PRODUCT REVIEW: PAULA'S CHOICE OMEGA+ EYE CREAM - BEST EYE CREAM FOR WRINKLES, BEST ANTI-AGING EYE CREAM
PAULA'S CHOICE | OMEGA+ EYE CREAM
This product review was originally part of my blog article titled, Seasonal Skincare Transitioning: Dry Skin? You May Be Low On Lipids! Skinfix Triple Lipid-Peptide Face Cream And Fig. 1 Beauty Ceramide Moisturizer. You can catch the full piece here.
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Over the last several weeks, I’ve been featuring products that are ideal for colder weather in a series of blog articles themed around the concept of “season skincare transitioning.”
During the chilly fall and winter months, it is essential to switch up your skincare with products formulated for preventing dehydration and trans-epidermal water loss, or TEWL.
Notably, I’ve been hearing a lot about TEWL this season, more than in seasons past. And that’s a really, really good thing. It means that skincare marketers are increasingly focusing on skin health and the compromising effects that dehydration can have on the health of your skin. Dehydration and sun damage are two leading causes of skin aging.
Reflecting back on my eight years working at Kiehl’s, I can’t recall a single conversation about dehydration and, certainly, never once heard the term TEWL. A tool was something you used to take your mouse apart.
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What is trans-epidermal water loss? Well, simply, it’s the loss of moisture through the skin barrier — and the leading cause of dehydration. When the air around us gets colder, it dries out. In a freak of nature that doesn’t favor humans, this low-humidity air literally draws water out of our skin to compensate and replenish itself. There are several things we can do to combat these drying forces.
What Is Trans-Epidermal Water Loss and What Causes Trans Epidermal Water Loss?
For a deeper dive (no pun intended!) into trans-epidermal water loss, or TEWL, there’s an excellent article on the health website Skin Better titled, What Is Transepidermal Water Loss and Why Is it Important? It’s available to read here.
In the piece, the author explains TEWL as follows:
“The skin is comprised of three primary layers: the epidermis, the outermost layer; the dermis or middle layer; and the hypodermis, the undermost layer. When water passes from the dermis through the epidermis and evaporates from the skin’s surface, this is known as transepidermal water loss (International Journal of Pharmaceutics).
While TEWL is a process that your skin naturally regulates, certain factors that can damage the skin’s barrier function can also affect TEWL levels. Circumstances such as injury, low-humidity weather conditions and topically applied products that dry out the skin can impact TEWL.
To achieve this, combine humectant and occlusive skincare ingredients.
Transepidermal water loss can contribute to a variety of dry skin conditions, and although it is a natural process, there are ways that you can help your skin stay moisturized and hydrated. Hydration refers to the water content of the skin, whereas moisturization is the skin’s ability to retain those water molecules. Therefore, your skin needs both elements to maintain desirable levels of TEWL.
To achieve this, combine humectant and occlusive skincare ingredients. Humectants help to draw moisture to the epidermis, either from the air if it is humid enough, or from the underlying dermis in low-humidity conditions. Because water content that is drawn from the dermis can be lost through TEWL, it’s important to combine the use of humectants with occlusives. Together, these ingredients create a reservoir of moisture in the epidermis and act as a barrier on the skin to help prevent TEWL by sealing in that moisture. The occlusive agents simultaneously keep pollutants, toxins and harmful bacteria out (Skin Therapy Letter).”
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SKINCARMA LOCK & BLOCK: THE BEST WAY TO KEEP SKIN HEALTHY & HYDRATED IN DRY, COLD AIR!
ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE
Throughout my series on seasonal skincare transitioning, I’ve talked about what I refer to as the Skincarma Lock & Block strategy. What I’m referring to are the two measures necessary for preventing trans-epidermal water loss and subsequent dehydration. They are locking water in the skin with humectants and blocking the escape of moisture through the skin barrier with occlusive products like heavier facial oils and creams.
The Skincarma “Lock and Block” Prevents Dehydration
To start, preventing dehydration in the first place requires drinking enough water. That differs for each of us based on our weight, the foods we eat, and the climate we live in. It’s even more important during colder periods.
A good rule is to drink one ounce of water each day for every pound of body weight. So, if you weigh 150 lbs., you’ll need to drink 150 ounces of water each and every day to keep your body and your skin optimally hydrated.
Then, employing skincare to treat and prevent dehydration requires what I refer to as a “lock and block” strategy.
It begins with a dedicated humectant serum applied to the skin in both your AM and PM routines that helps to lock water in. Follow with a moisturizer composed of a healthy balance of both humectants and oils to block and prevent the trans-epidermal water loss that can lead to dehydration.
