week of use, my skin tone has evened out, it has plumped out to make wrinkles less noticeable, and it remains silky smooth ALL day long meaning my makeup-up sinks into rather than sits on top of the skin like before.  


So just like my Clinique review, what I liked about FAB's 5 in 1 eye cream was: 
* It does what it says on the tin. My skin is hydrated, the skin tone has evened out and it feels silky smooth. 
*It contains no harsh chemicals, is fragrance free and it was not tested on animals. 
*The ingredients used are all science proven to be effective anti- wrinkle chemicals. 
*Like All about Eyes it retails at £22 pounds but with my 5 pound off voucher I only paid £17. 
*The handy sized packaging, with a hygienic point sized application: 

Things I didn't like about FAB's 5 in 1 eye cream: 
*Again it does not contain SPF. 
*It is in cheap plastic packaging, and the design looks like a bad rip off of Soap &Glory. Seriously who thought that grey was a nice colour? 


Apart from the lack of SPF, my only criticisms of this product is purely cosmetic reasons. But then again, if FAB wish to lure more people off the prestigious brands in luxurious packaging then they need to come up with a better design that the one they have at the minute.  

Will it be a repurchase? Well, only time can tell on how effective it will be but I still remain on the lookout for an eye cream with SPF. Do you guys know any? xxx