Medik8 Illuminating Eye Balm Review, Demo

Medik8 Illuminating Eye Balm Review, Demo: Hey guys, so I got myself something fancy recently. It is the Medik8 illuminating eye balm. I’d been hearing a lot about it and really wanted to give it a shot. It is from a British luxury skin care brand Medik8 and in fact, this is the first product I got from them. I have been using this for over 2 weeks now, and I am ready to share my experience with it. Let’s learn more about it below..

About Medik8 Illuminating Eye Balm

An instantly illuminating and hydrating eye balm which helps to visibly brighten and refresh tired eyes.

Illuminating Eye Balm minimises the appearance of puffiness and dark circles by combining soothing natural extracts with sheer, light-reflecting mineral pigments in a subtle colour match tint.

Fresh Look
The balm can be applied underneath or on top of makeup, leaving the eyes nourished, rejuvenated and visibly youthful.

Hydration
Enriched with multi-weight hyaluronic acid and glycerin, true moisture is drawn into the delicate eye area, smoothing the appearance of fine, dehydration lines. The appearance of the under eye area is visibly illuminated and skin texture is smoothed.

Subtle Colour Match Tint
A subtly tinted illuminating under eye formula that targets dark circles and signs of fatigue in a lightweight balm.

How to Use Medik8 Illuminating Eye Balm

1. After cleansing in the morning, apply Illuminating Eye Balm around the eye area, avoiding eyelids.
2. Patch testing prior to use is advised.

Ingredients in Medik8 Illuminating Eye Balm

Aqua (Water), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Methylpropanediol, Dimethicone, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Mica, Polyacrylamide, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Polyglyceryl-3 Stearate, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Caprylyl Glycol, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Stearic Acid, PEG-75 Stearate, Silica, Laureth-7, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Water, Tin Oxide, Ceteth-20, Steareth-20, Phenylpropanol, Alumina, Caffeine, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Hydrolyzed Rhodophyceae Extract, Bacillus Ferment, Tocopherol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Lactic Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, CI 77492 (Yellow Iron Oxide), CI 77491 (Red Iron Oxide), CI 77499 (Black Iron Oxide).

Price of Medik8 Illuminating Eye Balm

£36.00 for 15 mL in UK
$45.00 for 15 mL in USA
$84.00 for 15 mL in Australia
AED 253.00 for 15 mL in UAE & Dubai
S$53.00 for 15 mL in Singapore

In Detail Medik8 Illuminating Eye Balm Review, Demo and My Experience

The Medik8 illuminating eye balm comes in a rather simple, minimalistic packaging. Its a tube with a nozzle tip end. Looking at the price of this thing, I expected something more may be. But I am okay if it performs well because its the actual product that matters after all.

It has a very faint smell, may be something similar to cinnamon? Its very faint, and some of us may not even notice it. It has a smooth texture with a lovely creamy consistency. Its super easy to work with and apply it around the eye area. Normally, when I hear “Balm”, I imagine it to be something heavier, however this was completely opposite! Its really light weight and really easy to use. Exactly the type of cream you’d want to apply around your eye because we are super gentle in that area.

How I Use the Medik8 Eye Cream

I just need a small drop of it for each of my eye area. Be very careful, don’t use it too much. I just lightly dab it and lightly massage it on my eye area, specially my under eye area. It gets absorbed almost right away and doesn’t feel like you have something on.

Effects of Medik8 Eye Cream

The first thing I notice after applying this immediately is the very obvious brightening effect. I am a person who does not use makeup everyday. So as soon as I apply this, my under eye area looks brightened instantaneously exactly how they claim. This particular effect is due to the reflective pigments in the formula like Medik8 has clearly mentioned on the product as well. In fact, this is the reason why I said in the beginning that do not use a lot of it, otherwise if you do, it might appear like a white cast almost. So just use a tiny bit of it, spread it around the eye area nicely, and thats it!

If you look at the ingredients list, after water, titanium dioxide is the 2nd most abundant ingredient in the formula. This ingredient not only works as a pigment but is also a master sun protector. So although medik8 doesn’t mention it in its claims, this product surely must work like a sunscreen too. Apart from that, it has some familiar ingredients like glycerine, caffeine, cucumber water etc. Glycerine provides the moisturising property.

Honestly speaking, this isn’t the best hydrating or moisturising eye cream that I’ve used. This actually works better as a brightening under eye cream rather than a moisturising cream. So if you have dry under eyes, please apply another moisturiser underneath it to properly moisturise and then apply the medik8 illuminating eye balm on top of it for best results.

Caffeine is a good de-puffing agent for the under eyes area but because I don’t get significant puffiness in the morning, that’s not a very important selling point for me. Cucumber water, is good I guess for soothing. But that’s not something I would pay extra bucks for.

Apart from that, I’d also like to elaborate on two more ingredients which you can find by the end of the ingredients list. One is “Hydrolyzed Rhodophyceae Extract” which is red algae extract. Its said to improve hydration as well as a good source of antioxidants. Second, “Bacillus Ferment” actually works on an enzymatic level to remove the dead cells.

Overall Verdict

I feel like this is one of those products that I look at as “Makeup & Skin Care combined“. Its not exactly makeup because it doesn’t provide real coverage, just good brightening effect. Its not total skin care because I just feel like there are better formulas of under eye creams available. But when you really combine those two and make it super light weight and easy to use, you make a winner.

Therefore, I really like this cream and if you can please do try it out once before you purchase it. I may not repurchase it because its expensive for me and its difficult for me to get it here in India, but all the time that I am using it, I really love it. If you have tried it before, please let me know about your experience with it in the comments.

More Photos, Swatches, Demo

PROs of Medik8 Illuminating Eye Balm

1. Minimalistic, sleek packaging.
2. List of ingredients in impressive.
3. Love the brightening effects it provides, literally the best if you consider the instantaneous brightening effect it provides. Have a look at the swatches above and you will literally see what I am talking about.
4. Has some modern day bio-ingredients like red algae extracts, bacillus ferment.
5. Vegan, Cruelty free, no added fragrances, no synthetic colours, paraben and alcohol free.

CONs of Medik8 Illuminating Eye Balm

1. Expensive for me.
2. Not easily available in my country, I have to order it through international retailers.
3. Not sufficiently hydrating for beauties who have actual dry under eyes.

MBF Advises

1. If you have dry under eyes, use a moisturiser first, and then apply this illuminating cream.
2. If you over-apply it, it might give a white cast, so use a tiny bit at first and you’ll eventually figure out how much you need.
3. Squeeze it gently. Although its only 15 mL, it will last long since you just need a little bit every time.
4. Never forget to use your SPF along.

MBF Rating

4.5/5
(Works great as light Makeup + Skin Care)