Review: The Ordinary Caffeine Solution
A lot of us love caffeine when it’s in the form of a cup of coffee - it can transform your mood from tired and grumpy to alert and bubbly! But is caffeine really an ingredient you need to add to your skincare routine? I have been using the Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG from one of my favourite skincare brands, The Ordinary and I’m here to share my thoughts on how I found it.
The technical facts
Claims to reduce the appearance of dark circles and pigmentation as well as puffiness around the eyes.
The solution is free from alcohol, oil, silicone, nut and gluten free. It’s also vegan and cruelty free.
Made up of 5% caffeine with ECGC (Epigallocatechin Gallatyl Glucoside) from green tea leaves.
Consistency
The caffeine solution is lightweight and comparable to a serum texture rather than a typical eye cream. This makes it perfect to apply on no makeup days as well as under makeup if you have a normal, combination or oily skin type. For drier skin types, you may prefer a thicker eye cream as under makeup, especially if you powder your under-eyes, this might feel too dry and cause creasing which is what I experienced when wearing thicker concealers.
Application
Like most of The Ordinary’s skincare products, this solution is effectively packaged in a small 30ml bottle with a dropper making it easy to dispense the solution either directly under your eyes or on to your hands in a sanitised way. As the texture is thin and lightweight, it makes it easy to smooth under the eyes which is then quickly absorbed into the skin. I personally felt like I only needed to use a drop or two for both of my under-eyes which I used consistently AM and PM as advised, from March to September. I like to apply the solution under my eyes as a first step in my skincare routine and then move on to other face serums etc - like I would with any eye cream. I find that it sits well under my makeup but as mentioned before, when wearing this under thicker concealers, I felt like it wasn’t hydrating enough as I would want it to be.
Did it reduce my dark circles and under-eye puffiness?
So I was sceptical at the start to see if this could actually work but I had heard good things about caffeine so I had to try! After using this solution twice a day for a few weeks, I didn't really see any noticeable changes however after the 2 months mark I started to notice a considerable difference in how light my under-eyes had become. Despite still having a bad sleep routine (I’m working on getting my 8 hours a night) I could see the darkness wasn’t very noticeable and that’s when I realised, the Caffeine Solution WORKS! As for puffiness, I haven’t noticed any drastic improvements but generally, I feel like the application of the cold serum around the contours of my eye helps to reduce puffiness and as the day goes by, any puffiness around my eye reduces.
Final Thoughts
2 months into using the Caffeine Solution.
I really like this product and once again, The Ordinary have proved that their products revolve around ingredients that work that are easy to apply and affordable to buy! I have already repurchased my second bottle (the first one lasted me over 6 months) and this is definitely a staple in my skincare routine now. I do however use an alternative eye cream when I want to wear heavy makeup but other than that, I’m so happy to continue using the Caffeine Solution to keep my under eyes looking bright! *Please note that my dark circles are due to lack of sleep/blood circulation around the eye area as opposed to genetic dark circles or hollow under eye shadows. Please consult with a specialist if the latter two are one of your skin concerns.*
Purchase your Caffeine Solution directly from Deciem as well as resellers such as BeautyBay.com or Boots.com. - Good luck! Due to popular demand, this product may be out of stock but keep checking, it will be worth the wait!
Kavita K xo
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***My views on these products are from my own personal experiences. Please remember that everyone reacts differently to different products – products that work for me may not work well for you. Be sure to do some research before making purchases, especially if you do have allergies to certain ingredients.***