Stress is one of those things in life that's good...until it's not. A small amount of stress is awesome for keeping us motivated and on task, but unrelenting, high stress environments can wreak havoc on our bodies. When we're under stress our body cranks out cortisol - the "fight or flight" hormone that gives us a quick boost of speed and energy to either fight off a predator or run away from it. A single surge of cortisol improves performance, but chronic exposure is known to lead to a whole slew of health issues. Weight gain, high blood pressure, decreased immune system function, and depression are just a few of the possible issues a person under high stress can develop.
And of course, from a beauty perspective whatever is going on inside our body will almost inevitably start showing on the outside. Your skin is the largest organ of your body, and the skin around your eyes in particular is the most delicate of all. Show of hands, how many of you have looked in the mirror the morning after a particularly rough evening immediately noticed your eyes are giving you away? Puffiness, dark circles, and fine lines are like the tiny red flags that our bodies are in trouble.
Honestly, if you're dealing with chronic stress the best thing to do is engage in practices that will help bring those cortisol levels down and having you feeling better from the inside out (this article from Psychology Today has some awesome suggestions to start with). Despite my love of beauty, I'll be the first to admit that no product is a substitute for taking care of yourself. But if you want a little quick pick-me-up to pamper your peepers, this new launch from Dermalogica will definitely help you out!
The Dermalogica Stress Positive Eye Lift is a cream-gel eye mask designed to energize skin and visibly reduce the appearance of puffiness, dark circles, and other signs of stress in the eye area. The metal massage applicator instantly cools and soothes the skin on contact, giving your angry eyes an immediate sense of relief. All you need to do is apply a generous amount of product around your eye area, leave on for 3 to 5 minutes, and then massage in the excess.
If you read my most recent blog post, you're well aware that I've been under a bit of stress myself lately. I'm not normally much of an eye cream or gel kind of person, but I've found myself reaching for my Eye Lift pretty much every morning since Dermalogica sent it to me. Something about the cooling sensation is so refreshing and I cherish those 30 seconds of zen time to help me relax before I head off to work.
As with most Dermalogica products, the Stress Positive Eye Lift has some cool ingredient technology to work its magic. Since the skin around your eyes doesn't contain its own oil glands and is less elastic than the rest of your face, its quick to become dull, dehydrated, and crepey. With a blend of fermented yeast and Hyaluronic Acid, the Stress Positive Eye Lift helps to firm, hydrate, and give the skin a lifted appearance. A combination of Sea Water Extract and Arctic Algae will depuff, and Wild Indigo Seed extract brightens and diminishes the appearance of under-eye circles. Truth be told, I'm only familiar with the effects of Hyaluronic Acid, but I'm willing to keep an open mind about the effectiveness of these other ingredients. Curious to know exactly what's in this stuff? Here's the full list of ingredients:
Ingredients // Water/Aqua/Eau, Dimethicone, Pentylene Glycol, Sorbitol, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Saccharomyces Ferment Lysate Filtrate, Tephrosia Purpurea Seed Extract, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Niacinamide, Diglucosyl Gallic Acid, Citrus Reticulata (Tangerine) Leaf Oil, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Maris Aqua, Propanediol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Vetiveria Zizanoides Root Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil, Salvia Sclarea (Clary) Oil, Hydrolyzed Algin, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Cananga Odorata Flower Oil, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Methyl Lactate, PEG-100 Stearate, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Tocopherol, Sucrose, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Aminomethyl Propanol, Xanthan Gum, Linalool, Geraniol, Phenoxyethanol.
If there is one thing I can appreciate looking at this list, it's that the active ingredients of this product are not at the very bottom. Fun fact, product manufacturers are required to list ingredients by order of concentration, which means that whatever is first on the list is the main ingredient and whatever is last is usually just a fraction of a percent of the entire formula. A lot of inexpensive skincare products will pull you in with a claim of containing "X" ingredient, but have such a minimal concentration that it's barely effective. So if you're ever curious as to whether or not you're getting what you pay for, make sure you check out that label!
Speaking of getting what you pay for, I will put it out there that the price tag on this product does make me feel a little uneasy. $65 is a lot of money to spend on a targeted area of your face. Do I think it feels awesome? Heck yes I do. Does it work miracles? Not entirely. I do definitely feel like I notice my skin feels firmed and plumped after using this product, but it isn't as if every single line around my eyes magically disappears. If you have severe chronically dark under eye circles you probably aren't going to notice a vast difference using this product, especially with occasional use. But if you want something on hand to perk up your skin after a long flight or a night of studying, I think you'll enjoy it a lot. I know that I personally will probably find this to be a Godsend during allergy season, since I tend to wake up most mornings looking particularly puffy.
Also, I have used this on both makeup and no makeup days, and I haven't found it to be particularly disruptive to my eye makeup or under eye concealer. If you are planning on wearing makeup over this product, I would recommend tissuing off the excess after you let it sit for the designated 3 minutes, just so that it's less likely to cause things to slip and slide around more.
If the Stress Positive Eye Lift sounds like something you might need in your life, I've got some good news for you! If you use the code BIRDIE20 at checkout you can save 20% off your entire purchase from Dermalogica.com now through the end of April. This is not an affiliate code, however, the links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you click through to the website from here and make a purchase, I'll earn a small commission. You all know I like to keep things super honest in these parts, so if you aren't comfortable with that you can always go directly to the site!
Long story short, I'm entirely grateful that Dermalogica sent me this product to review, because I definitely have been making good use of it. I do think that it's a bit expensive for what it is (although if you can save 20% that definitely helps), but if you're willing to #treatyoself I think you'll find it to be a really enjoyable product!
What is your favorite way to de-stress?
*This product was provided to me complimentary for review purposes. All opinions expressed are my own. This post contains affiliate links. For more information regarding my affiliations and disclosures click here.
