I’ve talked about k-beauty eye cream in general briefly before and linked to Bianca’s excellent post on the subject. The short version is that anyone could benefit from it!
I was skeptical as I’d rarely used eye cream and I wasn’t impressed with the relatively basic ones I’d purchased from the usual high street places.
Needless to say, I hadn’t tried a K-Beauty eye cream as an eye cream – you can read about how I used the HaruHaru Wonder Black Rice Bakuchiol on my neck here.
Saying that, I’ve used the Beauty of Joseon Revive Eye Serum Ginseng + Retinal but I don’t really consider that an eye cream because I use for the retinal and I don’t just apply it to my eye area, I use it all over my face!
Texture
I honestly didn’t expect much from an eye cream – it’s just a moisturiser, right? There’s an elasticity to the texture that I’m a fan of because it is great for the eye area. Some creams need to be smoothed on, like the Mary & May Blackberry Complex Intensive Total Care Cream because it’s meant to be deeply moisturising (which it is, whilst not being heavy).
Whilst there’s no issue smoothing a cream on my eye area, I’ve noticed that this k-beauty eye cream can be patted on and it absorbs super easily. I feel like this is the ideal way to apply an eye cream because, if you are noticing the beginning of fine lines, smoothing it on might not get the product into the lines – you might skim the surface unintentionally.
Being able to smooth it on or pat it makes it versatile and useful for different skin textures, whether you have fine lines or not.
As you might expect, the Beauty of Joseon is slightly lighter again because it’s more of a creamy serum than a cream. However, because of the retinal, it’s an evening only product anyway.
The HaruHaru is a little thicker than the Mary & May and so it might not suit everyone for a morning routine. Although I could use it day or night on my dry neck because my neck loves a lot of moisturising products.
Ingredients
Tranexamic acid is brightening and I’ve seen improvements in dark circles before with this ingredient so I’m pleased to find it in a dedicated eye product.
Glutathion is helpful for pigmentation too so it’s great to see it paired with tranexamic acid and niacinamide here.
And then there’s the classic hydrating and moisturising ingredients plus some extra antioxidant goodies, it’s a great all-rounder focused on brightening!
Although this eye cream has fragrance, it’s very subtle and I don’t notice it. And it makes sense that an eye cream would have one of the lightest fragrances as fragrance can irritate the eye area.
That being said, I haven’t noticed any issue with putting Korean or Japanese products with more distinct fragrances around my eyes (neither has Bianca) but everyone is different.
Experience
I had thought that if an eye cream is light, it wouldn’t do enough for my eye area. And if it wasn’t light, it would take ages to dry.
The Mary & May is an ideal balance between moisturising and light. I often write about how quickly products absorb, as I need my morning routine to be efficient!
It helps plump up my eye area more than I expected and my skin then doesn’t look so dry. This might be temporary because any moisturiser can potentially plump fine lines temporarily, you need effective ingredients for longer term effects. Read more here and here. However, the plumping I’m noticing goes beyond the effects of my usual moisturisers – my fine lines look softened, particularly the side of my face that I sleep on. Anything that helps with the issues of being a side sleeper gets a repeat purchase from me!
And of course I need to talk about the brightening effects: I have glowy skin generally because I use a lot of brightening products but my eye area definitely needs extra love because if I haven’t slept well, it’s the first place it shows.
As you get older, you can also find your skin thins and it shows the veins, which can make you look like you haven’t slept well, even if you have. A week or so into my use of the Mary & May eye cream I noticed that my eye area was more glowy than usual! Glow is useful for your eye area because it reflects light, making the area look more even in tone.
The formulation and ingredients of this eye cream are impressive as I definitely find my dark circles are less noticeable and brighter than before.
Because the texture is light but moisturising, you don’t need much for it to be effective and so the tube will last you a long time. It’s also available in a mini size so you can try it to see if it suits your skin type. I think all skin types could benefit from this, the texture is light enough that it should be easy to add to your current routine if you eye area needs a boost.
You’ll know that I like to really test products for the blog so naturally I tried this all over my face. I have drier skin but with a nicely moisturising sunscreen like the Beauty of Joseon Sun Relief Rice + Probiotics, it worked!
However, I think if I had been outside, I would have wanted something more moisturising.
Normal to oily skin could potentially use this as a replacement moisturiser, which could be useful if you’re looking for brighter skin generally.
Is there any reason to try an eye cream all over your face? The ingredients are unusual and the texture is lovely so I don’t see why not.
Final Word
Whilst lots of K-Beauty products are brightening, if you’re noticing that your dark circles are more prominent, it’s worth trying this eye cream from Mary & May!