SEASONAL SKINCARE TRANSITIONING: THE BEST PRODUCTS FROM THE ORDINARY AND NIOD THAT GET ME EXCITED FOR THE COLD!
So it’s heartening that marketers seem to be moving away from new shiny objects like made-up ingredient complexes and are targeting real concerns like dehydration with real solutions, including humectants and occlusive ingredients like plant oils and lipids.
And, we’ve also been hearing a lot about lipids! In fact, one of the top selling moisturizers at Sephora is the Skinfix Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Peptide Face Cream – one of the best face creams for dry skin and one of my all-time favorite moisturizers in winter. More on this winter skin savior below.
What are lipids? Well, they’re fat substances in the skin’s layers responsible for keeping the skin moisturized, maintaining skin barrier strength — and they even play a role in the skin’s reparative processes. Lipids are found in plants, animals, and human skin. Human skin lipids include substances likely familiar to you: ceramides, cholesterol and fatty acids.
Our skin’s lipid composition contains a healthy balance of each of these. In general, the skin’s lipid content includes 50% ceramides, 25% cholesterol, and between 10–20% fatty acids.
SEASONAL SKINCARE TRANSITIONING: MOISTURIZERS I LOVE THAT MAKE ME EXCITED FOR THE COLD – PART TWO
What Are Skin Lipids and Are Lipids Good for Skin?
There’s an insightful article on the Dermstore website titled, The Role of Lipids—Cholesterol, Ceramides and Fatty Acids—in the Aging Process which you can read here.
Lipids in Your Skin
In a nutshell, lipids are skin’s natural fats. They are essential components of skin and play a crucial role in maintaining the strength of the skin’s protective barrier, which holds moisture, protects the skin from damage and keeps dirt and impurities out. They also aid the skin’s natural repair process. While there are many types of lipids, these three are the most prevalent—and important—for the skin.
Cholesterol: This lipid helps accelerate the skin barrier’s recovery and improve the appearance of skin elasticity. Visible skin aging is often caused by cholesterol deficiency on the skin. It’s important to note that cholesterol on your skin is different from the cholesterol found in the blood, and having more of it on your skin won’t cause your blood pressure to spike.
Ceramides: This type of lipid is proven to increase the skin’s hydration and barrier function. Ceramide deficiency is the main cause of dry skin.
Fatty acids: Abundant in young, healthy skin, fatty acids help maintain the skin’s lipid balance.
The Role of Topical LipidsHealthy, youthful skin has an abundance of these naturally occurring lipids. As we age, lipid production declines, and this can result in rough surface texture, uncomfortable tightness, dullness and loss of facial fullness. A compromised skin barrier is also more prone to irritation and water loss. This is why it’s important to counter the effects of lipid loss with a topical treatment—but not just any topical treatment.
WATCH MY VIDEO REVIEW OF
MY WINTER SKIN SAVIOR: SKINFIX BARRIER+ LIPID REPLENISHING SKINCARE
ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE
Replenishing lost lipids is essential to maintaining healthy functioning skin as we age and during the colder months of the year. A lipid replenishing moisturizer is key. A good moisturizer can replenish a lot of what skin needs, but a great moisturizer replenishes lost lipids!
On many recent nights, I’ve reached for one of my two favorite lipid replenishing moisturizers: the Skinfix Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Peptide Face Cream and Fig. 1 Beauty’s Ceramide Moisturizer.
Both of these well-formulated face creams replenish lipids like ceramides and fatty acids in the skin. Both have solid clinical results, are vegan and free of fragrance and other sensitizing ingredients. They’re two of the best face creams for dry skin any time of year but particularly during the colder months of fall and winter.
Let’s have a look at my favorite lipid-replenishing eye creams — one of the best eye creams for wrinkles, fine lines, dryness and dehydration in the eye area…
Paula’s Choice | Omega+ Complex Eye Cream
As I’ve said multiple times previously, I’m not sold on the need for a separate eye cream. In fact, that’s a philosophy long espoused by Paula Begoun herself! The only time I think you really need to use a separate eye formulation, rather than a face cream around your eyes, is if you have a concern for dark circles and puffiness.
And, of course, during the colder, drier, low-humidity seasons of fall and winter!
Even Paula eventually came around to the idea of using a separate eye cream. Today, the brand offers four distinct eye creams and, of course, they’re among the best eye creams for wrinkles, dry skin, and puffiness. Why? Because consumers have been conditioned to think that they need an eye cream to fight signs of aging in the eye area.
