A True Classic: Shiseido Benefiance Concentrated Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream Review

Sometimes, you come across a classic that works wonders for you. And sometimes, you come across this classic when you're too young to really need it, so you move on to other things for 15 years and forget about that wonderful product, until you accidentally run across it again and have the joy of rediscovering it...and then you get to wonder how much better you might look now if you had been more loyal then. That's what happened to me with the fabulous Shiseido Benefiance Concentrated Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream.

My best friend gave me a Shiseido gift set for Christmas that included the Concentrated Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream, and I've fallen in love all over again. A thick, rich cream, it is best used as a night treatment, as it tends to leave a film on the skin. However, it also moisturizes intensely and dramatically decreases the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It's cushioning to the skin and eases all signs of dryness immediately. Since it's so thick and rich I've found it can interfere with concealer, so keep that in mind. However, as a night treatment, few creams can beat it. I wake up to soft, smooth, refreshed eyes with no wrinkles.

They've recently reformulated this cream under the new name WrinkleResist24 Intensive Eye Contour Cream. I checked out the ingredients, and they are very, very similar to those of the original Concentrated Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream, with the most notable exception being the addition of the following: Sapindus Mudurossi Peel Extract, Limonene, Linalool, Citronellol, Geraniol, Uncaria Gambir Extract, Sanuisorba Officinals Root Esxtract, and Chlorella Vulgaris Extract, all of which make the product seem more natural than it is. Of course, those ingredients are listed at the very, very end of the ingredients list. What moved up the list to more prominent roles in the new formula are alcohol, fragrance, and parabens. Huh.

I think I'll enjoy this last jar of the Concentrated Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream and skip on the new WrinkleResist24 version. The WrinkleResist24 version also has all sorts of exciting ad copy on the Shiseido web site claiming that it fights all "5" types of wrinkles (the little inner-corner wrinkles, crepey wrinkles under the outer half of the eye, lid wrinkles, crow's feet, and puff lines...are any of these new? Wouldn't any good eye cream fight them all?) Sadly, given the similar ingredients (and the more concentrated levels of parabens, fragrance and alcohol) in WrinkleResist24, I have a bad feeling that it may not be an improvement. Then again, I could be wrong, and it could be the greatest thing since sliced bread. If you try the WrinkleResist24 version, let me know how you like it!


Anyhow, here is the ingredients list of the original version: 



Water, Hydrogenated C6-14 Olefin Polymers, Mineral Oil, Glycerin, Petrolatum, Butylene Glycol, Paraffin, Polyglyceryl-2 Diisostearate, Glyceryl Oleate, Squalane, Sodium Glutamate, Sodium PCA, Dipropylene Glycol, Beeswax, Polyethylene, Phytostearyl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate, Tocopheryl Acetate,Potassium Ascorbyl Tocopheryl Phosphate, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Arginine HCI, Glucosyl Hesperidin, Ginseng Extract, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Hydroxyproline, Chlorella Vulgaris Extract, Microcrystalline Wax, Trisodium EDTA, Tocopherol, Alcohol, BHT, Methylparaben, Fragrance, Iron Oxides.


Obviously, this eye cream is no where near natural, and certainly not organic. However, it's very effective, and I do plan to use up what I have. I've been extremely pleased with it. If you haven't tried it, the Benefiance Concentrated Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream can still be found in its original form at Sephora since the reformulation is so recent. 


Bottom Line: A classic eye cream that does what it promises, and does it well. And of course, since that's the case, Shiseido has decided to reformulate it and fix something that's not broken. I'm debating whether to try to grab a backup before they're all gone.