GoodSkin Labs’ Circleplex-2 Dark Circle Specialists for Eyes.

I don’t remember how many times I’ve said “The bags under my eyes are Givenchy (or insert other designer brand her)” in my lifetime, followed by either a sly smile or sarcastic laugh. Maybe around a thousand?

The dark circles under my eyes and the puffiness that comes with them when I’m tired or lacking in sleep has been the bane of my existence. Pair that with my ultra-white skin (MAC NC15/NC20 – pale!) that only enhances the dark colour… Well, you get the sleepy/tired-looking picture.

While I don’t get much skin problems like blemishes or too much oil, my under eye circles have been enough of an annoyance. Though I can hide them with concealer everyday, I’ve often toyed with the idea of just making them go away and skipping a step in my morning makeup routine. So it’s one of my many missions in life to get rid of them – permanently. I’ve tried a good number of eye creams due to various circumstances.

Friends and brands (back when I was working in the media) giving skincare stuff to try, samples being included in makeup and skin care products I buy, and sometimes just out of curiosity and giving in to cute packaging or what new ingredient is written on the box. Lately, I was given GoodSkin Labs‘ Circleplex-2 Dark Circle Specialists for Eyes to try out and since I was already about to finish my sample-sized Benefit It’s Potent Eye Cream which was also very helpful in reducing the dark circles, I was fairly open to trying out a new product before deciding on which one to purchase next.

The tattered packaging. Took this photo after two weeks of use. 😉

I’ve read about GoodSkin Labs’ eye cream before in Cleo Magazine‘s August 2014 issue (Miranda Kerr on the cover) where they published their Beauty Hall of Fame for this year. This product was named as the ‘best anti-darkness eye treatment’. I made a mental note for it last August so imagine how happy I was when I was given my own to try. Ok, so I’ve be ranting and yapping for way too long now. Here’s the review you clicked here for: After two weeks of use, I can say that I am fairly impressed with GoodSkin Labs Circleplex-2 Dark Circle Specialists for Eyes. I brought it with me to Sabah for our two week trip and I came back to KL with my under eye circles two shades lighter.

Day and night.

What I really like about this product is that it’s a dual-system eye treatment with two creams catering to your needs that definitely vary in the morning and evening.

The day cream comes in a neutral-nude shade while the night cream is translucent white.

Let’s break it down starting with the night cream first, shall we?

Night cream.

GoodSkin Labs promises that the night cream will “dramatically reduce pronounced dark circles”. What I noticed when using it is that it has an instant, lightening effect on my dark circles. It’s also very soothing and hydrating to the skin around my eyes.

One swipe. The colour is barely noticeable.

Don’t worry about the cream being white. You wouldn’t have to walk around your home with stark-white patches under your eyes and end up scaring your husband or family. The cream is extremely light and spreadable.

The day cream.

As I said earlier, the day cream comes in a neutral-nude shade that helps conceal your dark circles so it’s got a bit of colour-correcting power right there. However, if your under eye circles are really dark, it won’t be able to conceal them completely. Like the night cream, it’s also light weight and applying it on your skin is a breeze.

Neutral. Goes well with light to medium skin tones.

It contains LumaBright, the company’s trademarked ingredient that helps to instantly brighten the eye area. Other brightening ingredients include Vitamin C and Yeast AE – both present in most effective eye creams in the market. Both creams are also said to have what they call a Fresh Brightening Complex that can help in repairing the fragile make-up of the skin around our eyes which are often damaged by scratching and rubbing our eyes when we’re feeling tired. Aside from instant relief from dark circles, the Circleplex-2 Dark Circle Specialists for Eyes also promises long term effects with Prunus Mume Fruit extract that can help in increasing circulation around the eyes, an anti-oxidant called Polygonum Cuspidatum that stops dark pigmentation, and Glucosamine that keeps your skin from drying up and will help prevent you from  having those dreaded eye-wrinkles. Personally, I’m basically terrified of crow’s feet so I tend to lather up eye creams not just on the dark circles of my eyes but all over the whole eye area. So. As a summary: What I love about it:

  1. The instant effects. After applying the cream, dark circles are obviously lighter and you actually feel it working as your skin feels extra-hydrated.
  2. Long term effects. Ok, so this isn’t totally long term yet. But after using it for two weeks, I can go out without makeup and not feel like I just came straight out of Tim Burton movie. The dark circles are definitely lighter.
  3. You get to use it for months.Two weeks into using it, I barely made a dent on the creams – and to think that I’m not one to scrimp on lathering up eye creams and moisturisers.
  4. Day and night. It’s a dual repair system so your eyes are being repaired 24/7, not just at night.

Slight cons:

  1. It’s a bit pricey. At RM175 (Php2404, US53.71, EUR42.53), it’s not what I’d actually call steal. Though it’s not as expensive as La Prairie (another brand I loved) and La Mer (broke my bank but it was also a great product). However, despite the price, you can actually use it for a good couple of months so you’re basically getting your money’s worth. Cost per use ratio.
  2. No SPF? I read all the ingredients and flipped the box in all directions but I can’t seem to find out whether the day cream actually has Sun Protection Factor. Which is something I am very particular with as you get wrinkles faster by not being protected from the sun! So just to be sure, I let the day cream dry up before applying facial sunblock over it and applying makeup.

I give it an 8.5 over 10. More later. Love, Carol