The Olay skincare brand was 40% off in my local supermarket today so I picked up a few products I’d never used before. One was the Olay Eyes Ultimate Eye Cream which normally retails for $49. Olay claims this tinted eye cream is for Dark Circles, Wrinkles & Puffiness. Great – I think! I was keen to try this for two reasons. One – I was born with significant under eye circles and am on a constant search for products to minimise or conceal them. And two – I am a fan of products that multi-task so a tinted eye cream that could double as an eye cream and under eye concealer would be a huge plus.

First, a bit of physiology. The skin around your eyes is thinner than elsewhere on your face. This means that blood vessels under your eyes can be visible and appear a blue or brown colour depending on your skin colour. I found a good summary of what causes dark under eye circles here which is well worth a read if you want to know more -http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/06/causes-dark-circles-eyes-sleeping-people-really-tired/.  Some people (myself included) are genetically predisposed to dark under eye circles. Under eye circles can appear darker as you age and as a result of other factors such as lack of sleep.

Now how does this eye cream reduce the appearance of dark circles, wrinkles and puffiness? Well Olay claims that this is the result of peptides, Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide in this product) and their patented colour-correcting technology. So are their claims genuine? Well I’ve done the research for you so you can decide whether to invest your hard earned cash.

Peptides are amino acids that stimulate natural processes in the skin. There are a multitude of peptides out there – some growth hormone releasing peptides are prohibited for use by professional athletes and were the centre of several scandals in Australian sport. The benefits of peptides in skin care, however, are uncertain as it is unclear if they can penetrate the skin when applied topically and, if they do penetrate the skin, whether they are broken down by the skins enzymes and, therefore, have no effect. So I can’t say for sure whether or not peptides are the magic solution to dark under eye circles. What I can tell you is that the peptide on this eye cream (Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4) is very low down on the ingredient list and under section 15AB(1) of the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989 is not to exceed a concentration of 0.0005% in cosmetic products. So I would think that it is unlikely that this small amount of peptide in this eye cream would have any benefit of stimulating natural skin processes under the eye.

Niacinamide is a derivative of Vitamin B3 which has shown to have many skin benefits including treating pigmentation and fine lines and increasing moisture levels in the skin.  Niacinamide should be present at at least 2% in a product to be effective. I contacted Olay to find out the percentage in this product and will update this review when/if I hear back from them. Though it is listed as the fifth highest ingredient which is generally a good sign.

Other positives to this product are the inclusion of skin conditioning agents such as glycerin (which is a humectant that retards moisture loss by holding water within the surface layers of the skin and drawing in moisture from the surrounding air) and the silicone derivatives dimethicone and vinyldimethicone crosspolymers which hydrate the skin and provide a ‘silky’ feel which is why they are common ingredients in skin primers. And this product does certainly feel silky while applying but did not prevent concealer from creasing under the eye which is what one would hope for from an under eye primer. Now Olay don’t claim that this eye cream is to be used for that purpose – it just would have been an added bonus for me.

As for the ‘colour-correction technology’ this would appear to be the tint included in the product. In order to counteract the blueish colour of under eye circles, orange or peach colours should be applied under the eye. Unfortunately the colour of this product is far too pink to effectively counteract the blue colour. The product is also not thick enough to provide the same coverage that one would get from a concealer. So my hopes of a multi tasking eye cream were dashed!

I should also mention that despite the claims that the eye cream reduces the appearance of puffiness under the eye, there doesn’t appear to be any ingredient in the formula that would achieve this. One tip to reduce puffiness would be to keep this (or any eye cream) in the fridge as cool temperatures assist in reducing swelling.

All in all – this is a nice feeling eye cream which should reduce the appearance of fine lines (through skin conditioning agents and the inclusion of niacinamide) but is unlikely to be the miracle product to treat your dark circles or puffiness under the eye.