Skip this eye cream! We are normally satisfied with products by Sephora, but this one really caught us off guard. The main problem is that it did exactly the opposite of what it advertises. It irritated the skin underneath our eyes which made them dry and red. This caused our eyes to look even worse and it made wrinkles a lot more defined. We wanted to get rid of the wrinkles, not highlight them. The cream is supposed to help with puffiness, dark circles and crow’s feet but we saw none of that.
It bothered us so much that we contacted the company directly to see if they had an idea of what might have gone so wrong. We were surprised by their response.
Here is our e-mail to them:
Hi, I am using your Age Defy Cream and it made the skin under my eyes dry and irritated. Do you know why that might have happened? Is there an ingredient that might be bothersome to sensitive skin?
This was Sephora’s response:
"Thank you for contacting Sephora.com. We are sorry to hear about your experience and thank you for bringing it to our attention. We recommend that you contact your doctor or dermatologist for proper diagnosis and treatment. There are many factors that affect your skin and can cause a reaction, and likely your physician will be able to assist you in finding the cause."
Say what? That's a canned answer if I ever saw one. We were very surprised that they made it seem like it would be the customer’s problem that the product didn’t work correctly. It didn’t seem to cross their mind that there might be something wrong with the cream or that we may have received a bad batch.
It would have been nice if they offered a refund, an exchange or even suggested a different product. They didn’t make us feel all that convinced that they are really going to look into this either. We think if a product doesn’t work correctly, the company should do all that they can for the customer.
Sephora: Eye Defy Eye Cream - Description
This eye cream comes in a .5 oz plastic cylinder-shaped white pump. The pump is sold in a purple and white box that is about 4 inches tall. The product is a white lotion and has no scent. As far as eye creams go, it is on the thin side in texture.
The cream sells for approximately $24 at the time of this review. There is a lot of information on the box, but to sum it up, they say that it contains HydroSenn+ which is “an ultra-moisturizing natural ingredient that is more effective than hyaluronic acid.” There are no instructions on the pump or the box for use.
Sephora: Eye Defy Eye Cream - Review
Things We Loved:
It’s really hard for us to find something we loved about the product, at all. Even though the company did not give us an answer we were expecting, the one good thing we can say is that they answered us in a timely manner. But that isn't really about the product, is it? (Review: The Body Shop Chamomile Eye Makeup Remover)
Things We Didn't Love:
- Irritation: The cream really irritated the skin near our eyes (turned it red and made it dry) and this made our eyes look worse.
- No Improvement: We didn’t see any improvement with puffiness, dark circles or crow’s feet.
Final Thoughts
What can we say; this product just did not work for us. You’ll have to see for yourself if it irritates your skin, but consider yourself warned. And, there were many more people on Sephora's site who had the same reaction. (Reader’s choice 2011 list of best budget eye creams)
Ingredients
Aqua (Water), Pentaerythrityl Tetracocoate, Dipentaerythrityl Hexacaprylate/Hexacaprate, Pentylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Polyacrylamide, Peg-100 Stearate, Paraffinum Liquidum (Mineral Oil), Glyceryl Stearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Palmitoyl Glycine, Coco-Glucoside, Sodium Hydroxide, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract, Ceteareth-33, Coconut Alcohol, Glucose, Xanthan Gum, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Palmitic Acid, Fructose, Benzyl Alcohol, Laureth-7, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Steareth-20, Silica, Cassia Angustifolia Seed Polysaccharide, Tetrasodium Edta, Polygonum Fagopyrum Seed Extract, Ci 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), Dehydroacetic Acid, Tripleurospermum Maritima Extract, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Ethylhexylglycerin, Citric Acid, N-Hydroxysuccinimide, Potassium Sorbate, Ci 77491 (Iron Oxides), Sorbic Acid, Sodium Citrate, Chrysin, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7.