The truth is, you can and should be able to use a well-formulated facial skincare product around your eye area. And if you’re concerned about fine lines and wrinkles around your eyes, be sure you’re using a sunscreen in the immediate eye area. The delicate skin around the eyes needs protection from UV damage just as much (and maybe more!) as the rest of your face.
The Best Sunscreens For Eyes
Two of my favorite eye creams are from Paula’s Choice — the Ceramide-Enriched Firming Eye Cream and the Paula’s Choice Omega+ Complex Eye Cream.
If you’re looking for a really well-formulated, reliable eye cream year-round, the Paula’s Choice Omega+ Complex Eye Cream is ideal for maintaining the health of the skin around the eyes by replenishing lost lipids and preventing trans-epidermal water loss.
There’s a reason that signs of aging appear in the eye area first. Because the skin around the eyes is so delicate, it is most vulnerable to water loss. Not only is it the thinnest skin anywhere on your face, but the skin in the eye area contains fewer oils and lipids, or fats, than the rest of the face. That means water can more easily seep through the skin barrier — and result in the formulation of crow’s feet and fine lines around the eyes.
TEWL in eye area skin is a serious matter as there’s simple nothing to prevent dehydration, a particular problem for eyes when exposed to cold air.
A really, well-formulated replenishing eye cream is essential in the colder months when your eye area is exposed to the harsh, cold, low-humidity air. Why? Because you want to do everything you can to prevent trans-epidermal water loss around your eyes. Once it’s in effect, it can cause long-term damage in the form of lines and wrinkles, the first signs of aging.
I used to nervously joke that at the end of every winter, I’d aged an entire year. As if skin aging were accelerated during those three to four cold months. My eye area suffered the most. It was only when I began to understand what trans-epidermal water loss is an how to prevent it from happening that I began to properly maintain a healthy eye area.
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If you’re a skincare aficionado that believes an eye cream is essential in your routine, then at the very least reach for something well formulated that delivers real benefits to the delicate skin of the eye area. You cannot go wrong with the Paula’s Choice Omega+ Complex Eye Cream.
The Omega+ Complex Eye Cream is a light, yet substantive formula that’s intended to moisturize and fortify even the driest of skin types. But it’s not too heavy if you have a concern for oiliness — though oily skin in the eye area is rare. Again, the skin is simply too thin to hold a lot of oils.
Of the Omega+ Complex Eye Cream, Paula says the “sheer, lightweight lotion layers well and combines proven moisture-locking omegas, ceramides and amino acids together to plump skin’s surface and maintain hydration. Plus, a blend of niacinamide, mulberry, bearberry and licorice visibly brightens.”
Honestly, it’s a veritable cocktail of pro-skin health goodness for eyes! But it’s the omega fatty acids for me.
What Are Fatty Acids and What Are Fatty Acids in Skin Care?
There’s an insightful piece on the Paula’s Choice website titled, How Omega Fatty Acids Help Skin. In it, the experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team explain the vital importance of fatty acids to skin health.
Omega fatty acids like those found in fish and various plant oils are well known for their remarkable nutritional benefits when consumed via food or supplements as part of a healthy diet—but you might not know about the amazing benefits they have when applied to skin.
The research about omega’s healthy fatty acids for skin is fascinating; in fact, it inspired us to formulate highly specialized products to deliver these important ingredients—and their benefits—to skin: Omega+ Complex Serum, Omega+ Complex Moisturizer, and Omega+ Complex Eye Cream. Adding one or more of these omega fatty acid-packed products to your skin care routine can supplement and enhance the results you get from your other products for visibly improved skin.
What are Omega Fatty Acids?
Omega fatty acids are valuable fats, for your diet and your skin. There are 11 omega fatty acids of which two (omega-3 and omega-6) are considered essential fatty acids because the body cannot make them on its own (meaning you must supplement them in one way or another). Among the omegas, the most vital for skin are:
Omega-3— Found in foods such as fish, flax seed (linseed), walnut, and chia oils, plus certain species of algae
Omega-6— Abundant in many plant oils, linoleic acid, and passion fruit oil
Omega-9— Plentiful in flax seed (linseed) oil and soybean, canola, peanut, and sunflower oils
Omega-3 and 6 fatty acids are not only essential to consume orally, but when applied to skin, research has shown they play a role in maintaining your skin's healthy appearance, among many other benefits.
The Paula’s Choice Omega+ Complex Eye Cream is the best eye cream from Paula’s Choice. In fact, it’s the perfect eye cream for all skin types in the cold with superb replenishing benefits for the skin.
