What is it?
An eye cream/serum
Who is it for?
Anyone with visible signs of ageing in the eye area that they would like to part company with.
What’s in it?
aqua (water), propanediol, perfluorodecalin, glycerin, perfluorohexane, aminobutyric acid, polymethylsilsesquioxane, perfluoroperhydrophenanthrene, adipic acid/neopentylglycol crosspolymer, nylon-12 fluorescent brightener 230 salt, albiziajulibrissin bark extract, polyvinyl alcohol crosspolymer, myristoylnonapeptide-3, dipeptidediaminobutyroylbenzylamide diacetate, hydroxyethylacrylate/sodiumacryloyldimethyl tauratecopolymer, fucusvesiculosus extract, vp/vacopolymer, dimethicone/vinyldimethicone crosspolymer, polyacrylatecrosspolymer-6, epigallocatechin gallatylglucoside, cyclopentasiloxane, dimethicone, isohexadecane, gallyl glucoside, propylgallate, polysorbate 60, caprylyl glycol, hexylene glycol, amodimethicone, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, benzyl alcohol, pentylene glycol, xanthan gum, darutoside, dehydroacetic acid, chlorphenesin, phenoxyethanol
(Lifted from the website - clearly some spacing between words needed along the way chaps! I fixed what I can.)
Possibly acne/allergy/troubling for some ingredients?
Not that I can see, but have you seen those ingredient names? Who would know outside of a lab? :)
Natural? Organic? Man made? Vegan?
Man-made
Tested on animals/sold in China?
No/No
What's not in it?
mineral oil
parabens
bismuth oxychloride
How do you use it?
Apply Am and PM after toning
What’s good about it?
Extremely light, immediately hydrating and a little goes a long way. Loaded with peptides, retinol and a ton of other actives, this is an excellent product, the price of which, moves it into the 'must-have' category. Whilst it hasn't miraculously lifted my hound dog eyelids - it's a serum, not a plastic surgeon - it has made a difference to the overall appearance of my eyes - including the dark circles.
What’s not so good about it?
In my last post about a Deciem product, I mentioned how disgruntled I was about the dropper/bottle packaging. Not long after that was posted, I heard from Brandon Truaxe, the founder of Deciem. Brandon wrote me a long email explaining the packaging choice - some of which I am reprinting for you below - with his permission - obvs:
'The biggest formulation nightmare is always the same: your skin likes oil and repels water (contrary to popular belief). Since almost all good technologies are water soluble, for a serum to be truly absorbed into the skin (very different to below the skin in the comparison you made to injections), you need very good delivery mechanisms (and they really really do exist today) and these systems generally yield very thin liquid formulations when in water-only formulations.
Most premium products (or most products really) offer emulsions of oil and water (creams, emulsion "serums", etc.) to simply offer a thicker, richer formula that "feels" more effective and lovely but, as importantly, opens the door to any type of packaging you wish to have but this viscosity adjustment does nothing other than impede absorption of water technologies in any formula. It's simple: If you feel something on your skin, less got in.
When you avoid such systems, you're left with highly liquid formulas. With such low viscosities, airless pumps are definitely the wrong choice as the pressure causes a harsh spurt to come out and splash in your hand. Regular air (pump) systems have the same problem to a lesser extent. The other alternative is truly very narrow nozzle tubes which waste about 15% of the product that cannot get out at the end. Please believe me. We were not being cheap. Those simple glass bottles and droppers with a label cost about 50% more than the most sophisticated airless bottles. I am sure there will be a solution soon in the world. It's just not obvious today.
As a result of this position, our most complex formulations in Hylamide, NIOD and WhiteRx are in dropper systems. We really were not trying to look apothecary or cheap. The alternatives were simply more problematic and I didn't want to sacrifice the formula.'
So that's me told. :) Although it's worth mentioning that my favourite Zelens serums are extremely 'high liquid' serums - they feel almost like water - and they are in a pump that works without splashing. Still, I have huge respect for someone that goes to such lengths to explain their reasoning without being defensive or aggressive. Thanks Brandon.
Similar products?
For this much active ingredient busyness and this good a price point? No, frankly. Eye creams have long been more expensive than their 'face' counterparts, annoyingly so in a lot of cases. This goes some way to bringing them back into the real world.
Exchange rate – does it punish the UK?
No. Deciem products are based in Canada but generally launched in the UK as the lead market and so priced accordingly.
The Hylamide SubQ Eyes is £27.00 and available from Hylamide.com and Boots.
Deciem - the parent company that is also responsible for my favourite Grow Gorgeous hair products - are doing things differently and stirring up the way beauty is sold, talked about and ranged. It's so worth checking out their website here: deciem.com
