Beauty by Clinica Ivo Pitanguy Specifics Ultimate Eye Cream

Specifics Ultimate Eye Cream ($200) from Beauty by Clinica Ivo Pitanguy is formulated to repair damaged skin that no longer has the ability to repair itself due to the aging process or the three most common factors destructive factors: emotional, biological, and physical stress. Specifics Ultimate Eye Cream is said to "work on deep wrinkles to deliver intense hydration and restore the loss of radiance, firmness, and elasticity. Skin around the eye area regains its youthful appearance."

Intended for all skin types, Specifics Ultimate Eye Cream targets the eight major universal eye area concerns: sagging, deep wrinkles, loss of firmness, loss of elasticity, puffiness, dark circles, dryness, and stressed skin around the delicate eye area.

For two weeks, I have been using samples generously provided by Neiman Marcus. The first thing I did was go looking for more information about Ivo Pitanguy. It wasn't hard to find. Here's what I learned from his Web site.

Ivo Helcio Jardim De Campos Pitanguy was born in Brazil. The son of a surgeon, he decided to follow in his father's footsteps, opting to study medicine himself at Rio de Janeiro University. He then began work as a surgeon in the United States before spending some time in Europe, working in France and England. He has set up clinics for burn victims, hand surgery, and plastic surgery.

His products have been developed in accordance with the best cosmetic practices to meet his high standards. Ingredients must have two essential criteria: scientifically proven efficacy and safety. The plants that provide the ingredients must be harvested in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way. The formulas contain no coloring and are scented with natural plant essences to minimize risks to sensitive skin and noses. Efficacy and safety studies are carried out under dermatological and ophthalmological control. In short, he takes steps to ensure that his products are effective and in harmony with our skin and the environment.

Specifics Ultimate Eye Cream is the newest addition to his Specifics line. It features a combination of biopeptides and pure gold that wraps the strengthens collagen fibers to "redensify" the skin and fill in deep wrinkles. While I may not have been familiar with his products, the media has been onto them. You can read many magazine reviews at this link.

Wondering how this eye cream works? Here's some information from the Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman Web sites.

Main Actions

• Action 1: Immediately calms, soothes, and relaxes delicate skin around the eye area with a unique trio of plants: candeia, cotton oil, and aloe vera extract
• Action 2: Targets dark circles and puffiness with white lupin extract, a powerful decongestant, anti-water retention agent, and skin firmer
• Action 3: Deep repair on a cellular level, optimizing cellular function and restoring ceramide barrier with duo hyper specialized peptides and ceramide

Secondary Actions

• Pomegranate and vitamin E - powerful antioxidants - fight free radicals and UV rays
• Rose butter nourishes, revitalizes, and moisturizes
• Essential oils: Tolu balsam, neroli, rosewood, and benzion regenerate, soothe, and balance

When I read this description, I was impressed. The cream has many great ingredients, and it's paraben-free. The company recommends that you use it morning and evening.

What do I think after using it for two weeks? I'm still impressed! I can see that it definitely has positive effects on the eye area - above and below the eyes. I think it's firming, which means it does diminish fine lines. In only two weeks, I experienced smoother skin. I can't tell you that it reduces puffiness for me. When I get puffiness around my eyes, it's from sleeping on my head by accident. Normally I sleep with my head raised on multiple pillows, but I can get restless at night and "fall off." A bag of frozen baby peas for 20 minutes will get rid of puffiness faster than any cosmetic remedy. Does it banish dark circles? Pronounced dark circles are often a result of blood vessels close to the skin's surface. They are hard to treat with cosmetics, although brightening creams can help. Correctors and concealers are the best cosmetic remedy. I'm glad I don't normally have dark circles.

Reader Ava also got a sample of this eye cream. Here's what she said in a Friday Forum comment. "The bags and puffiness disappeared overnight. I can't vouch for its ability to banish dark circles; they are only an occasional concern for which I think sufficient sleep and allergy meds are the only solution." Ah yes, allergy medications - aren't we all on them in the DC area, with the pollen count at a season high?

