Drug Store Beauty: eye gel

Sorry for the lack of updates! I've been catching up on TV series of late, and this time, it's an old fave (that I suddenly remembered I hadn't been up-to-date on!) --- Dexter! And what the heck, it's up to season 8 already! I just finished season 6 and dyinggggg to start on season 7! Well, enough about TV series, today I want to talk about The Body Shop's Elderflower eye gel!

All these years, I've been applying eye gel directly on my eye lids and eyebags. It didn't really help at all, and in some cases, it caused me to get sang ngan tiu jum (sty). This caused me to "write off" eye gels after a while. FYI, I've been using eye gels since I was 24-25 years old. My colleague told me that the younger we start, the better! I was already really worried that I had lost some precious years. It is so important to get the right type of eye gel for yourself, you don't want to end up getting milia as well to add on to your worries about wrinkles and eyebags! That is a reason why my friend told me she stopped using eye gels as well --- cos of the milia!

Thankfully for me, I don't get milia, only the sty! Then I found out that I was not applying eye gel correctly. In fact, you do NOT apply it directly on the eyelids and eyebags, but you are supposed to lightly dot AROUND your eye socket. The gel should naturally absorb and spread into the correct area. Here's a helpful link and picture from Dermagist that illustrates this further:

Having learned "the secret" of applying eye gels correctly, I was very keen to find out how my Body Shop elderflower eye gel would fare. Going at RM35 for 15ml, it is pretty affordable cos you don't really need to use a lot. It is an unperfumed and clear gel that feels instantly cooling to the touch. It is light and absorbs quickly to the skin, without leaving any oily trace behind.

The product labelling doesn't claim to reduce eyebags, dark circles, puffiness... in fact, it doesn't promote anything on the label! I made a bad decision to buy this because I "naturally" assumed that that is what eye gels are usually for - to reduce dark circles! This one is actually just for "refreshing" and "cooling" the eye area... which, it does. But why would I want to specifically use an eye gel to refresh my eyes? It feels really strange, and the "perked" up refreshed-ness only lasts for a short while. I need some magic for my dark circles, yo!

Some people have commented that the cooling effect is good for puffy eyes (e.g: when you've been crying) and for redness. As I've not experienced this, I can't ascertain that for sure. One good thing about this product is that because it's non-oily and easily absorbed, I can wear this under make-up and go to work. It doesn't affect make-up application, so I do get a bit of the cooling action bright and early in the morning. This is unlike other types of eye gels that you can typically only put on before going to bed.

Really think that the "refreshed" feeling I get is psychological and applying it doesn't ACTUALLY refresh me. Maybe the cooled teaspoon trick would do the same? Either way, this is definitely NOT a repurchase for me.

Interesting titbit: cold elderflower infusions are applied on the eye area as a wash for sore and inflamed eyes.

What's your nightly beauty ritual? I have such a long list that my boyfriend is aghasted when I tell him about it. But he's a nice guy, so he'll amicably say, "Well, if that means you smell really nice when you go to bed, then so be it" or "No wonder your skin is so soft!" To hear compliments like that really make my day, so I try to keep my nightly routine up.

As always, I start off with a picture of myself sans make-up, and with my hairup, and fringe up thanks to the Korean hairband...

Start off with moisturising my face after cleansing (so happy, going to finish my Garnier facewash soon, which means I can start reviewing another product! Tee hee!) :

Two drops is all you need... :) Maybe 3 if you have a large face. :P Check out the look of concentration on my face. Must have exactly TWO drops come out only, as I am running out of the moisturiser and I don't want to waste... ~ Oh, and I know it seems like I'm using Hada Labo with every entry, but as much as I don't want to waste, I still want to finish this quickly so I can try another product. Tsk tsk!

My favorite step --- extra whitening inner cell repair body milk from Nivea! Makes my skin smell milky and nice, soft to the touch afer this as well. Hopefully the hype is not unfounded --- apparently it makes skin HEALTHIER as well!

Rub rub rub... slathering it all over my arms and legs and other unmentionables... :P

Can't resist the call to ... FLEX

Erm... next step! Mirror Mirror neck cream "for a snuggly nook" from Lush. One of my favorite products... really helps to moisturise your neck. Why need a special moisturiser for your neck? Because the skin there is more sensitive! Iron out your wattles right now! =p

Look of horror when I find out this product is also diminishing... sigh, really need to restock on Lush stuff!
But on it goes anyway....

Still medicating my pimples with Oxy.. le sigh!

Okay, I had to take out my contacts for this next step. Ugh, what a typical nerd look. :P

Guess what this is?

It's my Boots Ultimate Lift Eye gel from their Botanics range. It leaves a nice cooling sensation on your eyes, but I don't think it really helps "lift my eyes". However, I do enjoy the soothing sensation, and this eye gel was NOT responsible for the milia that I got.... so :

This is the part where I let my hair down... because I'm going to use my Phyto Phytodefrisante anti-frizz balm. Can use when hair is wet or dry... don't matter :
I *really* don't like the texture of this thing... it just looks so gross... hahhaa. I'm REALLY not buying this again!
And to help me sleep better... Johnson & Johnson's Bedtime Powder. I really do think it helps me sleep better. It has such a comforting scent, and makes "baby" feel so nice and comfortable. Hahahaha...

And lastly ... hand cream. I bought a whole bunch of this from Bath & Body Works when I was in America last time. Craziness! Out of a bunch of 8 tubes of hand cream, I only used finish 1. This one is a lavender vanilla "sleep blend". It does smell rather sweet, but nothing that is particularly "soothing" and "promotes tranquility" about it...
Alright, I hope I'll get some good rest after this. I'm actually supposed to be on standby for a night implementation... so I pray that all goes well and I don't end up wide awake at 3am or something...