Clinique Pep-Start Eye Cream Review | Refresh and Awaken Tired Eyes

Even after a long Christmas holiday I still feel tired and my eyes are puffy when I wake up in the morning. Luckily I had some Clinique eye cream samples to try out to help brighten my eyes up. I tried both this Pep-Start Eye Cream and then later Clinique’s All About Eyes cream to help de-puff my eyes and make me look more awake. I chose the Pep-Start one first because it’s packaging has it’s own application tip similar to Benefit’s Puff off but plastic rather than metal.

Main Ingredients and Their Benefits

Glycerin promotes skin cell maturation which can help fight effects of skin problems such as psoriasis whilst improving the appearance of skin in general. It is a humecant and helps the skin maintain it’s moisture which in turn makes the skin look healthier.

Shea Butter is naturally soothing and has moisturising properties. It contains nutrients such as Vitamin A, antioxidents such as Vitaman E and also piluphenols and phytonutrients which makes it anti-inflammatory.

Squalane has emollient properties that helps retain moisture as well as enhance the penetration of other ingredients.

Dimethicone is a type of silicon that aids the product to glide onto your skin and also acts as a barrier after application. Dimethicone is used to protect mild skin irritations, dry patches or healing wounds, and is effective at locking in moisture thanks to its larger molecules.

Caffeine is used in skincare to improve the look of cellulite and puffiness around the eyes. Although, there’s a mixed scientific response as to whether it is effective.

Plant-Based Antioxidants protect the skin from the sun, which is a cause of fine lines, wrinkles and hyper-pigmentation. One of the best ways to get rid of these is to try to prevent them early on.

Peptides revitalise the skin to make it more resilient and makes it bounce back from stresses on the skin. It can help firm, react against wrinkles and help smooth the texture.

How to Use

• Squeeze small amount out onto the applicator
• Use circular motions to apply to eye area
• Use fingers to smooth over and wipe away excess product

First Thoughts

The bright orange packaging is already helping brighten my day so hopefully it will be good enough to brighten my eyes. I won’t expect any miracles as I am feeling really tired anyway plus I have hereditary bad eye bags. But I do hope it will moisturise my eyes and make them a bit easier to cover up with concealer.

During Use

It’s really easy to use and you only need the smallest amount for each eye. The applicator is a good size to fit all around the eye area although it’s not cold like Puff Off as it’s only plastic.

After Use

It has definitely hydrated the skin around my eyes as they feel a lot less dry after use. The puffiness I often get when I wake up is also soothed away when I use Pep-Start in the morning. Like I expected, it wasn’t a miracle product that made me look bright eyed and awake, but my makeup was easy to apply over it and I looked no worse for wear.

I also had no negative effects when using it. Clinique is usually really good as their products are fragrance free, but my sensitive skin did not feel irritated at all when using this. It’s also good enough to use multiple times a day which is great during the cold winter months.

Would I Purchase Again?

I now have a little collection of eye creams at my disposal so I know I won’t be purchasing one for a while now. But if I was going to buy an eye cream then this would be a go-to for me. It did everything I expected it to do without any side effects that some products can give my skin.