Worth Its Weight in Diamonds

The eye cream that brought me back to Estée Lauder

Hello, Gorgeous!

In a previous life, I worked in the NYC diamond district. During lunch breaks, I spent most of my time at the makeup counters at Saks Fifth Avenue, and much of my paycheck on Estée Lauder products. I was young, and the brand epitomized glam.

Since then, there have been more beauty brand launches than I can track, and Estée and I parted ways for a while. It was an amicable split— there were just too many other brands to try out.

I recently found my way back to one of the original legacy brands, and I’m so glad I did.

Re-Nutriv Ultimate Diamond Age Reversal Eye Creme

I won’t do a huge write-up on this eye cream. I will, however, say that it is the BEST eye cream I’ve used in a long time.

While I flirt with nearly every skincare brand and product, I tend to be monogamous when it comes to eye cream. I used Z. Bigatti Eye Return for years until it stopped working from one day to the next. Next up was Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Smoothing Eye Cream for years, but it’s being discontinued. In Re-Nutriv Ultimate Diamond Age Reversal Eye Creme, I think I’ve found my next great but pricey love.

• It works almost immediately. Whenever I try a new product, I give it a few days to show any noticeable results. Imagine my surprise when I randomly saw myself in the mirror a few hours after using it and noticed a significant softening of my crow’s feet.

• It’s great for even sensitive skin. This eye cream is rich but not goopy or heavy. It’s also oil-free and ophthalmologist and dermatologist tested. And because less can be more, I love that it’s paraben, phthalates, sulfites, sulfates, paraffin, petrolatum, formaldehyde, drying alcohol, and synthetic color free. Whee!

• It works on eyelids, too. Wait, what? I avoid applying eye cream to my lids, but this light but potent formula seems to lift tired-looking lids.

Let’s discuss the hero ingredient for a moment: Black Diamond Truffle Extract from southwest France, harvested exclusively for Re-Nutriv. According to product info, “each truffle sustains a rich reservoir of 22 phytonutrients in its unique microbiome.” The process of extracting and distilling the truffles takes nearly 10,000 hours. Apparently, 15 years went into creating this brilliant formulation, and it shows. It’s on the pricey side at $210 for half an ounce on esteelauder.com, but it’s worth every single diamond (truffle) dusted drop.

Any thoughts on returning to the brands you grew up with? What about spending over $200 on an eye cream? Let’s meet in the comment section to discuss!

Rachel, Your beauty concierge 💋