Eyes Wide Open With First Aid Beauty Eye Duty Triple Remedy AM Gel Cream
During college, when you’re studying for final exams or perhaps writing a thesis, you clock in such few hours of sleep that when you finally come home for the holidays, spring break, or summer, parents examine you and, with a concerned tone, remark, “You look tired, honey.” Later, when you join the workforce and have to tackle seemingly insane deadlines, it becomes friends, colleagues, and significant others — in addition to parents — who feel compelled to observe, “You look tired.” And then, of course, come the kids, at which point the phrase, “You look tired” almost seems redundant. Yes, folks, modern women are overworked and, yes, we’re tired, but none of us want to appear fatigued, disheveled, or sickly. And, for all intents and purposes, we know that “You look tired” is code for “You look like crap.” For most of us, the most blatant tell-tale signs of sleep deprivation are dark under-eye circles and puffy eyelids so, needless to say, we search for beauty products that will tackle these concerns, that will at least hide the evidence of our relentless schedules and our wistful and distant memories of our heads resting atop plush pillows. But here’s the rub: most eye serums and creams address one specific concern (be it wrinkles and visible aging signs, dark circles, puffiness, loose and sagging skin, or redness and irritation), a frustrating reality when you need the whole enchilada. Enter First Aid Beauty’s Eye Duty Triple Remedy AM Gel Cream ($36 at FirstAidBeauty.com and Sephora.com), a delightful product meant to make your eyes look brighter, wider, and more alert — and you, in turn, more well-rested and radiant.
The FAB Eye Duty Triple Remedy Gel Cream, then, firms the skin along the orbital eye area, smooths existing lines and prevents the formation of additional wrinkles, combats redness, cools and hydrates, and tackles puffiness and dark circles. The formula relies primarily on four ingredients to accomplish this feat: Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 and Palmitoyl Tripeptide-7, a dual peptide system that boosts volume, eliminating the appearance of sunken eyes or saggy skin, minimizing the appearance of fine lines, and making everything look plumper and lifted; seaweed extract, which accelerates the skin’s natural repair process by stimulating cellular regeneration and strengthens the skin’s barrier system, thereby preventing moisture loss; red algae extract, which is rife with natural polysaccharides that increase the skin’s water retention capabilities and which also protects the skin from sun damage by absorbing harmful UV rays; and Albizia julibrissin (Persian silk tree) bark extract, which is believed to protect the skin against glycation, a process that results in the deterioration of collagen and, in turn, leads to puffy, saggy, inelastic skin.
These ingredients aside, the formula also contains: cucumber extract, which soothes the skin, provides a refreshing cooling sensation, and diminishes redness; licorice root extract, which helps to battle hyperpigmentation and lead to a more even skin tone; antioxidant-rich green tea extract,which helps to stimulate collage production and also encourages microcirculation; and feverfew extract, which is known to reduce inflammation and swelling.
One of my favorite aspects of this cream is its gel texture, which feels incredibly refreshing on the skin. Unlike other gel creams, this one isn’t tacky or sticky — in fact, it’s like a serum in that it’s absorbed almost instantly. Another quality I love is the gel’s cooling and soothing qualities, which are instantly noticeable as you pat the product along the eye area. But perhaps what I love most is that this gel cream can be applied to the entire orbital area — not just under the eyes — and it can therefore also firm the skin along the brow bones and eyelids. It doesn’t seep into the eyes or cause any burning, and it provides a 360-degree treatment around the perimeter of the eye.
After using the First Aid Beauty Eye Duty Triple Remedy AM Gel Cream, I’ve noticed my eyes look perkier in the morning — even after a rough, sleepless night. The cooling, revitalizing, tingling sensation I experience when I first dab the gel cream onto my skin has become the equivalent of my morning cup of coffee: it just makes me feel more awake. And I’ve also noticed how effectively it tackles puffiness and skin droopiness. It’s not quite as effective at obliterating under-eye circles, but there is some slight improvement in that realm. Moreover, because it’s so rapidly and completely absorbed by the skin, this cream can be applied under another eye cream, should you wish to seek reinforcements in the anti-aging field.
Instant relief and long-term benefits? Yes, please! Try it for yourself and see if those “You look tired” comments start to become a less frequent phenomenon!
