little white truths

I unboxed this Skyn Iceland skincare set over a month ago now (see here) and I'm ready to review my first item from the kit.

That product is the eye pen, and I realised last night that I needed to review it today because I'm squeezing the remains out as we speak - so best I review it before it's gone forever.

Long story short, I wouldn't buy it because I don't think it's good value, given the small amount of product you get - and while it's been fine to keep my dry eyes feeling comfortable, it's not that great so it hasn't been a stand-out for me personally. More on that below.

Skyn claims/product details:

• Fast relief in an easy-to-use, portable pen that works to combat eye issues associated with stress
• This travel-friendly pen encases the Icelandic Relief Eye Cream, which works to reduce the look of puffiness, wrinkles and dark circles using a compilation of soothing nutrients and optical diffusers to brighten the eye area
• Vitamin k helps increase circulation and lighten dark circles, while orange peel reduces puffiness
• Ideal for travel and daily touch-ups
• RRP $28 AUD for 3.97g

While I do like the idea of a portable eye-pen, the reality is that I have little 5ml and 7.5ml tubes of eye cream that are smaller than this and that also contain more product. Indeed, the 7.5ml eye cream I'm currently testing from Perricone MD is less than half the size of this and it contains almost twice the amount of product.

So how travel-friendly and portable is this thing? Not really. There's also the point that a tube will get thinner and flatter over time as you use more product, while a hard plastic pen like this will always remain the same size - even if you only have one application left.

See what I'm saying?

There's the applicator below:

Verdict

This product is ok but it's not great and I wouldn't recommend it. Let's talk about why.

It's a white cream with a lightweight, slightly mousse-like texture. I can smell a barely there, light and fresh fragrance - but it's so hard to smell that I would call it fragrance free.

It comes in a hard plastic wand and you twist the base to push up the product. The first time I used it, it took a lot of time and a lot of twisting to get any product to come out, which made me think that it had dried out. It hadn't, and by the time the product finally dispensed, of course it spewed out everywhere and I had to put the excess into a little pot so it didn't go to waste.

The applicator is an odd, soft plastic/silicone thing that's flexible. I'm not sure why they've gone with that option: normally applicators like this are metal so they have a cooling effect, and I don't think this applicator adds anything to the product - especially because it's so long that I often need to pinch it in order to squeeze product out to the surface.

As for the cream itself, it's fine but I wouldn't call it 'relieving' because it's not cooling or soothing when applied (which is what the word 'relief' in the title implies to me). It spreads and absorbs well, and it's hydrating enough that it keeps my dry eyes comfortable throughout the day - but it's not rich enough for me personally so I wouldn't recommend it for night use.

On the claims: no it doesn't offer 'fast relief' (it's not rich or cooling/soothing enough for that); no it doesn't reduce the look of puffiness, wrinkles or dark circles; and no it doesn't brighten.

Overall I think this product is fine - it's hydrating enough to keep my dry eyes comfortable - but that's all it does and I reckon it's overpriced for the amount of product you get, plus I don't think the packaging is particularly useful or functional.

Ok but not for me.