Q. I have been searching on-line and reading reviews for weeks looking for the best cleanser and moisturiser for my skin. I am 40 and have terrible lines around my eyes when I wake up in the morning; they do improve slightly during the day, but I would also really love a good eye cream. I have sensitive skin. Could you please give me any suggestions? I have been looking at Liz Earle and also the Essential Care Organic range. I would really appreciate any help you can give me. I want to keep the wrinkles at bay and be as gentle on my skin as possible.
A. Let’s look at the eye thing first. We have a hunch that in your concern about your eye lines, you may be applying an over-rich cream. These can ‘travel’ – down the self-same lines you’re trying to eliminate – into the eye, causing puffiness, and actually in some cases making eyes look more lined. If you have sensitive eyes, we recommend a lightweight, minimally-fragranced eye gel or serum – and Jo, who suffers from eye sensitivity, recommends Liz Earle Superskin Lip & Eye Treatment, which features organic pear seed extract, rosehip oil and cranberry seed oil, and is blissfully cooling and soothing. She is also unswervingly devoted to the Liz Earle Superskin Moisturiser (you can try a small 15 ml jar which is enough to tell you whether or not it’s your dream cream); it has also done incredibly well with our testers for The Green Beauty Bible, scoring 8.62/10 and earning comments such as: ‘Noticed a large difference in the skin around my jaw area: not so lined and crêpe-y; smile lines not so deep and skin looks plumper.’ We do rate the Essential Care range, too; their Organic Superfruit Concentrate, £33 for 30 ml, also wowed our testers, with comments such as: ‘Fine lines less noticeable, lovely to wake up to really soft skin – it really delivers’. However, this is an oily concentrate and you’d want to keep it well away from your eyes, for the puffy-triggering reasons explained above; you can find it here at www.essential-care.co.uk.
• Essential Care Organic Superfruit Concentrate, £33 for 30 ml at www.essential-care.co.uk – buy here
I read your advice on eye products for the sensitive but dehydrated eye area. The reply advised to stay away from oils around this area. I don’t know if it is due to stress or the change in climate (plus medication) but my eye area is very dehydrated. Daytime is no problem as I waken my eyes with Liz Earle’s Eyebright and then use the Daily Eye Repair from the range, which I love. I do use the serum although sometimes I feel I would need more moisturisng gentle eye care (I love the serum for lots of things but am not too sure how much to use around my eyes). I looked outside the range although some of the natural ones use alcohol which we are told to avoid. My main question is about the Kimia range: in The Green Beauty Bible you feature a Precious Eye Serum, but when I read the description and the ingredients list it shows ‘oil’. What do you feel about this, given your reasons for avoiding the use of oil products in the eye area..?
The two Kimia products we feature in our book are actually the Kimia Exquisite Facial Rejuvenating System, and the Perfection Neck & Décolleté System – both terrific anti-ageing products, but not targeted at the eye zone specifically. You’re right, though: their Kimia Precious Eye Serum does contain oils – and our advice about not putting oils around the eye zone, where they can ‘travel’ easily into the eye, still applies. If you have eyes that are in the least sensitive, stick to a serum: our The Green Beauty Bibletesters found Barefoot Botanicals Rosa Fina Intensive Eye Serum ‘very hydrating and smoothing for winter-dry skin around the eyes’.
• Kimia Exquisite Facial Rejuvenating System, £74 at www.lovelula.com – buy here (and don’t forget to enter the code bb12 at the checkout to receive your exclusive 5% discount
• Kimia Precious Eye Serum, £49 for 15 ml at www.lovelula.com – buy here (and see above)
• Barefoot Botanicals Rosa Fina Intensive Eye Serum, £25.95 for 15 ml from www.victoriahealth.com - buy here
• Liz Earle Superskin Lip & Eye Treatment, £27.50 for 25 ml at www.johnlewis.com – buy here
• Liz Earle Superskin Moisturiser, £13.25 at www.lizearle.com – buy here
• Essential Care Organic Superfruit Concentrate, £33 for 30 ml at www.essential-care.co.uk – buy here
I have looked at your site a number of times and looked at The 21st Century Beauty Bible book, but what I would like to ask is if you have any information on products that can improve the upper eyelids once they have begun to show the early signs of crêpiness? I am in my late 30s and although I do not really have any signs of ageing around my eyes, I do see a gradual deterioration of the skin on my eyelids. Is there a product that specifically targets this or one that your testers have felt improves this problem?
Tricky, tricky, tricky, this. To be honest, most of the feedback we get about anti-ageing eye products relates to the lines and wrinkles underneath, rather than lids. All the beauty wisdom says that with anti-ageing eye products, you should apply them to the orbital bone (i.e. the brow-bone, and under the eye), but not to the lid itself as the ingredients can ‘travel’ into the eyes, causing irritation. This is so much down to personal sensitivity, though, and we don’t know how prone your eyes are to touchiness. What you should do is experiment with a lighter weight of product – something with a gel-like texture, like Clarins Eye Contour Gel, or (for a greener choice), John Masters Organics Firming Eye Gel. The gel texture means these are less likely to ‘travel’, so may be applied on the lids themselves. The Liz Earle Superskin Lip & Eye Treatment is a favourite of Jo’s – sort of a ‘rich gel’, as she puts it – and despite having super-sensitive eyes, she doesn’t have any problems applying it lightly to the lids. Another really important lifestyle step is to wear sunnies when you’re outdoors, as UV light is what triggers the damage, and a good pair of protective sunspecs (we always suggest those with wide arms) will go a long way to shielding the eye zone from damage.
• Clarins Eye Contour Gel, £28 for 20 ml at www.boots.com – buy here
• John Masters Organics Firming Eye Gel, £28 at www.lovelula.com – buy here (NB if you enter the code bb12 at the checkout then you’ll get a worthwhile 5% discount)
• Liz Earle Superskin Eye & Lip Treatment, £27.50 for 15 ml at www.johnlewis.com – buy here