Beaute Pacifique Puffy Eyes Gel

Waaaaaaay back on 10th December I got sent a sample of this, a cult Danish product, jam-packed full of caffeine to help firm, tone and tighten the eyes. Now back then in the land BC (before Christmas) I didn’t  NEED this type of product because I was all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with a summery spring in my Australian step. However, things have changed and after a 20 hour flight in cattle class, a week of festivities and an epic car ride I’m pooped and in need of some therapy.  Let’s hope that this thing works…..

Caffeine is a well-known stimulant able to work its magic both topically and when supped from a large mug while reading the paper.  I’ve written about its skin friendly actions before (this article looks at the L’Oreal Caffeine roll on and this looks at Green Coffee) and so was pretty excited to try this product as it combines caffeine with skin-friendly herbs apparently.  NICE!

Beaute Pacifique Eye Gel

So what is it like?

Well I have to say that I love the way it feels on application. It gives a slightly cooling sensation on the skin when applied which is great for puffy or irritated eyes and then dries to an invisibly hydrating film which does seem to firm that area a little.  The smell is (as with many cosmaceuticals) a little herbally for my liking but isn’t enough to put you off using it and the texture is pretty much spot on what you need for this type of product.  The other active comes from the spilanthes acmella flower (also known as the toothache power as it contains a natural analgesic that blocks pain receptors – great if you have face ache from too much laughing).  The flower is also reported to have muscle relaxing properties when applied topically and this may well be scientifically correct (I think I noticed an effect on my skin) if the results of the testing from Gattefosse is to be believed!  However I wouldn’t get yourself too excited as I am yet to see any topical botanical skin wrinkle buster that works as well as botox….

 Having left the box with the ingredients listing at home I can’t actually talk much more about what else in this but can vouch for an acceptable level of efficacy and have enjoyed using it and therefore would put it on the ‘must try’ list for any beauty buff listening.

There are a few oddities though with this brand that would make me walk straight past had it not been for the kind  PR souls that passed on the lead. The brand packaging is really dull and uninspiring looking like something that your granny might buy rather than something that a funky mummy (like me hahahaha) would look twice at.  Also the story of the actives and the branding don’t gel in my head either making it hard to form a relationship with either the brand or the product.   This may sound odd but when a products ingredients, colour scheme and general branding don’t match we find it difficult to bond with the item and this makes unlikely to recall which brand or product gave us those great results. Apparently this brand has a cult following which is great but a mis-match like that can spell doom for younger brands wishing to enter the market.

Anyway, I’m off to give my eyes a bit of a break.  Have a great start to 2011 and do look these guys up – your tired little eyes will thank you for it.

Good night.