Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Anti-Puff Eye Roller

All Images Courtesy of Me

I have issues with my eyes. Specifically, I have issues with my eyes in the morning, when I tend to wake up with huge bags and dark circles. It seems that unless I sleep sitting in an upright position, this is my fate. The bags just show up on their own, and I suppose the dark circles can be attributed to my fair, thin skin. Anyhow, it's a constant battle. I have yet to find a good solution to the problem since concealers never look right on me and I have yet to find a good eye cream that truly addresses the problem. Estee Lauder Advanced Eye Recovery Complex comes close, but it doesn't really fix the bags and circles once they show up; rather, it helps keep them from occurring overnight. Once they break through the Lauder barrier, I'm left swinging in the wind. So it was with a great deal of interest that I examined the Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Anti-Puff Eye Roller the other day while I was at the drug store. 

Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Anti-Puff Eye Roller 

This relatively new addition to the Garnier Nutritioniste line claims to work on bags and dark circles overnight, which are precisely the problems I deal with during the day. Packaged in a wand-style case with a metal rolling ball on top, it's an interesting concept. The premise is that massaging with the roller ball will help decongest the under eye area, after which the serum-like eye cream left behind will alleviate puffiness and minimize the appearance of circles. 

The Anti-Puff Roller has both caffeine and pro-vitamin B5 to decongest the area and minimize puffiness while hydrating and refreshing the eye area. I noted that the caffeine and pro-vitamin B5 were listed as the 4th and 5th ingredient, respectively, so at least I knew that they were there in reasonable concentrations. 

When I first applied the Eye Roller, I was pleasantly surprised. The metal ball was very cooling and refreshing to my under-eye area and the serum continued to cool after I finished with the ball. I gently rolled the ball under my eyes as instructed, then patted the serum into my skin. As the directions did not mention whether or not it was okay to follow with another eye cream, I went to bed with just the Eye Roller serum on my eyes, although it did not feel particularly moisturizing. 

The next morning, I did notice that my bags were less noticeable. However, I still had dark circles, just like almost every other day of my life...Garnier didn't come through on that claim. In addition, the serum alone was not enough to moisturize my eye area. I decided to give it another try the next night with my regular eye cream on top of it, and I awoke with my bags and dark circles right back where they started. 

I did use this Eye Roller in the morning just because I didn't want to throw it away after two uses. That method seems to be more effective for me. I simply massage it gently under my eyes first thing in the morning, then follow with my normal skin care routine. I find that my bags are minimized and puffiness goes down much more quickly using the serum than without. This may be wishful thinking on my part, but it's working for me right now. 

So basically, I don't know if I can really recommend this or not. Essentially, I think it is a great daytime serum to help minimize bags, puffiness and dark circles, but it really offers very little moisturization. Since most of us need moisture around our eye area, that means we will need to follow it with an eye cream. If you wake up with puffy or dark eyes and need some quick help, I recommend this. If you are looking for something that will work overnight to keep you from getting puffy in the first place, unless you don't need moisture, this one's not for you. 

Grade; C+