Clinique Even Better Eyes Dark Circle Corrector: 10 Day Trial with Before and After Photos

November 5, 2013
by Bob Frazier

I once looked at a photo of myself and asked, “Why does it look like I have under eye circles that look like someone gave me two black eyes?” to which our gracious, but honest, Art Director Meredith pointed out that it might be because I did, indeed, have some pretty dark under-eye circles. And that’s why my favorite under-eye concealer is Photoshop. Hands down, it’s the best under-eye circle-reducer I’ve ever used. Bar none. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work IRL (in real life), which is a really big problem, because there are actually a lot of people who see me in person on a regular basis.

So, I wanted Clinique Even Better Eyes Dark Circle Corrector ($24.45, amazon.com) to work. I really, really did. And I decided to try it for 10 days to see if it could actually perk up my under eye area.

What Science Says about the Ingredients

Clinique Even Better Eyes Dark Circle Corrector is really the kind of thing that’s an investment time-wise. It’s not going to magically hydrate away your dark circles. Rather, the ingredients are formualted to have an effect with regular use to, presumably, strengthen the skin and keep dark circles at bay.

The first ingredient, lactis protein, is a type of milk protein that uses the peptides from colostrum, or breast milk, and has anti-aging properties and is included for its long-term healing benefits (Cosmetics & Toiletries). Colostrum has been shown to increase the proliferation of skin cells, which is why it’s used as a wound-healing agent in addition to an anti-aging addition (The Journal of Nutrition; Indian Journal of Pediatrics).So, ideally, this lactic protein helps to repair the thin and easily damaged skin of your under eye area by increasing the production of skin cells and collagen in the long term.

Another ingredient that might give long-term results? Yeast extract. If you’ve heard about it’s possible ability to repair DNA, don’t get too excited. Though it contains a sequence of DNA that’s responsible for double-strand DNA break repair (Nature), there are a few reasons it’s unlikely to affect your DNA. First, it’s unlikely to penetrate through all the stuff it would have to repair your cellular DNA, like the membrane, cytoplasm, and nuclei. But even if it could, it wouldn’t do anything different since it’s similar to the preexisting ERCC1 repair genes already in the human genome (Annual Review of Genetics). There is, however, some evidence that yeast may stimulate wound-healing and work as an antioxidant (JAMA Surgery). That’s where it could help to improve under eye circles, by strengthening skin.

But in the short term, there’s puffiness to deal with, and that’s where Siegesbeckia orientalis, or St. Paul’s Wort, comes in. The lesser known saint’s wort contains a component called kieranol that’s been used as a topical analgesic and anti-inflammatory. In a 2011 study on rats, the applications of a kieranol-containing cream significantly reduced joint swelling (Journal of Ethnopharmacology). Aside from this, there’s little research. But, with any luck, this should help reduce some of the swelling uder your eyes when you wake up in the morning.

Does It Work?: Personal Use and Opinion

OK, so Clinique Even Better Eyes Dark Circle Corrector is no quick fix. If you spent last night out partying, you’ll still look like you spent last night out partying after you use it. That said, my time investment seemed worthwhile to me. I’m not entirely certain that my dark circles disappeared, but I really felt that the skin around my eyes became stronger and thicker. I can definitely see how, with regular use, this could make someone look more awake. I’m not totally sold on the eye-brightening optics, so I’d still use makeup. Overall, this is a keeper.

Bottom Line

Clinique Even Better Eyes Dark Circle Corrector works by strengthening the skin around eyes to help reduce the appearance of dark circles. Though it promises to make eyes look wide-awake more immediately, it’s definitely not a day-of kind of fix (that’s what concealer and PhotoShop are for!). Overall, I found that after 10 days of use, my skin felt stronger around my eyes. This is definitely one I’ll keep using.

Love FutureDerm’s Expert Advice? Try Our Expertly Designed Products!

	FutureDerm Time-Release Retinol 0.5 The best retinol serum you’ve ever tried. We guarantee it.
	FutureDerm Skin Reborn Facial Cleanser 8.31 A cleanser that feels like a serum!
	FutureDerm Skin Reborn Gift Set One bottle of FutureDerm Vitamin CE Caffeic Silk Serum 16+2 (use in the morning) and one bottle of FutureDerm Time-Release Retinol 0.5 (use at night).
	FutureDerm Time-Release Retinol 0.5 – Triple Set Get our best-selling retinol cream at a discount when you buy three at a time!