Product Review: Benefit It's Potent! Eye Cream

Today, I'm reviewing Benefit's It's Potent! Eye Cream, which is a brightening cream to fade dark circles. It also claims to help smooth fine lines to give you brighter, younger-looking eyes.
I had a couple of very generous sample packets of this product that I choose as a free sample with two of my Sephora orders. There was enough product in each sample to apply twice daily for a week, for a total of two weeks. I purposely didn't look at the ingredient list before using the product, because I didn't want to give myself any preconceived notions about how well the product would work (or not).

I don't have terribly dark circles, but I do have slightly darkened areas that can get darker if I don't get enough sleep or if my allergies are in full swing. I also have fine lines under my eyes, and some puffiness that tends to be there in the mornings when I wake up - the joys of being over 50! After two weeks of using It's Potent! twice daily, I didn't notice any difference at all in the color of the "circles" under my eyes. I also didn't really notice any other changes. Honestly, the only thing the cream did was hydrate the area, and once it was absorbed, there didn't seem to be any lingering effects. There wasn't anything special about it - at least not for me.

The positives? No fragrance, no irritation, and a nice consistency that didn't make me tug at the skin under my eyes while applying.

Let's take a look at the ingredient list:
Aqua (Water), Ethylene/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Squalane, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Steareth21, Linum Usitatissimum (Linseed) Seed Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Stearalkonium Hectorite, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Hexyldecanol, Steareth2, Glyceryl Hydroxystearate, Sodium Polyacrylate, Alcohol, Caprylyl Glycol, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Dimethicone, Propylene Carbonate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract, Althaea Officinalis Root Extract, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Fruit Extract, Hesperidin Methyl Chalcone, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Acrylates/C1030 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Tetrasodium EDTA, Steareth20, Tromethamine, CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), Sodium Hyaluronate, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Extract, Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract, Sanguisorba Officinalis Root Extract, Brassica Campestris (Rapeseed) Sterols, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Citrate, Potassium Sorbate, Chlorphenesin, Caprylic/Capric/Succinic Triglyceride, Dipeptide2, Tocopherol, Citric Acid, Eriobotrya Japonica Leaf Extract, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide7, Plankton Extract.

Despite the length of that ingredient list, it's not impressive at all. As I mentioned, I didn't look at the ingredient list before using the product. As a matter of fact, I didn't look at it until I sat down to write this post. The first thing I noticed was that the peptide (anti-aging) was the next-to-last ingredient. Which means there probably isn't enough in there to really do anything. There are a lot of oils and other things that will hydrate, but there's also a bunch of alcohol listed in the upper third of the ingredients. So I'm not surprised that I didn't get results.

A full-size jar is 0.5 oz. and is priced at $34. I also noticed that the full-size product comes in a wide-mouth jar. Most peptides lose their potency once their exposed to light and/or air. So whatever small amount is in the product probably loses it's efficacy once the jar is opened a couple of times. So not the best packaging, in my opinion. A small airless pump bottle would be much better.

Would I buy this product? No, I wouldn't. While I do have issues finding eye products that don't irritate my undereye area - and this product did not cause any irritation - it also didn't really do anything else. With a price of $34, I expect more. And I certainly expect better packaging.

I've been searching for my perfect eye cream for years, and I still haven't found "the one". I'm starting to think it doesn't exist. I need a match service for eye creams. "Mature woman looking for an honest, long-term relationship. Sensitive to fragrances. Likes airless pump bottles and reasonable prices."

Have you found the perfect eye cream?