Antipodes Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream

Antipodes is a New Zealand brand focused on natural and organic skincare with scientific backing, to provide a product based in nature with great results. I have tried several products from Antipodes before and have really enjoyed them, in particular the Anti-Ageing Minis (made even better if you can nab them on sale!). I love that they are a natural skincare brand that feels really luxurious and does provide great results on my skin. The Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream is my current day and night eye cream and has lasted me a helluva long time.

The Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream promises to help moisturise and soften fine lines as well as soothing and cooling the eye area.

Eye creams are one skincare item that I religiously apply both morning and night. Despite that they
are sometimes a thicker cream that might not sit so well under makeup - something that I wish I did not have to wear every day, but, working in an office environment demands it - the area around my eyes always seems to lap it up. The Antipodes Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream is a great eye cream for the day time, as it is a light lotion texture, so will be perfect for those who do not have quite such a thirsty eye area and it absorbs really well. This tiny little jar is lasting me forever and I have probably been using this for at least a year now, so it is definitely value for money.

I was really hoping this one would smell like fruity kiwi. Does anyone else pick up a skincare item purely based on how they hope it will smell? It is actually more of an herbal, woody scent and perfectly fine, just not what I was hoping for because how good would a kiwi fruit cream smell!

In terms of efficacy, this is great at keeping the eye area hydrated and smooth. I am 25 this year so I do not have too many fine lines to worry about just yet but of course, being obsessed with skincare as I am, I do notice the few that are beginning to appear. I do not find this eye cream to quite as good as one of my favourites Adavanced Night Repair Eye from Estee Lauder in diminishing fines lines however it certainly plays its role in hydrating the area to prevent more appearing, as it promises to do. I have also found this to be a bit of a lifesaver recently, as my eyelids really dried out in a bad reaction to a concealer and this helped to bring them back on track to being smooth and flake free.

This eye cream has a water base and includes some really beautiful ingredients comprising avocado oil, glycerin, cetearyl alcohol (derived from coconut), cetearyl glycosides (derived from wheat straw), glyceryl stearate (an emulsifier which, in combination with the previous two ingredients, prevents the water and oil in the formula from separating), Vitamin E in the form of tocopherol acetate, carrot seed oil, kiwifruit seed oil (obviously), borage oil, gluconolactone (a polyhydroxy acid (PHA), basically a milder acid than an AHA that is better for sensitive skin), sodium benzoate (a salt preservative derived from fruit), and finally grapefruit seed extract (the Antipodes core brand ingredient Vinanza grape seed extract).

Price: $52.99 (Priceline website) [$1.77/mL]
Rate: easily absorbed, vegetarian, hydration benefits
Hate: packaging (I still rate the Kosmea eye cream packaging as one of the best around!)
Verdict: not a repurchase for me at this stage as I have found other eye creams that work better for me, but I would highly recommend if you are after a simple, light eye cream

What is your favourite eye cream that I should try?

Daily Skincare Routine I

My current daily skincare routine has been really pared back lately, for a couple of reasons. Firstly,
we have just moved from the city to the country in the past two months and for the vast majority of those two months, I have not been bothered to unpack all of my beauty bits and pieces. So I learnt to make do with what was I'd thrown in my toiletries bag before moving, which wasn't very much! Secondly, the hormonal acne on my jaw and chin has been absolutely horrendous so I have been trying to keep things simple with adding in a product here and there to see if it is successful in controlling it at all (spoiler: I actually have found something that has worked wonders, but that's part of my nightly routine and a story for another post).



First up (always) is an hydrating toner and my current baby is the 100% Pure Jasmine Green Tea
Tonique for normal to dry skin. This one is all natural and vegan and smells amazing. I love anything jasmine (probably one of my first purchases when I eventually own a house will be a jasmine vine...) and this has such a beautiful, refreshing scent. It is a pretty heavy mist so probably not a great one for misting over makeup to refresh it, which doesn't bother me because I use this purely as skincare and an extra hydrating layer. It is packaged in a beautiful white glass spray bottle and (touch wood) I haven't dropped it yet so I love the packaging. Heads up, this is currently on sale from Nourished Life and a really good price, so get on to it if it sounds good to you!



Next is eye cream. I am currently using the Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream from Antipodes. Look, I don't particularly love this one. It is hydrating, sure, but really doesn't do a lot for me in terms of plumping or smoothing the eye area. I was also mega disappointed when I first opened it to use it that it didn't smell like kiwi fruit! It is actually more of an herbal, woody scent and perfectly fine, just not what I was hoping for because how good would that smell! This tiny little jar is lasting me forever and I have probably been using this for at least a year now, so it is definitely value for money. Not my favourite eye cream in terms of what it does for my eye area and I am looking forward to moving on to something else soon.