What I like about it: The Paula’s Choice Omega+ Complex Eye Cream is a near-perfect eye cream and is especially ideal for replenishing depleted lipids like fatty acids in the eye area. It has an amazing texture, too, that makes it suitable for just about everyone.
What I don’t like about it: There’s nothing I dislike about this eye cream. Unlike so many well-formulated eye creams, it’s house in an airless pump — not a jar!
Who it’s for: All skin types, even oily and very oily skins.
SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase the Paula’s Choice Omega+ Complex Eye Cream for $34 here.
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The Ingredient List of the Skinfix Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Peptide Face Cream:
sii|h 0 0, Olus Oil (Vegetable Oil) emo, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter Extract, Cetyl Lactate emo, Propanediol solv|h, Caprylyl Caprylate/Caprate emo, C12-16 Alcohols emo|vc, Jojoba Oil/Macadamia Seed Oil Esters, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate emo|emu, Palmitic Acid sii|emo|emu 0 2, Hydrogenated Lecithin 
emo|emu, Ophiopogon Japonicus Root Extract, Tocopherol aox 0-3 0-3, Sodium Hyaluronate sii|h 0 0, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract aox|so|amic, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Extract so|emo, Phytosteryl Macadamiate, Phytosterols, Squalene sii|aox|emo, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice so|h, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Extract, Phytosteryl Canola Glycerides, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract aox|sb|so|emo, Pentylene Glycol solv|h, Hydrolyzed Rice Protein, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil emo 0 3, Chondrus Crispus Extract h|vc, Dilinoleic Acid/Propanediol Copolymer emo|vc, Ethylhexylglycerin pres, Phenoxyethanol pres, Potassium Sorbate pres, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate chel, Citric Acid buff, Gluconolactone exf|chel, Sodium Benzoate pres, Xanthan Gum vcThe Ingredient List of the Fig. 1 Beauty Ceramide Moisturizer:
Water, Glycerin, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Ethylhexyl Olivate, Squalane, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Sorbitan Stearate, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Borago Officinalis (Borage) Seed Oil, Triolein, Cetearyl Glucoside, Butylene Glycol, Benzyl Alcohol, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetyl Alcohol, Hydrogenated Olive Oil Saponifiables, Xanthan Gum, Ceramide NP, Glyceryl Dioleate, Benzoic Acid, Tocopherol, Disodium EDTA, Linoleic Acid, Phospholipids, Phytosterols, t-Butyl Alcohol, Sodium Lactate, Carbomer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Polysorbate-20, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7
The Ingredient List of the Paula’s Choice Omega+ Complex Eye Cream:
aox|emo 0 0-3, Borago Officinalis (Borage) Seed Oil so|emo, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate emu|surf, Squalane sii|emo 0 1, Niacinamide cci|sb|aacne|h, Salvia Hispanica (Chia) Seed Oil aox|emo|h, Linum Usitatissimum (Linseed) Seed Oil emo|perf, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil emo, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil aox|emo|perf 0 0-2, Passiflora Edulis (Passion Flower) Seed Oil emo, Ceramide EOP sii, Ceramide NP sii, Ceramide AP sii, Sodium Hyaluronate sii|h 0 0, Cholesterol sii|emo 0 0, Morus Alba (White Mulberry) Root Extract sb, Arctostaphylos Uva-Ursi (Bearberry) Leaf Extract aox|sb, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract so|sb, Linoleic Acid sii|emo|surf, Linolenic Acid sii|emo|surf|perf, Serine sii, Alanine sii, Proline sii, Arginine sii, Threonine sii, Phytosphingosine sii|cci|aacne|amic, Phytosterols, Sodium PCA sii|h 0 0, Glycine sii, Oleic Acid emo|emu, Glutamic Acid h, Lysine Hcl, Lecithin emo|emu, Adenosine cci, Sodium Lactate buff|h, Hydrogenated Olive Oil vc, Euterpe Oleracea Sterols, Olea Europaea (Olive) Oil Unsaponifiables, Phytic Acid chel, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract so|aox|amic|h, Anastatica Hierochuntica Extract, Glycerin sii|h 0 0, Pca sii|h, Betaine h, Pullulan, Carbomer vc 0 1, Sclerotium Gum vc, Sodium Citrate chel|buff, Citric Acid buff, Ascorbyl Palmitate 
aox 0 2, Tocopheryl Acetate aox 0 0, Silica vc, Sorbitan Oleate emu 0 3, Xanthan Gum vc, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate emu, Phenoxyethanol pres, Ethylhexylglycerin pres, Chlorphenesin pres|amic
