Estée Lauder's relatively new Advanced Night Repair Eye ($49.50) is a great anti-aging eye serum. That's my conclusion after testing it for a month. This "synchronized complex" was designed to repair visible damage around the eyes.This serum is described by Estée Lauder as a silky serum-gel. That's a pretty good description of its weight and texture. Had I described it, I would have told you it was a colorless cream - or a serum with the consistency of La Mer's The Concentrate (nice and thick, but with instant melting into the skin). Advanced Night Repair Eye helps reduce the look of every key sign of aging around the fragile eye area. These signs include fine lines (otherwise known as wrinkles), puffiness, dark circles, dryness, and uneven skin tone. I tested it with my personal objective to reduce fine lines and hydrate the the skin above and below my eyes. It passed the test!
I'll add my own comments to the information from Estée Lauder's press release about Advanced Night Repair Eye. I'll tell you about DNA, cell repair mechanisms, hydration, and antioxidants.
In 1982, Estée Lauder was the first cosmetics company to bring nighttime repair to the anti-aging category by introducing a product that revolutionized the way women thought about their skin and cared for it. The company's Night Repair was an innovative, award-winning formula that targeted damaged skin and helped visibly repair it during the restorative hours of sleep. Estée Lauder was also among the first skin-care companies to understand the fundamental link between DNA damage and skin aging - and the importance of skin's ability to repair its own DNA.
Today, Estée Lauder's pivotal research in genetic aging has provided a new discovery and technology that will again revolutionize nighttime repair. Healthy skin cells maximize repair functioning at night through a "symphony" of precisely timed repair responses based on the body's natural circadian cycle. The sequencing and timing of these responses is so critically important that they are synchronized by a specific family of genes called clock genes. Until recently, it was thought all cellular synchronization occurred through one "master clock." New research shows that each skin cell contains clock genes that help it maximize its own DNA repair. With age and repeated exposure to environmental stressors, clock genes can get out of sync, causing cellular repair and protective processes to slow down, thus compromising DNA repair. Estée Lauder scientists were among the first to understand the role of clock gene activation and synchronization to enhance the skin's natural repair activity. Advanced Night Repair Eye harnesses their knowledge about clock genes to offer comprehensive skin repair when we need it.
Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex provides continuous, comprehensive, and optimized nighttime repair with revolutionary Chronolux Technology to support the natural synchronization of skin's repair and protection processes at exactly the right time. Additionally, the serum has a new, powerful, and patented technology encapsulating Alkyl Guanine Transferase (AGT), a repair enzyme naturally present in our skin. If AGT is not continuously produced (or gets "used up"), damage from environmental stressors can become permanent. We don't need that! The AGT in this serum is truly advanced.
Because the skin around the eyes is about four times thinner than anywhere else on the face, it's more vulnerable to environmental damage. We all know that it's also where you'll usually see the first telltale signs of aging. Regular use of this serum will keep the entire eye area hydrated and looking fresher, more rested, and revitalized - and the serum will work to repair existing damage.
Hyaluronic acid, one of our best moisture magnets today, helps the skin lock in moisture and strengthen its protective moisture barrier. Powerful antioxidants help neutralize free radicals before they can cause future damage. Additionally, high levels of soothing anti-irritants and targeted technologies help reduce the look of dark circles, puffiness, and crepiness (something that bothers me) for brighter, smoother skin around the eyes. Red Micro-Algae, a miracle of biotechnology from the deserts of Israel, is said to work in concert with Poria Cocos Extract and caffeine, providing the anti-irritant benefits that will reduce dark circles (to some extent - no cream will eliminate them) and puffiness. The Red Micro-Algae, working with Mulberry Root Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Extract, and Grape Extract (antioxidants) brightens and helps protect the eye area from free-radical damage. All of these ingredients make it an excellent all-around eye treatment that should address most concerns.
The instructions say to use it every morning and evening. During the last month, I used it only before bed, patting it gently around my eyes over the crease up to my brows and under my eyes. I found the application a pleasant experience - there's a cooling property - and it's fragrance-free, so there was no funky smell to endure. I experienced absolutely no creep into my eyes, even though I applied it very close to them.
You can expect to see some results after a week of use. Eight-seven percent of women who tested the serum saw significant improvement after a month of use. I'm very happy with Advanced Night Repair Eye - happier than I originally thought possible. Maybe I'm a skin-care snob. I didn't expect it to be as good as it is. This new eye serum is staying in my skin-care cocktail.
You can purchase Advanced Night Repair Eye at any Estée Lauder counter or online at Estée Lauder's Web site.
Photo courtesy of Estée Lauder