Serum follows eye cream and, whilst I would usually be switching between a few depending on what my skin needs, I have been almost exclusively using Hydraluron from Indeed Labs because it was in my toiletries bag. This is an always repurchase for me because it is such a saviour for dry skin and also a great all rounder serum that suits my skin no matter what. No such thing as too much hydration, right? It's also great on sunburn, FYI. It's light, easy to use, doesn't affect any makeup, and plumps up skin beautifully. My only problem with it is the packaging. Because the serum is so runny, it runs straight out of the opening in the tube and you always end up with way more than you need everywhere! I can forgive the packaging woes though, because this is just so good and so simple. It is basically my go-to serum when I'm not really sure what my skin wants that day.



Moisturiser is the next layer and I have currently been using a new purchase, the Boost Balancing Moisturiser from Botáni. This is beautifully light and absorbs super quickly, so it has been awesome to use under makeup on work mornings because it sets really nicely so it won't disturb your following layer of foundation. It has a woodsy smell when first pumped out of the bottle but once applied, it actually smells quite sweet! It gives off strawberry jam vibes to me. I really enjoy using this and love how the scent develops. The packaging is also a big win - so quick, easy and hygienic. I can see myself repurchasing this as a work morning moisturiser and it is most definitely the winner of the two moisturisers I purchased in the Priceline 40% off skincare sale.

What does your current morning skincare routine look like - and have you used any of my current routine before?

Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye

Estée Lauder has been around since 1946, formulating advanced high performance skincare and makeup. The company owns a myriad of brands including Clinique, MAC, Bobbi Brown, La Mer, Aveda, Smashbox, AERIN Beauty, GLAMGLOW, BECCA, Too Faced, and most recently has invested in DECIEM, the company behind The Ordinary. Their skincare products are definitely on the pricier end of the spectrum though luckily they frequently release great GWP offers. The Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye (Synchronized Complex II) is the eye cream I have been trialling lately and it has been going great guns for me.

The Advanced Night Repair Eye (Synchronized Complex II) promises to fight all key signs of eye ageing, including fine lines, wrinkles, puffiness, dark circles, dryness, and uneven skin tone.

This is a smooth, gel-like eye cream that I nevertheless find to be quite rich and hydrating for the under eye area. It applies really easily and sinks in quickly, so it is perfect to use both day and night. Because of the cool, gel feel this eye cream is quite soothing to apply, especially on tired, sore eyes after a day of staring at a computer screen. It has a slight chemical scent to it, but this fades quickly once you have applied it.

After a spate of eye creams that have not worked so well for me (see this post), this eye cream has been a bit of a saviour! My eye area is not looking quite so shadowy and I've found that the skin is consistently hydrated and plumped. Still young at 22, I can't say much for its efficacy on wrinkles however the plumping effect has definitely reduced the appearance of lines around my eyes.

This eye cream is on the vastly expensive side at $95.00 for 15ml, however I was a little tricky and managed to get my hands on two sample pots from beauty boxes and the like so I have actually been able to trial 10ml of it. Not bad! It is one of the more effective eye creams I have ever used so I would be quite willing to fork out the dollars for a replacement pot if I do not come across something equally as effective in my trials. Estée Lauder frequently has great GWP's happening, so I would probably wait for one of those.

One unfortunate thing about this eye cream is the packaging. Whilst it appears very luxurious and expensive in its dark brown jar with shiny gold features, dipping your finger in to a pot is a little unhygienic. It looks like the full size comes with a spatula to negate this, but that just seems a bit too fussy for me. Put it in a tube or, better yet, pump packaging.

The formula has silicone base, which is a bit of a downside for me as it can dry out my skin. It does explain this silky smooth gel feel of this eye cream though. Basically, it has a whole lot of smoothing and emollient, or moisturising, ingredients with long, complex names. It also has some mulberry root extract, skullcap root extract, wheatgerm, and jojoba thrown in for good measure.

I also have a sample of the Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum to trial so I will let you know how that goes for me soon.

Price: $100.00 (Estée Lauder website) [$6.67/mL]
Rate: efficacy, cool gel feel, ability to use both day and night
Hate: price, packaging, silicon
Verdict: would repurchase (with GWP!)

Kosmea Apple Of My Eye Cream

Kosmea is an Australian brand with a focus on natural skincare and the use of certified organic rosehip oil. This is the first product I have tried from Kosmea and unfortunately it was a bit of a disappointment for me. I really love the story behind the Kosmea brand with the foundation of all the products in rosehip oil and to create "skincare as nature intended". Their rosehip oil, by the way, is absolutely fabulous and one of the best I have tried.

The Apple of My Eye Cream promises to combat signs of ageing and leave skin brighter. It promises to brighten dark circles and smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Sadly, this eye cream just didn't work out for me. At first, it was great! It is light and easy to smooth around the eye area, absorbing quickly into the skin so it is perfectly fine to use under makeup. It helped to keep the skin around my eyes hydrated and I was looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the first couple of weeks with day and night use.

