Product Test Results: Garnier UltraLift Anti-Wrinkle Firming Eye Cream

On June 16th I started testing this Garnier eye cream, to see if it actually lived up to its claims of firming the eye area skin and reducing the appearance of wrinkles. You can click here to read back on that entry if you missed it. I've been using this product ever since that date, so it's been nearly 6 weeks of use. I would apply once or twice a day as needed, and used no other eye creams during that period.

NOTE: It is impossible to have exactly the same lighting conditions unless you have a pro camera and a studio where light conditions are controlled. I do not have access to such facilities, I took both pictures in daylight where cloud cover, sunlight, etc will affect the picture. Please keep that in mind when commenting. Viewing the pics full size will show the difference better.

Here is the before picture:

And here is a picture taken yesterday:

No photoshopping has been done on either image, although the lighting conditions seem to be slightly different.

My opinion on the results:

Upon closely examining these pictures full size, I have to say I am slightly in shock to see that there is actually a little bit of difference. In the after picture, the fine lines just below my inner tear duct don't seem as deep-set and long as in the before picture. Or am I imagining things? However, I do remain somewhat skeptical since there are many variables that I cannot rule out that might have caused this difference. For example, I don't know if my eye was somewhat puffy on the day of taking the before picture versus the picture taken yesterday. Also, the different lighting conditions could mean that in the newer picture, the wrinkles may not be as visible. This isn't a very scientific experiement where I can completely rule out any of these interfering variables, so I leave it up to you to decide. (If you look at the pictures full size, you can get a better idea.)

My other thoughts on the cream:

I felt like this eye cream is very light, and would be good for people with normal to oily skin. Sometimes I felt like it just wasn't moisturizing enough, especially as I suffer from seasonal hay fever and sometimes need more moisture in an eyecream to counteract the dry skin caused by rubbing my eyes. The other negative point is that this cream has a tendency to sting if you actually get it in your eyes. Not horribly painful, but on occasion when I did get some of the product into my eye, it burned and started watering. In my opinion, no eye cream should sting when you get it into your eyes. It didn't irritate or sting on my skin at all though, making it good for those with sensitivities like myself.

In conclusion, I don't think I would buy this cream again. It's relatively pricey for a very small tube, wasn't quite moisturizing enough, stung sometimes when getting into the eye, and overall I'm not entirely convinced of the anti-wrinkle effect.

What do you think of the results? Do you notice any difference or not? Would you try this cream yourself? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Test: Garnier UltraLift Anti-Wrinkle Firming Eye Cream

I've decided to test out some of these anti-wrinkle creams that promise the world, and lure in mature customers that are noticing the appearance of fine or even deep-set wrinkling of the skin. I've also started to notice some fine lines appearing on my face, especially around my eye area. I'm going to test a few of these creams and see if they actually live up to their promise. Now, I'm a pretty big skeptic on these anti-wrinkle creams in general as I believe using a daily SPF will do much more in the long run to prevent wrinkles, rather than slapping on some overpriced creams, and that these companies generally prey on women's insecurities about natural aging to sell their products. However, in the name of superficiality I've decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, and will be conducting an experiment in the realm of anti-wrinkle creams.

Here is a before picture of my eye, without makeup and digital retouching of any sort.

First up in this experiment is the Garnier UltraLift Anti-Wrinkle Firming Eye Cream, this is the 15ml tube.

Here is what the company professes about the UltraLift product range according to their website:

The Garnier UltraLift* range has been specially designed for skin that is showing signs of aging, suffers loss of skin elasticity and firmness. With seven products to use together the range includes UltraLift* Intensive, Day Cream, Day Cream with SPF 15, Night Cream, Eye Cream, Firming Mask and the UltraLift* Reinforced Lifting Program-designed to reduce the appearance of even deep wrinkles. They make the skin feel firmer and look smoother.

However, they also have this rather ominous disclaimer:

UltraLift has been developed to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and make the skin feel firmer; it has not been proven to lift or firm the skin.

Hm, well that sounds less than promising! The Garnier website states that the UltraLift line contains glycolic acid, Hyaluaronic Acid, skin relaxing ginger, wheat proteins and cherry extract. They go on to write, "At Garnier UltraLift we use a sophisticated extraction method known as 'Supercritical CO2' to extract Pure Ginger extract" and "this process was developed to preserve the essential elements of fragile plants." This eye cream professes to be "an anti-wrinkle solution especially for the delicate zone of the eye contour, specially designed to smooth the skin around the delicate eye area, leaving skin feeling firmer and reducing the appearance of even deep wrinkles."

Well, pseudo-science mumbo-jumbo aside, it all sounds promising so let's see if this actually works! I'll report back in about a week or so with an updated picture of my eye to see if there was any noticeable change.

In the comments, please let me know if you have tried any anti-wrinkle creams, especially for the face, and actually noticed good results.