TheUnderEyeReport

Skin & Aging

UPDATE: The eye tightener from this story is in stock and ships with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

"I sold my mom an $80 eye cream for nine years. Then I put it under one of her eyes, and something else under the other."

Ryan worked an Estée Lauder counter. His mom Carol is 64 and used his brown jar every night. Ninety seconds after the test, one side of her face looked ten years younger, and it wasn't the jar side.

Carol, 64

Ryan, 38

Carol, and her son Ryan, who sold eye cream for nine years.

See What Went Under Her Other Eye
$29.99 · 30-day money-back guarantee

No needle​Works in 90 seconds​30-day guarantee

The Under-Eye Report editorial team
Updated today

For nine years, Ryan stood behind an Estée Lauder counter and put the same brown jar into women's hands. Advanced Night Repair. Eighty dollars.

"It was the first thing they trained me to sell. Behind the counter we just called it the brown jar."

Ryan, 38

Ryan at the counter, year six

His most loyal customer was his mom. Carol bought the jar from him at the counter and put it on every night for nine years. She's 64. She still feels about 45. Her under-eyes didn't agree.

"Every morning I'd look in the mirror and see my mother's face. Not mine."

Carol, 64

Ryan is fair about the jar. It isn't a scam. The cream inside it is good cream.

What nine years at the counter taught him

The same women came back three or four times a year. Same woman, same jar. Not one ever told him her eyebags were gone. They came back for another jar. That was the whole business, and he was very good at it.

Carol had tried the rest of the counter too

The $80 brown jar

Retinol that stung

Concealer in every crease

"Give it eight weeks"

Softer skin, every time. The same eyebags, every time.

Three or four jars a year at $80 is more than $300, before a single concealer. What finally worked costs $29.99 a month.

The part nobody says out loud at the counter

The thing that makes a woman look older isn't her wrinkles, and it isn't her gray hair. It's her under-eyes. That skin is the thinnest on her face, so it's the first to give way. It puffs up, and that puffiness is the eyebag. It's so thin that the blood vessels underneath show through as darkness. And it sits right where everyone looks first. On their own, eyebags can add ten years to a face that doesn't have a single wrinkle.

Why the jar could never fix it

An eye cream is built to soak in. That's the whole design, and at the counter Ryan said it like it was the good news. But you can't tighten skin that thin with something that disappears into it. Eight hours later the cream is gone, and the area is as loose as it was.

What a tightener does instead

Job one

Micro-tightening minerals

Pulls the eyebag flat

As it dries, millions of minerals connect into a sort of second skin that contracts and pulls the under-eye together. You can feel the gentle pull.

Job two

Skin-adapting tint

Neutralizes darkness

The same minerals turn into a sheer tint, so the darkness the jar could never reach fades on the spot.

Ninety seconds to set. Up to sixteen hours of hold. It washes off at night. It's the Studio Dermal Instant Eye Tightener.

Then there's the clock. Every jar on that counter is sold on time. Use it every night. Give it eight weeks. Be patient. Eight weeks is long enough that you stop comparing.

A tightener doesn't ask for eight weeks. You see it in ninety seconds, or you don't.

✕ The brown jarSoaks in. Softer skin, same eyebags

✓ The tightenerSits on top. Pulls the area flat

So he tried it on his mom

Carol's kitchen, a Sunday morning. Ryan put the brown jar under her left eye and the tightener under her right, and told her not to look until he said so.

0 seconds

Both sides go on

Eyebag​Smooth​

40 seconds

"It's pulling. Is that meant to happen?"

Eyebag​Smooth​

90 seconds

One side looks like her

Eyebag​Smooth​

It went on white, turned beige, then went invisible. Then he handed her the mirror.

Same wrinkles, same gray hair, same lipstick.

"There I am."

Brown jar side

Tightener side

Carol didn't say anything for a while. Then she touched the right side of her face and said it: "There I am." That Thursday at book club, her friend Denise asked if she'd had something done. "Sort of," Carol said. "My son."

"I don't want to look younger than I am. I just don't want to look older than I feel. That's all I ever wanted from that jar."

Carol, 64

What went under Carol's other eye

Studio Dermal Instant Eye Tightener

Not makeup. Not an eye cream. A tightener.

90 secto set

16 hrshold

1 tube1 month

30 daysmoney-back

✓No needle, no sting, no burning✓Concealer sits smooth on top✓Washes off with warm water at night

Check Availability
$29.99 · 30-day money-back guarantee

​In stock · ships with a 30-day money-back guarantee

From Studio Dermal customers in their 50s, 60s and 70s

"I sold every eye cream there was."

I used to be in the skin care and makeup industry, 30 years on the beauty counters, so at 83 I'm hard to impress. I sold every eye cream there was for puffy eyebags and quietly knew none of them did much. Mine are the heavy kind. This tightens them in about a minute and stays put all day. I tell every woman who compliments my eyes about it now.

Bernadette, 83 ✓ Studio Dermal customer

Before you order: four honest answers

The four things Carol asked Ryan before she'd let him near her face.

Is it just another eye cream?

No. An eye cream soaks in. This sits on top of the skin and tightens as it dries. It's a tightener with a sheer tint, not a moisturizer.

Is it permanent?

No, and that's the honest part. It holds for up to sixteen hours and washes off with warm water at night. You put it on again in the morning, and it takes ninety seconds.

