Mario Badescu Hyaluronic Eye Cream

Up for review today is the Mario Badescu Hyaluronic Eye Cream. This is the first Mario Badescu product I've ever tried. I've never been really aware of this brand, save for their drying lotion, which is supposed to work miracles on pimples. I'll have some other Mario Badescu reviews in the coming months, so let me know if you're interested!

This eye cream is suitable for all skin types, and comes in a small half ounce plastic container which costs $18.00. At first glance, that doesn't seem like much product for a fairly steep price, but this eye cream will last you forever...I'm estimating, maybe a year, depending on how dry your eye area is.

This white cream is super emollient and rich. The first thing I noticed was how thick and sticky the cream is. I immediately suspected it contained oil to produce that kind of texture. Well, after looking up the ingredients, it doesn't contain mineral oil, but it contains vegetable oil and carnation oil, which I thought was pretty interesting--I've never noticed carnation oil in any of my skincare products. Apparently, it is an anti-inflammatory and restorative agent which can help reduce wrinkles, eczema and rosacea, relax muscles, and aid with hair loss. In addition, this eye cream contains hyaluronic acid, which has the ability to retain up to a thousand times its own weight in moisture. As if that weren't enough, this product also contains aloe vera. Here is a list of its ingredients, courtesy of MarioBadescu.com:

Ingredients: Deionized Water, Polyglycerylmethacrylate (and) Propylene Glycol, Carnation Oil, Propylene Glycol (and) Water (and) Euphrasia Extract, Cetearyl Alcohol (and) Ceteareth-20, Vegetable Oil, Aloe, Polyquaternium-24 (and) Hyaluronic Acid


Though the website says this cream is "medium weight" and can be used "day or night," I do not suggest this eye cream for day time wear unless you plan on staying at home and not wearing much makeup. I like to apply eye cream generously since the skin on my eyelids is pretty thin, and I find this eye cream to be a bit greasy. It sits on your skin for a very long time, and I'm not sure if it actually absorbs into your skin to hydrate it. I say this because when I wake up in the mornings, my eyelids are still coated with a film of this eye cream, no matter how little I use. As a result, I've taken to using this eye cream as a "sealant." When I apply a serum or emulsion after cleansing and toning my face, I'll put this cream on after to ensure that the serum underneath absorbs completely into my skin. I could not imagine using this eye cream during the day, unless I wanted to go for a glossy eye look or something. My eyelids are naturally oily, so using this during the day would turn me into a hot mess.

However, if your eyelids/under eyes are extremely dry, this is probably the ideal eye cream for you. Your concealer and foundation will probably glide on very nicely on top of it. I'm not sure how long you'll have to wait for the cream to absorb, but it's best to apply as little as possible and work your way up (i.e., tap the cream once gently with your ring finger, pat your eyelid, repeat). Though Mario Badescu claims that this cream "helps lock in the skin’s own natural moisture without the use of heavy, greasy oils," I believe their description is rather misleading.

As it's still winter and my skin has been super dehydrated lately, I'm perfectly content to have this in my nighttime regimen. But as the season changes, I will probably look into something else.