The Body Shop Elderflower 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.