Review: Aveeno Active Naturals Positively Ageless Lifting and Firming Eye Cream

Quite a mouthful these product names are... but never be fooled by fancy-sounding names and jargon hype. ;)

For my second review Aveeno's Positively Ageless skincare line, I decided that an eye cream would be a good investment. I'm young, but living somewhere dry, I'm beginning to see some fine lines directly underneath my lashes, as well as experiencing dryness in the skin around my eyes. The "lifting and firming" claims weren't exactly what I was looking for, but since it also promised to diminish the look of fine lines, I wanted to test it out.

Look below for my full review of Aveeno Active Naturals Positively Ageless Lifting and Firming Eye Cream!

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Product Description: "A moisturizing eye cream that works with your unique skin and is clinically shown to:

• Visibly lift and firm skin around the eyes
• Reduce appearance of lines and wrinkles
• Visibly reduce dark circles and brighten appearance of eye area

A pioneer in the study of natural ingredients for efficacious skin care, Aveeno® has captured the naturally active benefit of wheat protein, shown to firm skin and rejuvenating shitake mushrooms, long believed to enhance vitality and slow aging."

Price: $16.99-19.99/0.5 oz

Results: The cream comes in a small, pump-top bottle. Like other products in this line, the bottles are opaque (you can't see through them) and almost impossible to open, which can be a little annoying. However, as with the other product I've used, the pump seems effective enough to get about 98% of the product out of the bottle on its own.

I applied the cream twice a day on cleansed skin for about six months.

This product is like a lighter version of the facial moisturizer, which is very dense - so this is better for the eye area. It's still thick and creamy enough to be very moisturizing, but not so much that it feels heavy or greasy. Once absorbed, which takes a few moments, my skin felt well-hydrated, soft, and smooth. Any good eye cream should be able to establish these basic tasks, though, IMO.

One quality of this product I didn't notice for weeks after using is that there are tiny, almost invisible skin brighteners in the cream. They provide a luminizing and brightening effect, helping you look more wide-eyed and awake. It won't improve dark circles drastically, though.

Now on to the disappointments - I experienced no improvement in the look or feel of my fine lines (except a subtle diminishing effect caused by the brighteners), nor did I feel significant "firming" after several months of use. I did notice a small reduction in puffiness, though. I highly doubt any cream has the power to lift the skin as many claim, so I won't even comment on that. The only anti-aging ingredients, wheat protein and shiitake mushroom extract, are in very small amounts (they're near the bottom of the ingredients list), meaning there will be no major effects on your skin. In short, the only real effect I saw was the brightening of my under-eye area.

An ironic drawback to this eye cream, a supposed anti-aging product, is the lack of sunscreen. Since the eye area is so thin and delicate, I consider it an important place for sun protection. You can use a moisturizer or makeup with an SPF, but personally, I like to keep my under-eye area light.

In the end, I decided I likely won't purchase this product again... for a basic, hydrating eye cream with some above-average skin brighteners, it's pretty overpriced. And unlike the moisturizer, you get very little product. While it made my eye area silky smooth, it did nothing for any signs of aging.

Next I'll probably be trying the Olay Regenerist eye treatments, since they seem to have more effective anti-aging ingredients. It sounds like it might be better worth the money.

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You'll like this product if: You want a basic hydrating eye cream, you have few signs of aging or dark circles, you want to brighten your eye area a little

You won't like this product if: You're on a tight budget, you need a serious eye cream for anti-aging, you want an eye cream with a SPF

Rating: 3/5


Image: drugstore.com