Would I purchase this eye cream? Yes. I'll gulp when I do it, but I'm impressed. I'll gulp only because I have purchased a lot of expensive skin care recently. Why do I keep getting hooked on expensive skin care? Sometimes it works!

Photo courtesy of Neiman Marcus

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Kate Somerville CytoCell Dark Circle Corrective Eye Cream

I have been using Kate Somerville's new CytoCell Dark Circle Corrective Eye Cream ($75) for over a month, and I love it! It's so much more than a dark circle corrector, I wonder how it got its name. It's clinically proven to treat all signs of aging in the delicate eye area, including fine lines and wrinkles, puffiness, dullness, uneven skin tone - you name it - and dark circles.

I was lucky to be given a "pre-production sample" at the Neiman Marcus Mazza Gallerie blogger party. It has lasted since late February and shows no signs of running out yet. It must have been close to a full-sized product. I feel privileged because it's so nice.

The eye cream, something like a creamy serum, is intended to reactivate dormant stem cells around the eyes, which “helps with dark circles, fine lines, wrinkles and puffiness,” said Somerville. Just in case you haven't noticed, stem cells are a focus of luxury skin care lately. Key ingredients in CytoCell Eye (nickname for it) include Peptide P-199, said to enhance skin tissue and cellular regeneration, and Eyeseryl (also a peptide) to treat under-eye puffiness and dark circles. Eyeseryl has anti-edema properties.

Somerville's four-week clinical trial demonstrated these fabulous results.

• Reduces under eye dark circles by up to 60%
• Reduces puffiness around the eye area by up to 75%
• Diminishes fine lines and wrinkles around the eye area by up to 60%
• Helps to improve radiance, skin tone, and smoothness

I don't really have dark circles under my eyes, so I won't be the best person to evaluate its effectiveness on them. I can tell you that it reduced the crepiness over my eyes. My crepiness (it comes with age) is not awful, but it's there, and it bothers me. CytoCell Eye also reduces the appearance of the fine lines around my eyes. I have used it day and night and at night alone, and I settled on night only. I like using an effective, but not overly heavy eye cream at night. I don't want to encourage the pooling of fluid while I sleep. CytoCell Eye seems to help banish that wake-up fluid. I did find this cream to ball up a little under my eye primer in the morning, which may be totally due to my primer, not the cream. So, I use it at night.

I love the texture of CytoCell Eye. It is so creamy and nice. I feel hydrated the moment I apply it, and the feeling lasts all night - probably because it absorbs so perfectly. One ample pump (yes, I love the pump container too!) covers both eyes, under and over, with a little for the sides toward my hairline. CytoCell Eye is free of fragrance and parabens, another reason to try it. While some of you may think CytoCell Eye is expensive, I think it's extremely reasonable for state-of-the-art skin care. Compare the prices of Somerville's products to the other latest and greatest eye creams at the department store, and you'll understand why I find the prices extremely reasonable.

Kate Somerville is dedicated to using scientifically proven ingredients in her skin care, and it shows in her products. This isn't the only one of her new introductions; I will be featuring others this week and next. I am a believer.

You can purchase Kate Somerville products at Neiman Marcus, Kate Somerville's Web site, and other department store counters.

DC-area friends: Margarita Vega, Product Specialist for Kate Somerville at Neiman Marcus at Tysons Galleria, will be doing DERMAL QUENCH facials on May 24. Call (703) 761-1600, extension 3304, to book an appointment. I have never experienced a treatment like it; it took years off my face in just a few minutes. If you didn't see my feature, you can read it now at this link. Don't miss an opportunity to have a DERMAL QUENCH treatment. I would buy the machine if I could!

Photo courtesy of Kate Somerville

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Natura Bissé The Cure Sheer Eye

I've been using Natura Bissé's The Cure Sheer Eye ($115) for about a month. I purchased it after Denise Thomas, Natura Bissé Product Specialist at Neiman Marcus, sent a sample home to me via Kathy Shoreman. I quickly decided I needed it. It was a good decision.