Can I still wear concealer?

Yes. Let it dry first. Once the area is pulled flat, there's nothing for concealer to sink into, so it sits smooth all day.

What if it doesn't work for me?

Every order has a 30-day money-back guarantee. Do what Ryan did: one eye only, wait ninety seconds, then look. If you don't see it, send it back.

It's probably for you if

​You've used the same expensive eye cream for years and your eyebags haven't moved​Your under-eyes make you look older than you feel​Concealer outlines your eyebags instead of hiding them​You'd rather see it in ninety seconds than wait eight weeks

Check Availability
$29.99 · 30-day money-back guarantee

​In stock · ships with a 30-day money-back guarantee

Carol's routine, and yours

TodayOrder your tube. One tube is one month of mornings.When it arrivesDo the test: one eye only, wait ninety seconds, then look in the mirror.Every morningNinety seconds every morning, concealer on top if you like.Every nightIt washes off with warm water. Your skin is back to normal until the next morning.Within 30 daysNot seeing it on your own face? Send it back under the 30-day money-back guarantee.

Common questions

Is this too good to be true?

It would be, if it promised to change your skin. It doesn't. It doesn't heal anything, it isn't permanent, and it washes off at night. It holds the skin under your eyes flat for the day, for up to sixteen hours. That's all it does. It's a smaller promise than any eye cream makes, and it's why you can see it work in ninety seconds.

How does it actually work?

It's made of millions of micro-tightening minerals. As it dries, they connect into a sort of second skin that contracts and pulls the puffiness flat. They're skin-adapting too, so they turn into a sheer tint that neutralizes the darkness. Two birds, one stone.

Does it work if my eyebags are heavy?

Heavy eyebags are what it's made for. The easiest way to find out is the one-eye test. Put it under one eye only, wait ninety seconds and look in the mirror. You'll see both sides next to each other. If it doesn't do enough on your eyes, the 30-day money-back guarantee covers you.

I've tried everything. Why would this be any different?

Because everything else was doing a different job. Eye creams add moisture and ask you to wait for months. Concealer is just color, and it cakes into the lines by lunchtime. Most other tighteners are basically a glue. They dry stiff, then crack, flake and leave a white cast, because they don't have micro-tightening minerals in them. This pulls the skin flat, and you see it in ninety seconds. So you'll know on the first morning.

Why haven't I heard of an eye tightener before?

Because you won't find it next to the concealers. An eye tightener isn't makeup and it isn't an eye cream. Makeup changes the color. Eye cream adds moisture. A tightener changes the shape: it pulls the skin flat while you wear it. It's sold online, so most women hear about it from someone else, the way Carol heard about it from her son.

Will people be able to tell I'm wearing something?

No. It goes on white, then turns into a sheer tint that matches your own skin tone. Once it has set, there's no shine, no white cast and no line where it stops. People don't see a product. They just see you looking like yourself again.

Will it crack, flake or cake into my lines?

No. It sets into a thin, flexible film that moves with your face, so it doesn't crack. It doesn't collect in the creases the way concealer does by the afternoon. Nothing flakes off and nothing goes powdery.

Is it worth $29.99?

One tube is a month of mornings, so it works out at about a dollar a day. That's less than half of one $80 jar. And you'll know in ninety seconds whether it works on you. If it doesn't, the 30-day money-back guarantee gets you your money back.

Is it safe on thin, sensitive skin?

Yes. It's made for all skin types, including thin, dry and sensitive under-eye skin. No needles and nothing injected. If you have very sensitive skin or known allergies, try a small amount on the inside of your arm first.

Could it damage my skin over time?

No. Nothing goes into your skin and nothing stays there. It sits on the surface while you wear it, and warm water takes it off at night. Your skin is back to normal the next morning.

Will it sting?

No needle, no burning. You'll feel a gentle pull as it dries. That's the minerals tightening, and it's how you know it's working.

Will it work on me? I'm over 60.

Yes. Age doesn't change how the minerals tighten. It's used by women in their sixties, seventies and eighties, like the women in the reviews above.

Is Studio Dermal a real company? I've been caught out online before.

That's a fair question. You order on studiodermal.com, Studio Dermal's own store, through a secure checkout. Every order has the 30-day money-back guarantee. If you don't see it on your own face, send it back and get your money back.

Is this a subscription?

No. You pay once for one tube. Nothing renews and nothing gets charged later. If you want another tube, you order it yourself.

Does it help with dark circles too?

Yes. The sheer tint evens out the darkness at the same time as the minerals pull the puffiness flat. The eyebags and the darkness go together.

How fast will I see it?

In about ninety seconds, the first time you use it. It goes on white, turns beige, then goes invisible, and you'll feel a gentle pull as it tightens. There's nothing to build up and no waiting.

How do I put it on?

After washing your face, dab a dot about the size of a grain of rice under each eye with your ring finger. Smooth it out gently and let it set for about ninety seconds. Then put your makeup on, if you wear it.

How long does one tube last?

About a month of daily use. Each morning's application holds for up to sixteen hours.

Do Ryan's one-eye test on your own face

One eye, ninety seconds, then look in the mirror. If you don't see it on your own face, send it back within 30 days for your money back.

Check Availability
$29.99 · 30-day money-back guarantee

​In stock · ships with a 30-day money-back guarantee