Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Serum Review

 

Hello beautiful ladies,

In the February Empties post (read about them here), I stated I needed to create a separate post for this item because one paragraph just wasn’t enough to review this product. I was originally going to combine it with the Advanced Night Repair, however, I’m still in the reviewing stage of that product.

The ANR Eye Serum though has been fully tested over three months of continuous (albeit a few days) use. I have created a thorough review of this product for you to make up your own mind as to whether it is worth the price tag.

• ESTEE LAUDER Advanced Night Repair Eye Serum
• RRP – $108.00 from Sephora buy it here or $110.00 from Estee Lauder buy it here

Suitable for?  All skin types with signs of eye aging, dullness, dryness, puffiness, eye lines and dark circles.

Packaging?  The box is a pastel green with black writing and the EL logo at the top in embossed gold and black. The serum is in a little brown bottle with a pump to dispense the product.

What are the claims?  The packet claims:

‘Our most comprehensive anti-aging eye serum ever. Proven to significantly reduce the look of every key visible sign of aging around the fragile eye area – fine lines, wrinkles, puffiness, dark circles, dryness and uneven skintone.

Advanced with our exclusive ChronoluxCB Technology, it helps promote the natural synchronization of skin’s nighttime repair process – and now skin’s own nighttime purification process – vital to younger-looking eyes. With a high concentration of soothing anti-irritants, this fast-penetrating, light-weight serum keeps the entire eye area looking radiant, rested, silky smooth.’

Ingredients?  Caffeine, Caprylyl Glycol, Oleth-10, Phyto-sphingosine, Squalane, Ammonium Acryloyl-dimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer, Potassium Sulfate, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Lecithin, Sodium Hyaluronate Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Sodium Acrylates/Acrylonitrogens Copolymer, Hexylene Glycol, Sodium Metabisulfite, Aminopropyl Ascorbyl Phosphate, Tripeptide-32, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Sulfite, Disodium Edta, BHT, Phenoxyethanol, Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499).

What does that mean?  Caffeine, as the primary ingredient, has anti-inflammatory properties, which when applied under the eye, helps to reduce puffiness and dark circles as these conditions are caused by inflammation and poor circulation.

Caprylyl Glycol is a humectant and skin conditioning agent that lends moisturisation and emollience to many cosmetic products. It also functions as a stabilizer and has been shown to increase the antimicrobial activity of other preservatives.

The top two ingredients target puffiness, dark circles, dryness, fine lines and wrinkles, however, I won’t go in to all the ingredients’ capabilities or this will become a very long review. There are some ingredients in this serum that are quite eye opening when you read about it so if you are unsure, look it up.

Is Estee Lauder Cruelty Free?  Possibly my biggest problem with this product is that morally, Estee Lauder, while they don’t actually test on animals themselves, they continue to buy chemicals from suppliers that have. In saying that, because The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. now owns Becca, Smashbox, MAC, Jo Malone London, GLAMGLOW, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Origins, Aveda and as of November last year, Too Faced, along with many others, and I haven’t stopped buying or using those brands’ products either, I’m not going to pretend it bothers me to the point I won’t buy products under the EL banner.

Scent?  There is no scent whatsoever.

My thoughts  I can’t even remember why I decided to hand over $108 for an eye serum that I hadn’t read a lot about. I think it was a mixture of online shopping buzz and not being happy with the eye cream I had been using.  Now that I’m 30+,  I’m noticing fine lines more and so I’m constantly looking for a solution to that problem. In the description, it promised to eradicate these fine lines (I know, I know, every eye cream says that). That wouldn’t be enough to convince most people.

All I really remember is I was on a Sephora online shopping spree and went overboard when they had 20% off last year. So, I ended up with this little bottle of eye serum.

I would’ve liked to have taken photos of before and after 1, 2 and 3 months but I was honestly not expecting miracles from this product. Now, I’m not going to say it delivered miracles either because as with most products, a lot of the success comes down to skin type, skin conditions and usage as well as personal preference. However, within two weeks, I was silently impressed with my fine lines becoming less noticeable, although that may have been just because I’m so close to the mirror when I apply makeup. No one had actually commented.

By the end of the second month, and this is where I was thinking, ‘I don’t want to spend that much again so I’ll be on the lookout for another’ even though I had noticed concealer didn’t settle in my fine lines and I thought I could notice a difference. No one else had noticed though.

So, I stopped using it and switched to a deluxe sample of another eye cream to save this serum for mask nights. Within a few days, my fiancé was asking if I was getting enough sleep because I looked tired. I was getting plenty, by the way.

Out with that sample and back in with ANR Eye Serum. The results would probably show to be more dramatic if I had the photos taken at the intervals I stated but because I see my face every day the actual results probably seem less impressive to me, but after discontinuing usage for those few days, and the results afterwards, I bought another bottle as back up and will never again go without.

I used the serum on its own, twice a day for 6 weeks before I went to Myer to be matched up to the Doublewear Foundation and bought the ANR Eye as well. The eye cream is used over the top of the serum and I’ve been using that for about 4 weeks (the review is coming on that one as well).

How long does it last? I used it twice a day for 11 weeks which works out to be $9.81 a week on an eye serum. If I was to add up all my skincare products and work it out like that, I think this would sit in the middle range considering I can pay $12.00+ for my sheet masks twice a week.

Pros

• Noticeable difference in dark circles and fine lines
• Concealer doesn’t settle in fine lines
• Pump bottle so perfect amount is dispensed each time
• Eye area looks hydrated but doesn’t leave a sticky residue
• Fragrance free

Cons

• Expensive
• The company buys from suppliers who test on animals

I’m not going to tell you you must buy this product because it is expensive and it’s not within everyone’s budget, however, I hope I’ve given you enough detail to make an informed choice either way.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for reading and appreciating the time I’ve put into this review.

Until next time,

Nyobie

 

*This review is my opinion only and is not professional advice. Please seek professional advice if you want more information on the ingredients or the product itself.