The Cure Sheer Eye is a tinted, creamy serum that contours the delicate skin around the eye (upper and lower lids) by firming it and visibly reducing the appearance of wrinkles, puffiness, and dark circles. The slight tint provides the eye area with exceptional radiance and luminosity, evening skin tone while it infuses the delicate skin with state-of-the art treatment elements.

The Cure Sheer Eye is said to prolong the lifespan of skin cells thanks to the infusion of SIRT-AP, a sirtuin modulating peptide that prevents premature aging. This cutting-edge formula includes an active combination of anti-wrinkle ingredients, such as hyaluronic acid, fermentus glaciarum extract, and tripeptide-10 citrulline and tripeptide-1, which provide this delicious cream/serum with powerful anti-aging properties that help to modulate the activity of metalloproteinases (bad actors MMP-2 and MMP-3, which degrade the structure of the skin). The Cure restores the levels of young collagen and maintains the balance of collagen throughout its different cycles (production, organization, and protection). This exclusive ingredient mix mimics the skin's natural moisturizing factor, maintains the proper hydration level, and prevents dehydration, dramatically improving the texture of the skin and diminishing the visible signs of aging over time.

As if that weren't enough, The Cure Sheer Eye is formulated with a "Detox Diet Complex," based on sulphorane, which stimulates the skin's natural detoxifying process in order to smooth the skin around the eye contour area. Natura Bissé has included botanical extracts of water lily, ivy, and caffeine-carnitine complex, which work together to diminish dark circles, reduce puffiness, and effectively soothe, protect, and decongest the eye contour area, while preventing the appearance of signs of fatigue. There is also a biotechnology-created extract rich in vitamin Pp (niacin). These ingredients helps to eliminate excess fluid around the eye contour area.

The formula makes this eye treatment unique, but we aren't finished yet! This innovative formula includes pigments that "self-adapt" to every skin tone and diminish skin imperfections, leaving behind a luminous, even-toned, and healthy appearance to the eye contour area. When I pump The Cure into my palm to apply it, I marvel at how the color looks way too dark for my skin - and then totally morphs to work on my fair skin when I apply it. It disappears as it provides a "soft-focus" effect that creates multiple light micro-reflections, providing a luminous halo that softens dark shadows. It's absolutely amazing. I can wear it without concealer on top of it and still look polished, wide awake, and raring to go.

A little of The Cure Sheer Eye goes a very long way. I have been a little frustrated that one tiny pump yields more than I need. I end up wasting some every day. That depresses me, given how much I love it. I wish I could get the knack of pumping only what I need. When a product is this fabulous, you don't want any of it going down the drain!

You can purchase Natura Bissé The Cure Sheer Eye at Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, and other Natura Bissé counters.

Photo courtesy of Natura Bissé

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Kinerase Under Eye Rescue

Is there a "perfect" eye cream? Probably not. I have found one that comes pretty close.

I have been using Kinerase Under Eye Rescue ($78 at Sephora, but you can find it for less online) for years and recently returned to it. It is designed with the active ingredients Kinetin (treats the visible signs of aging), eyeseryl tetrapeptide (helps alleviate the appearance of under-eye circles), palmitoyl tripeptide-3 (a peptide that helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles), and aloe vera (soothes the skin).

Does it moisturize the eye area (over and under) without creeping into my eyes? Yes. Does it reduce the appearance of tiny wrinkles? Absolutely, and it does that well! Does it banish dark circles? I'm not sure. I'm not the best tester for that. Dark circles are caused by many things, but most often they are from tiny capillaries exposed by thin or translucent skin. Can you fix that? Yes, but I'm not sure many of us want to develop fat pads or puffiness under our eyes to hide the capillaries. I have read that vitamin K works, and there is some evidence that laser treatments work.

I have been fickle with my eye creams. Most recently, I was using Dr. Perricone's Cold Plasma Eye, and I liked it a lot. I ran out, and I found a fresh tube of Under Eye Rescue in my bathroom. So, I am using Under Eye Rescue again, and I'm pleased with the effects.

How about you? What is your favorite eye cream and why? I'm always on the hunt for a new one to try, so today, I'm asking for your advice.

Photo courtesy of Sephora

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