Everyone needs a pep start every once in awhile. Whether it’s a tall glass of cold brew coffee or a high-energy workout first thing in the morning, sometimes adding a little pep to your day can turn things around. How about a little pep start to your skincare? Clinique released a range of “Pep Start” skincare products designed to give your skin the pick-me-up it deserves. Although most of the products in the range looked enticing, I was immediately drawn to the Pep Start Eye Cream. Lacking a good eye cream in my regimen and with a regular case of under-eye dark circles, I snatched the Pep Start Eye Cream up at my local Sephora and let you all know my thoughts!
Logistics/Packaging:
First of all, how cute is this packaging?! It’s a bright little orange tube that gives me a pep in my morning before I even apply it. After reading some online reviews, some people didn’t like the packaging so much. It has a ball-shaped applicator where the product comes out of and you can use the rounded end to apply the product to your under-eye. To open the product, you have to pull the ball out. Apparently for some people, figuring that out was not so easy. Although I got it open quickly, I can see how it might be confusing to figure out how to open. People also didn’t like the rounded ball applicator. I haven’t used the applicator to apply the product, so I don’t see an issue with it. I simply use my ring fingers and dab the product on my dark circles. Easy enough!
Logistics/Packaging Score: 4 out of 5
Product:
Now onto the product itself. The packaging is cute and all but what really matters is what’s on the inside. (Life lessons our parents taught us appear to also make sense for beauty products. Neat.) When I am ready to use the product, I use a very small amount and apply it with my ring fingers. A small amount goes a long way. The product doesn’t have much of a scent, but it is very rich and creamy. It definitely feels like a thick, moisturizing night cream. It takes only a few moments to fully soak into your skin, leaving your skin feeling refreshed. I was hoping that with the “Pep Start” claim that it would have some sort of energizing effect, maybe with the smell or feeling on the skin. No such luck. But the product does feel great on the skin. Since it absorbs into the skin so quickly, makeup application doesn’t have to wait very long and foundation and concealer sit well on top of the product. As for the results, I have noticed that my under-eyes look more bright and awake with less prominent dark circles. I notice my under-eye area feeling more hydrated and moisturized throughout the day. One thing I wish this product helped with was anti-aging. It would really be a triple whammy kind of product. However, I find that it does exactly what it claims to do, so I can’t be too disappointed!
Product Score: 4 out of 5
Price:
Price plays a big factor in my beauty regimen. The Clinique Pep Start Eye Cream is $26.50 at Sephora and Ulta. In my opinion, that’s not terrible, but it’s also not great. I know some people spend $100+ on their eye cream — I’m just not one of those people. I’d be more willing to spend more money if it was an anti-aging product. However like I said above, a small amount of this eye cream goes a long way. You can use this eye cream once every day for 2-3 months easily. For 2-3 months at $26, it really works out to be pretty good.
Price Score: 3 out of 5
TOTAL SCORE: 11 out of 15
Overall, I think this product is nice but I have a feeling there are some great products at the drugstore that can hold a candle to this. But if you have dry under-eyes and not-s0-pleasant dark circles, this product might just be worth picking up the next time you’re at Sephora spending your entire paycheck…
What’s your favorite eye cream? I’d love to know!
XO –
Oak & James
Looking for more skincare goodies? Check out this Pacifica Kale Detox face wash that has changed my skincare game for good.
