Whiskey, Ink and Lace Herbal Eye Cream Review and Photos

The skin under your eyes is thinner than anywhere else on your body, and it moves around a lot, as we smile, frown and laugh. Because of this, it develops wrinkles more readily than other areas of the face. I didn't used to wear eye cream, but as the years have passed I've gotten smarter about doing it. Not only does it help to reduce the appearance of existing wrinkles, it'll help to slow the development of new ones, it helps with makeup application, and keeps the skin looking soft and smooth when I'm not wearing makeup too. Believe me, it's a good thing. 

But finding the right eye cream can be challenging. They all promise to hydrate the skin and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and some will promise to tighten the skin or reduce the appearance of dark circles, reduce puffiness and a range of other things. 

For day I like to use an eye cream that smoothes and hydrates my skin but that isn't heavy. I wear undereye concealer as I have dark circles and if an eye cream is heavy, the undereye concealer will melt away over time. For night, I like a heavier eye cream, because at night, your skin is healing and recharging itself. It's the best time for treatment skincare, or for healing skincare like a moisturizer. 

I was recently wandering around one of my favourite shops, Scout on Roncesvalles Avenue. Scout is a wonderful little gift-focused shops, but who says gifts need to be for other people? I almost always go in to buy something for someone else and end up with a treat for myself.

Case in point, I went in for a 2nd birthday gift for my niece and came out with a set of farmer's market themed alphabet cards (she's learning her ABCs), a candle and a jar of eye cream. The latter two were not for my 2 year old niece, they're for me. In case you hadn't guessed.

The eye cream is from a new-to-me line of bath and body goods out of Seattle that use organic and sustainable ingredients. They're known for their beard oils (ahem men, and those who love them) but also make bath products, skin care and candles. 

Whiskey, Ink and Lace have products such as Coffee & Stout Lotion, hair pomade in 10 varieties including The Viking, The Adventurer, The Gent and The Pirate, Coconut & Lime Salt Scrub, shaving oils and soaps, Long Lashes Serum, Cinnamon Lip Plumper and nine different candles including Emerald City Essence, Back Patio Cigars and Leather and Smoke.

Scout currently carries a few of their products and honestly, I couldn't ignore the name. Whiskey, Ink and Lace. Whiskey? Yup. Ink? Oh yes. Lace? Mmhmmm. I was in need of a new nighttime eye cream, and everything about their Herbal Eye Cream appealed to me. Including how much you get for the price. 

Let's talk size. Here's the jar of Whiskey, Ink and Lace Herbal Eye Cream. It's 62g or 0.85 fl oz and cost me $15 CDN. Most eye creams that I've come across over the years are less than 0.85 fl oz and cost at least twice as much as this one. For example, the Body Shop Vitamin E Eyes Cube that I currently use as my day eye cream is 4 g and 0.14 oz. It costs $15 CDN, the same amount at the Whiskey, Ink and Lace Herbal Eye Cream, but for much less product. 

Below are three eye products that are currently in my medicine cabinet and the Whiskey, Ink and Lace Herbal Eye Cream to show you a size comparison. The Body Shop Vitamin E Eyes Cube is on the left, the SkinLab Lift & Firm Collagen & Elastin eye gel is 0.7 fl oz and cost me $30 CDN, and the Vichy ProEVEN Daily Eye Corrector Dark Circles and Spots is 0.5 fl oz and costs around $50 CDN. The Whiskey, Ink & Lace Herbal Eye Cream beats all three in both the amount of product you get and the price point. 

Ingredients-wise, there's nothing overly terrifying in the eye cream. Aloe, coconut oil, jojoba oil, glycerin, vitamin E oil and carrot seed oil plus a preservative. That's it. 

Here's the product description on the label. 

And here's what the Whiskey, Ink & Lace website has to say about the Herbal Eye Cream.

What this eye cream will do for you:
– Softens skin
– Anti-aging
– Reduces wrinkles
– Improves skin elasticity
– Reduces puffiness
– Gets rid of dark circles
– Relieves stress with therapeutic essential oils
– And so much more!
Your eyes work hard every day. Give them a break overnight with this relaxing eye cream. This cream will help smooth wrinkles, decrease puffiness, and lighten dark circles.
Anti-aging ingredients in the cream will help your eyes look young again. Carrot seed essential oil is the magical ingredient in the cream. This essential oil works by stimulating red blood cells which improves appearances by adding elasticity and tone to skin. It is well known as an anti-aging oil for preventing wrinkles. The cream also contains neroli essential oil, which has a rich, soothing scent and is known for helping reduce signs of aging.
The base of the cream is a mixture of coconut oil and jojoba oil. Both have fantastic skin rejuvenating properties, helping to reduce fine lines and wrinkles and make your eyes look younger.
Brighten your eyes while you’re sleeping so that they’ll be ready to face the next day.
I think these days, with all of the shady ingredients in everything you consume and use on your body, it’s best to be extra careful in choosing the products you stock in your kitchen and bathroom. This cream is all natural, so that you can be sure nothing dangerous goes anywhere near your delicate eyes.
You can apply the cream moderately to moisturize your skin around your eyes overnight, to make them bright, beautiful, and looking younger in the morning!

There's a relatively strong scent of lavender that wafts up from the eye cream when you take the lid off. It's the one minor detractor to this eye cream, actually. The fragrance of the lavender, while beneficial to the skin, is a wee bit irritating to my eyes when I've first applied it. 

Texture-wise, the cream is similar to the consistency of coconut oil, which I use occasionally in the winter around my eyes. It melts with the warmth of my finger when I tip into the jar. Another minor detractor is that you need to stick your finger (or a utensil of some sort) into the product to get some to apply. Bacteria can be spread this way, so using clean hands, or a clean utensil can help reduce this danger. It would also reduce the melting effect your warm fingers can have, as I demonstrate in the below photo. I attempted to scoop up some product on my finger for this photo and this is all I was able to get. That it's so melty isn't a bad thing though. It easily applies to the undereye area and has excellent slip. It doesn't absorb too quickly so there's time to gently massage it into the skin, and enough lingers on the surface that I'm assured that the skin has sucked up as much as it needs.

Oh, another word about the amount of product you get for the price. The amount on my finger in the above photo is about half what I would use on one eye. Yup. This jar will last me a long time. Granted that it's summer here right now, so my skin doesn't need as much hydration as in the winter, so I'll be using more in the colder months. But still. I'll be surprised if I use it all before the end of 2015.

I've been using the Herbal Eye Cream for a few weeks now and I am loving it. It effectively hydrates the skin under my eyes, leaving it refreshed and smooth for when I wake up. Apart from the slighty uncomfortable lavender fragrance, it is easily my favourite eye cream.

Grade: B+