Skyn Iceland’s Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels with Hexapeptide Technology ($33 for 8 pairs) claim to firm, tone bright reduce the appearance of puffiness and wrinkles on the under-eye skin within ten minutes.

I just want to start off by saying that I don’t have prominent wrinkles or dark circles under my eyes. My under-eye skin is a bit darker in the inner third, but that’s about it. So that eliminates the claims of brightening and reducing the wrinkles for my case.

My eyes do get puffy sometimes when I stay up really late fiddling with my phone – who needs sleep, am I right? – or from crying my eyes out watching Korean dramas. Today was one of those Korean drama hang-overs, so I decided to test the eye gels out.

When I first opened it, I was worried because I thought the gels had dried out, but it turns out the top layer is soft – sort of like when you open a new blackhead nose strip – and the layer underneath Is the gel. With that being said, I was really careful with removing the film the gel was attached to, it didn’t come off easy and I didn’t want to rip the gel patch. Following the instructions, I stuck them under my eye and left them on for ten minutes (maybe a bit more, I was distracted by my phone again!).  The gels weren’t stick per se, but they stuck on – similar to those sticky jelly hands we flung at walls as a kid (tell me I’m not the only one). It felt very weird, every time I blinked or moved my eye, I could feel the edge of the gel on my skin and I kept checking the mirror every 15 seconds or so to make sure it wasn’t going to stab my eye, but it didn’t budge.

After about 12 minutes, I remembered to remove them and did notice that my eyes were no longer puffy. I wouldn’t say they were toned though, more like hydrated. I’m not sure if these eye gels live up to the hype, but it’s definitely something I would want just in case of emergency such as a big event.

Have you tried any products by Skyn Iceland?

I received Vichy’s Idealia Skin Sleep and Idealia Life Serum courtesy of Chick Advisor.

Vichy’s Idealia Skin Sleep ($52) is a repair and recovery night gel balm.  It’s designed to recreate the repairing benefits of deep sleep for ideal skin quality from the very first morning. Both products are paraben-free and hypoallergenic and suitable for all skin types.

The Skin Sleep is a bit thicker than cream and has a light floral scent. My skin doesn’t react well to certain scented lotions, especially from Bath and Body works, so I was hesitant about a scented moisturizer but this didn’t affect my skin. When I first used it, I noticed my skin absorbed it fairly quickly, especially for its thicker consistency. It was also a bit more… moist (?) than usual, but not oily. Usually when I wake up, I have a couple dry spots – mainly around my nose and between my eyebrows, but I didn’t find any that morning. I’ve been using this cream nightly and I’m really impressed.

Would I recommend this? Yes, for all skin types.

Vichy’s Idealia Life Serum ($59) is a lifeproof skin idealizer. It claims to work even on skin affected by: stress/fatigue, overexposure to sun, pollution/smoke, and an unbalanced diet. This serum can be used alone or under your daily moisturizer and claims to instantly make your complexion look radiant, fresh and even.

The Life Serum is less of a serum and more of a moisturizer. I didn’t read the label carefully at first and used it solely as a moisturizer and it was pretty good. I did notice my skin getting a bit greasy throughout the day wearing only this moisturizer, so I wouldn’t recommend adding another moisturizer on top if you have combination/oily skin. It too has a subtle floral scent and, you might have noticed from the picture, it has a bit of a yellow shimmery/pearly sheen, but it isn’t noticeable once applied. It did make my skin look more radiant, but I wouldn’t say it made it look even – I’ll need some tint for that. I did enjoy using it, but I’d rather use it for the winter months when my skin is a bit drier. I also wish it had a bit of SPF included.

Would I recommend this? Yes, but for those with combination to dry skin.

What’s your favourite daily and nightly moisturizer?