After what seems like an eon, pursuing the perfect under eye mask, I've finally found something that I'm thoroughly impressed by.
Typically with the same kind of premise as facial sheet masks, under eye masks are a fantastic way to plump, smooth, brighten and hydrate the skin around your eyes. Whilst effects are often temporary, perhaps only lasting a day, for special events, or even continuous use, a refreshed eye area can enliven your entire complexion - thus in my eyes (or should I say under them), making them more than worth it.
I've tried quite a number of under eye masks, from the inexpensive Etude House's Collagen Eye masks, to these pricey ones from Shiseido and whilst I've not come across a dud, none have wowed me. I picked out these Eye Gold Prestige Patches from It's Skin ($25 for 50 patches), first mentioned in Part 2 of my Korean Skincare & Makeup Haul and kindly sent to me by Jolse - so let's see how they fare!
Claims
To give intensive care, vitality and brightness around the delicate eye area. The gold hydrogel patch is formulated to help diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and soothe skin.
How To Use
Use one patch under each eye, on cleansed skin, either morning, evening or as a pick-me-up perk before an event.
Instead of individual foil packet sets, you get 50 neatly nestled patches in a fairly compact gold tub. Beyond the screwtop lid, an inner lid holds a plastic spatula and forms a proper seal, keeping the contents fresh. Unlike the more common, fabric eye sheets, these patches are little slivers of hydrogel, predominantly made from carageenan seaweed and agar agar, and flecked with pieces of gold.
Ingredients
Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Carageenan Extract, Agar, Dipropylene Glycol, Adenosine, Gold (0.002%), Swiftlet Nest Extract (0.1%), Hydrolyzed Collagen, Phellinus Linteus Mushroom Extract, Hyaluronic Acid, Salmon Egg Extract, Squalane, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Trehalose, Green Tea Leaf Extract, Licorice Root Extract, Ginger Root Extract, Schizandra Chinensis Berry Fruit Extract, Japanese Goldthread Root Extract, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Acorus Calamus Root Extract, Perilla Leaf Extract, Allantoin, Caesalpinia Spinosa Gum, Ceratonia Siliqua Gum, Xanthan Gum, 1,2-Hexanediol, Calcium Chloride, Polysorbate 20, Chlorphrenesin, Caprylyl Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, CI 77491, Titanium Dioxide, Tin Oxide, Fragrance.
Performance
Scoop up a patch with your spatula and you'll see how wobbly, not to mention slimey, it is, like a little slice of jelly terrine. The unique shape of these eye patches is unlike the other, more symmetrical varieties I've tried. Instead, these are bulbous at one end and sharply tapered off at the other - how you wear them is completely up to you. I see most darkness under the front half of my eye, so I wear them as I show in the photos. If you need help moreso on the outer eye, flip them round. They feel super slippery in the tub but actually on the skin, they adhere really well, and you can happily go about your daily routine with them on. There's absolutely no tingling or irritation whatsoever and they feel lovely and cool and soothing - especially if you've kept the tub in the fridge. I like to keep mine on for as long as possible, around 30-45 minutes I suppose although I by no means time myself.
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| After one use |
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| After 3-4 weeks |
After one use, the main thing I notice is how hydrated my undereye feels - it's like a specific and intensive treatment for the eye area. This frankly isn't surprising with glycerin, collagen, hyaluronic acid and squalane fairly high up the ingredients list. I think there's a temporary brightening effect, but I think it's more because the area looks really plump and hydrated - and I have terrible under eye circles so that's still quite an achievement. What I'm more impressed about is the longer term results. I mentioned in my haul post that I was hoping these might provide some benefits in the longer term, thanks to it's pretty impressive ingredients list, and I'm happy to announce that my hopefulness was rewarded! It's a subtle difference for me, as my under eyes are pretty bad, but legitimately nothing has worked in the past so I'm really impressed! It's obviously pretty hard to capture in photos due to different lighting conditions (I don't use artificial lighting) but I've been using these for a good 3-4 weeks, around 3 times a week, and I've noticed a more prolonged hydrating and depuffing effect, as well as some brightness - which like I mentioned is a pretty amazing result on stubborn dark circles like mine.
To quickly sum up, I really really like these. They're gentle, non-irritating, super hydrating and soothing and I'm actually seeing some brightening results. The hydrogels are so much better than cotton sheet patches, and seeing as I'm only about half way through my tub, I'm excited to see an even more pronounced result by the time I'm finished. And it's a definite repurchase in case you were wondering.
You can pick up the It's Skin Prestige Eye Gold Patch here.
P.S Have you seen this innovative Korean cushion? Top up your SPF throughout the day as you can wear it over makeup!
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