little white truths

• Linden Leaves' skincare range is designed to inspire a moment of peace in each day
• A lightly textured, soothing treat for tired and ageing eyes
• Enriched with white tea and melon extract for cell renewal and regeneration
• Aloe vera hydrates
• To use: before applying moisturiser, using fingertips and a small amount of cream, gently press and tap from inner corner of eye to outer, working around orbital bone
• RRP $45 AUD for 15ml

I do love that the cream comes with a pump - rare for an eye cream - because it helps keep the contents protected from air (unlike eg a tub) and means you don't need to dip your finger in with each application.

Verdict

I should start off by saying that I'm a super hard test-subject for skincare at the moment: my skin is normally dry but it's winter in Australia and I'm pregnant, plus I've been sick for the past couple of weeks so I'm more dry, sensitive and dehydrated than usual. 

Having said this, I started using this cream at the end of April when my skin was in better shape, so I've been able to watch how it performs under different conditions. Unfortunately it hasn't worked for me no matter what my skin's doing, and twice now I've used it for a month (day and night), then given it a break for a week before coming back to it - so it's had a decent trial!

It's a white cream that manages to feel super light while still feeling nourishing to the touch. I've found that I need to apply half the amount of this than I would a normal cream, so rather than the standard grain of rice per eye, I've used one grain for both and even then I'm left with excess product that my eye area won't hold.

To begin with I thought this was a good thing (better bang for your buck), but I realised within a week of use that the reason I needed to use so little, was because the stuff just doesn't want to absorb. No matter how prepped my skin is and how much I work at patting this in, my eye area won't hold it and most of it doesn't sink in but instead sits there, so I end up spreading it to other areas of my face.

The result, of course, is that my eyes aren't hydrated when I use this and I really notice how dry they look and feel. If you read this blog, you may have seen me say that I get a wrinkle appearing over my right upper eye area when I'm using a 'lesser' eye cream: that wrinkle appears within 48 hours of using this, and it doesn't leave for the testing period. Twice when I've stopped this and switched it for another cream, the wrinkle has vanished within two days - so I know that this is the culprit.

So unfortunately this product doesn't work for me and it obviously just doesn't agree with my skin. Foo. I really thought it was going to be a winner! It could just be that this cream and my skin don't mix, so I'd be really interested to see how others have gone with it and whether they've experienced the same issues I have.

Another thing to mention briefly is: go easy on the pump. If you do a full pump, you might end up with too much cream, so just do a half one to start with and don't over-apply the product or you'll waste it. But as mentioned above, the pump is a huge plus and I wish that more eye creams were packaged this way.

In sum, this cream doesn't work for me and it doesn't hydrate or nourish my eye area because it doesn't want to absorb. It gives the appearance of being a wonderful cream and I thought it was when I first used it, but I quickly saw that it wasn't doing its job.

Do let me know if you've used this and what you think of it if so. I'd love to hear : )