Skyn Iceland Icelandic Relief Eye Pen is an eye cream that comes in pen form to combat dark circles, puffiness and wrinkles while on-the-go.
I really dig the idea, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Here’s why:
What’s In Skyn Iceland Icelandic Relief Eye Pen?
GLYCERIN TO HYDRATE SKIN
I’m not surprised to see glycerin here. This baby is pretty much in all your skincare products. For a reason.
It’s a humectant that draws water from the environment into the skin. The more moisture your skin has, the better it looks. Moisture plumps up skin, makes fine lines and wrinkles look smaller, and even gives the complexion a dewy glow.
It’s the perfect base for every skincare product.
Related: The Complete Guide To Glycerin In Skincare
DIMETHICONE TO MINIMISE FINE LINES
Dimethicone is a heavy silicone. No, it doesn’t suffocate skin or clog pores.
What it does is make wrinkles look smaller. Dimethicone fills every nook and cranny in your skin, a trick that blurs out pores and makes fine lines look less obvious – for a while. As soon as you wash it off, they’re still there.
While it’s at it, Dimethicone also gives slip to a product and makes the texture silky smooth.
Related: Are Silicones Bad For Skin?
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ANTIOXIDANTS TO FIGHT PREMATURE AGING
Skyn Iceland Icelandic Relief Eye Pen features its fair share of antioxidants.
Some of them are in its natural oils, like Cranberry Oil and Arctic Clouberry Oil. Others are stand-alone antioxidants, like thyme extract.
Regardless of their nature, antioxidants are good for skin. These little molecules patrol your skin looking for free radicals, the nasty buggers that give you wrinkles and dark spots.
When they spot one, they destroy it before they can wreak their damage on your skin. Phew!
Related: Common Antioxidants In Skincare
Texture
White in colour, the cream is lightweight and fast-absorbing.
Fragrance
It’s fragrance-free.
How To Use It
Morning or evening, dab cream gently on under eye area with your ring finger.
Performance & Personal Opinion
Skyn Iceland Icelandic Relief Eye Pen is a portable moisturizer you can easily carry with you wherever you go. If you’re travelling and need a quick burst on moisture on the go, this’ll do.
As a moisturiser, it does the job well. It leaves skin softer and smoother and fills in fine lines and wrinkles, so they look smaller. Plus, it has a bunch of antioxidants that help you slow down the formation of new ones.
But this is stuff that every moisturiser does. You don’t need a separate eye cream for that. Just slather your face cream all over your skin and call it a day. That’s what I do.
But what about treating dark circles, reducing puffiness, and all those other special things an eye cream is supposed to do? This won’t do anything for them.
Unless your under-eye area is considerably drier than the rest of your face and needs the extra burst of moisture, don’t waste your money on eye creams.
Related: Do You Really Need An Eye Cream?
Who Is This For?
If your under-eye area is drier than the rest of your face, this is for you.
Who Is This NOT For?
If your under-eye area isn’t a different skin type than the rest of your face, you don’t need an eye cream.
Packaging
A white pen with a slanted applicator. To make the product come out, just turn the end of the pen.
Of course, the first time you do this, you have to turn, and turn, and turn, and turn some more before the cream deigns to make an appearance. And then, it comes out all at once, wasting product.
From the second time on, though, you only have to turn it once to release just the right amount of product you need to cover the small eye area.
Does Skyn Iceland Icelandic Relief Eye Pen Really Live Up To Its Claims?
| CLAIM | TRUE? |
|---|---|
| Icelandic Relief Eye Cream, newly re-formulated with a breakthrough arctic botanical, Saponaria Pumila, is now a powerful triple-threat to eyes’ most agonizing issues — Puffiness, dark circles and wrinkles. | It’s moisturising enough to help wrinkles look smaller for a while, but it does nothing for puffiness and dark circles. |
| Saponaria, a flowering plant which survived the Ice Age by biologically adapting to extreme climates, contains potent stem cells which have been proven to stimulate cell rejuvenation, reduce the depth of wrinkles, firm, depuff and improve elasticity. | Note Skyn Iceland says Saponaria has all these benefits for the skin, not the cream itself. When you use the tiniest amount in a cream, it doesn’t really do anything – apart from making for a good marketing story. |
Price & Availability
$20.00 at Dermstore
Do You Need It?
Not really. No one needs eye cream.
[penci_review]
Dupes & Alternatives
- CeraVe Eye Repair Cream ($15.99)
- Paula’s Choice Resist Anti-Aging Eye Cream ($34.00)
Ingredients
Aqua/Eau/Water, Hydrogenated Ethylhexyl Olivate, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Decyl Oleate, Dimethicone, Saponaria Pumila Callus Culture Extract**, Pfaffia Paniculata Root Extract, Lilium Candidum Flower Extract, Angelica Archangelica Root Water*, Oxycoccus Palustris (Cranberry) Seed Oil, Rubus Chamaemorus (Arctic Cloudberry) Seed Oil, Ptychopetalum Olacoides Bark/Stem Extract, Polygonum Fagopyrum Seed Extract, Perfluorodecalin, Gossypium Herbaceum (Cotton), Hydrolyzed Rice Bran Protein, Thymus Vulgaris Flower/Leaf Extract, Buddleja Davidii Extract, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Laminaria Digitata Powder, Ceramide NP, Hydrogenated Olive Oil Unsaponifiables, Caprylyl Glycol, Cetyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Isomalt, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Pentylene Glycol, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Sodium Hydroxide, Potassium Sorbate, Benzyl Alcohol, Lecithin**, Sodium Benzoate, Silica, Sucrose Palmitate, Xanthan Gum
*Component of Icelandic Glacial Water
**Contains Soy
