Saturday, October 31, 2015

On My Radar: Deciem Hylamide SubQ Eyes Serum

I've briefly toyed with the idea of scrapping eye cream entirely out of my skincare routine, but truth is, I'm way too chicken to patiently wait for any first signs of aging to start creeping in - if there's something I can do to prevent or at least slow down their unavoidable advance, I'm going to do it. Which is why I sprang for Hylamide SubQ Eyes ($35 for 0.5 fl oz/ 15ml) from Deciem, a new Canadian science-driven skincare brand that has been on my radar for a couple months now, mostly thanks to the raving reviews from my good blogging pals Tracy (Beauty Reflections) and Rae (theNotice).
If you're a regular blog reader, you may have already seen a whole plethora of posts about Deciem products due to the brand's enthusiastic blogger outreach. I personally think that's fantastic; certainly these days I believe bloggers' recommendations much more than any magazine or celebrity endorsements. However, you know how it is sometimes: beauty gurus get sent free stuff and go on raving about it for a couple months, creating enormous amounts of hype, which in turn can be quite misleading for a simple consumer like me. Mind you, throughout the years, I've made up my mind which bloggers I can trust (yes, obviously Rae and Tracy know what they're talking about, and they're not afraid to slash a free PR sample when the product's subpar), but you do wonder if a given 'it' product deserves all the praise. I wanted to see for myself if Hylamide SubQ Eyes really was as wonderful as everyone was making it out to be.
I don't generally discuss my customer service/ shipping experiences, but let me tell you, I was very impressed with Deciem's delivery. I ordered on their website at around noon one day (I also used a coupon code to get 30% off - you can just google to see if there are any floating around right now to save yourself a couple bucks), and I received a shipping confirmation within 15 minutes. My order was actually delivered the very next day, and people, that was their no-minimum free shipping option. I believe the brand's US warehouse operates out of New Jersey so lucky for us New Yorkers, but still. But STILL.

Hylamide SubQ Eyes comes in a cardboard box displaying the key active ingredients AND a full ingredients' list, with the product nestled inside. My bottle came loose inside the box and rattled a bit, but nothing happened to it during shipment. SubQ Eyes, like most Deciem's products, is packaged in a glass bottle with a dropper dispenser. I've read a lot of complaints about this application method from Deciem's customers, but to be perfectly honest, I personally haven't experienced any issues. Deciem has also gone into detail explaining the reasoning behind this packaging choice - you can read it on Caroline Hirons' blog here if you wish.
Now, I can't verify all the science behind SubQ Eyes' advanced ingredients. The serum claims to 'rehydrate the fragile eye area below and above the surface, while targeted technologies visibly improve fine lines, crow's feet, puffiness and dark circles', and do it all with the help of peptides, plant saccharides and retinol. I do know that peptides and retinol are wonderful, clinically-proven anti-aging ingredients, and I know that saccharides act as humectants, attracting moisture to the skin. SubQ Eyes also contains 'Fluorinated Perfluorocarbon Complex', which tightens the under eye area for both immediate and long-term results. Hmm... I'll just have to trust them on this one.

The texture of this eye serum is quite thin and liquidy. I follow Tracy's advice and instead of squeezing the pipette to dispense some product onto my fingertip, I just wait patiently for one drop to drip down. I then press two fingers together and pat under my eyes, blending the remainder onto the brow bone as well. I sometimes experience very mild tingling, which goes away in a couple minutes. Because the product is so thin, it absorbs into the skin very quickly, but it does leave a layer of moisture behind - when I touch the skin under my eyes, I can feel a slight tackiness, and it feels nourished. Deciem formulates their products purposefully to penetrate deep into the skin instead of sitting on its surface, but if you prefer the thicker texture of a cream or balm, I would simply suggest patting a little of your facial moisturizer around your eyes over the SubQ Eyes. For me, it's enough on its own, and I find that my under eye concealer sits well over it during the day and doesn't look dry or cakey.
I've been using SubQ Eyes for a couple weeks now, and to be completely honest, I haven't noticed any dramatic results - but I haven't noticed a dramatic change with any of the eye creams I've used in the past, since I don't have very pronounced lines around my eyes nor any dark circles. What I HAVE noticed compared to other eye creams I've used is that despite its liquidy texture, SubQ Eyes really manages to keep my eye area moisturized and plump - and yes, I think my eyes may even look a bit more lifted. That's pretty much all I'm asking at this point; plus I want those potent anti-aging ingredients to work their magic over time and help me keep wrinkles at bay for as long as possible.