However, after about eight weeks of use, I found that there was a bit of rough skin appearing under one of my eyes. I also noticed that the eye cream has started to sting when I applied it. I stopped using it right away and gave my skin a couple of days to rest. Within about three days, the rough skin had cleared up so I'm certain it was caused by this eye cream. Sad.

It is one of the better packaged eye creams that I've come across - awesome push down pump applicator and a tall, skinny tube that is easy to find and store in the mess of my skincare products (so much better than the tiny little glass or plastic jars that eye creams usually come in). So hygienic. Thank you, Kosmea. I also love the creamy, yellow colour (it reminds me of the inside of an apple).

The eye cream has a water base and includes organic rosehip oil, ceteareth-20 (a fatty alcohol derived from coconut oil to aid in skin absorbtion), cetearyl alcohol and stearic acid (emulsifiers which, in combination, prevent the water and oil from separating), cetyl esters (to aid in thickening), glycerin (an humectant to aid with hydration), shea butter, glyceryl stearate (another moisturising inclusion), apple cell culture (so-called PhytoCellTec apple stem cells to help combat ageing skin), rosewood oil, soybean oil, carrot root extract, organic white tea extract, beta-carotene (a source of vitamin A), xanthum gum (binder and stabiliser for the formula), potassium sorbate (a preservative, commonly used in food), natural fragrance, and essential oil components.

All sounds pretty good right? I'm not really sure what it was that caused my skin to react like it did, but I will keep an eye (hah) on the ingredients of my future eye creams to see if there are similarities if I get another reaction. My suspicion is the ceteareth-20 may have caused the reaction, as some studies show it is unwise to use on sensitive or damaged skin. I would still recommend this eye cream, as it has a lovely formula, but maybe not so much for sensitive skin types.

Price: $44.95 (Kosmea website) [$3.00/mL]
Rate: packaging, ingredients, lightness of formula, initial results
Hate: unfortunate reaction to it
Verdict: would not repurchase because of my skins reaction :(

Skincare

I like to subscribe to the Caroline Hirons method of skincare. Admittedly, it makes my skincare routine a helluva lot longer than it was a year or two ago, but the results for my skin make it 100% worth it. I thought I would take some time to explain my morning and evening skincare routines, which are more or less based on Caroline's, so that my reviews make a lot more sense in what I am actually looking for in a product.

Typical morning line-up

Morning:

1. Cleanser! I like to use a creamy, milky cleanser in the mornings that is light but will still get rid of any built-up sweat and gunk from overnight.
2. Hydrating toner to start the hydration process for my skin.
3. Eye cream. I apply this before serum so that it actually absorbs into the eye area.
4. Serum. I don't like to use an oil-based serum in the morning if I am going to be wearing makeup during the day as I find it doesn't sit as well on my skin. If I am staying home and not wearing makeup...bring on the oil! My skin can use all the extra hydration it can get.
5. Moisturiser. Because my skin is almost always dehydrated, I like to use a thick, creamy (not quite night cream level) moisturiser that will last the whole day.
6. SPF. Every day. It's Australia, you just cannot get away with not using an SPF.

Typical evening routine

Evening:

1. Double cleanse. My New Year's resolution is to try to do this as soon as I get home from work instead of letting my makeup sit on my skin until I'm ready to go to bed. More time for my skincare to do its work! My double cleansing method involves an oil-based makeup remover to get rid of eye makeup and the top layer of foundation and then a cream or oil-based (non-foaming) cleanser to massage the rest of the makeup and grime off my skin. Remove with a warm flannel.
2. Exfoliating acid toner. I use a mild exfoliating toner on a cotton pad swiped all over my face to keep my skin fresh rather than a traditional, manual scrubby exfoliator. Once in the evening is enough - using it in the morning as well can cause problems in my skin. I find chemical/acid exfoliating works much better for my skin, but if I'm out of my acid toner I will use a manual exfoliator two to three times a week.
3. Hydrating toner, as for the morning routine.
4. Eye cream.
5. Serum. Here I will layer a few treatments if my skin needs it. Water-based serums first and oil-based serums last.
6. Night cream. A nourishing layer of night cream or facial oil depending on how my skin is going. And, done!

Chemical vs. manual exfoliation products

There you go. Yes, it's a good few layers of skincare morning and night but the change in my skin since I've adopted a good routine is incredible. It's all worth it - even the boy has seen a lot of improvement in his skin after adding a few extra steps to his skincare routine as well ;) Again, all credit to Caroline Hirons for the basis of these routines and skincare tips. She's a genius and has definitely revolutionised the way I take care of my skin.