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with Hylamide SubQ Eyes, and it has definitely left me wanting to try more products from the brand in the near future. I think their Flash-happy website can be a bit hard to navigate and the choice of products, especially serums, seems a little overwhelming at first, but I applaud Deciem for bringing innovative, high quality skincare products at an affordable price point to our market. I can't wait to see what else they have in store for us! Have you tried any products from Deciem? Which ones are your favorite? I'm making a wishlist here :)

8 comments:

  1. Wahoo!! I'm so glad you like it too! I swear my eyes look more lifted from it as well, although the damn pipette bothers the heck out of me so I haven't repurchased. If they change the packaging on this I would though.
    I love the brand a lot-it's pretty much all I use these days with a couple of other things thrown in. But I use pretty much all the Hylamide Boosters-I just cocktail them and slap them on my face twice a day. My skin hasn't looked this good in years, and I rarely break out now.

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  2. Oooh sounds promising! If I could get my hands on it I'd love to give it a try.

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  3. Interesting! Right away, what I noticed from the ingredients are the perfluorocarbon compounds (perfluorodecalin -- deca = 10, the compound has 10 Carbon atoms and and perfluorohexane -- hexa = 6, has 6 Carbon atoms, derived from hexane, that's the geeky nomenclature for you :-D). These two compounds are usually used to preserve organs/tissue because they have the ability to trap/dissolved oxygen. I remember back in my undergrad years, we used perfluorocarbon compounds to preserve chicken embryo cornea for experiments (and my not-so-gruesome job to harvest them, yes.) And honestly, I don't know if it does much else applied topically. I've seen studies done to use these in burn tissue (but these are skin tissue often devoid of its protective epidermis layer) and of course there are controversy of introducing oxygen in tissue as accelerating oxidation (thus we use ANTI-oxidants on our skin care)?

    In any case, those two compounds are inert, and I doubt they are absorbed cutaneously (they are extensively studied, in fact, as a means for gas-exchange). What does Decidem said about these compounds inclusion? Thanks for your review!

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    1. Wow, Claire, are you a chemist? That's like listening to my mom when she used to describe various tests they would perform at the lab :) Thanks for explaining that, I had no idea! On Deciem's website, they say their pefluorocarbon complex visibly tightens the eye area both immediately and over time. Hmm... I guess time will tell, no?

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    2. I was a chemistry geek, yes, once upon a time :-) My chemistry was actually far from skin care and alike (more like chemical production in industrial scale) but still I am fascinated to learn why some company decides to put some ingredients in their products and the hype (real or unreal) behind it. One thing for sure, it does not hurt to know your chemistry/pay attention to it because it is everywhere and in everything.

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  4. Hey Monika, I love their subQ anti ageing serum. After using it for a couple of months, I can definitely tell my skin looks plumper and smoother. I will be ordering another one, so I think I'll add this SubQ Eyes as well. Am also thinking of the Vitamin C one :-)

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  5. Oh yayyy! Yes, listen to Tracy and Rae. They are wise ;-)
    Deciem is a truly unique company in terms of the ingredients and science behind their brand. My background is in molecular cell biology and I am always impressed with what they use without jacking up the price for the consumer. The main thing I notice with using SubQ is that in the mornings, it actualyl deflates any puffiness underneath my eyes. Like I can FEEL it. Definitely try more stuff from them!

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  6. I don't know if it's only me but, my eyelashes seem to have lengthened since using the Subaru Eyes, Booster Series. Just started using their Subaru Anti-Agency. Products seem to help skin, but my eyelash growth really captured my attention. Odd, but there you have it.

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