Review | Estée Lauder Idealist Cooling Eye Illuminator

Although there’s no permanent remedy for eye bags, something cool and soothing is always welcome to alleviate the puffiness of my undereye area.

For this purpose, I recommend the ceramic tip of Estée Lauder Idealist Cooling Eye Illuminator. Thanks to its material, it remains cool even at room temperature – I love that it feels slightly chilled whenever it touches my skin (it feels like it’d just come out of the fridge) and a few gentle glides bring temporary relief to my tired eyes. The curved tip fits the contours of my eyes and is a nice change from the run-of-the-mill roller ball that only covers a small area at one time.

The cream (a silicone-mica mix that seems to have elasticity) has an immediate brightening effect, thanks to its sheer pale-gold tint with a slightly shimmery finish (2 shades are available; I’m using Light/Medium).

It will not completely obscure darkness or fine lines – it might even accentuate them should you use more than a smidgeon, so it’s necessary to be prudent – but the fine iridescent particles do subtly illuminate. You’ll certainly need a concealer under this, which makes me wonder about its intended purpose…it really does seem to be more of a highlighter than an eye cream. I must admit that it works very well over concealer and doesn’t cake. In fact, it keeps the area silky-soft for a fairly long period of time, perhaps thanks to its silicone content.

A few reviews that I’ve read online claim that it does diminish dark circles over time, so perhaps it is more efficacious as a skincare item than I think. (It’s hard for me to discern this as my problem are my eye bags and not dark circles.)

The tube itself could be improved in terms of product dispensation – the rubbery body seems to give out a little more than I need when I’m pressing it while the tip is on my skin. It is easier to control on its own: Dispense a dot on your fingertip and either lift it with the ceramic end or apply it directly before patting/gliding with the cooling tip.

It’s been a few months since I received this product from the brand and I’m still fond of the ceramic tip which I use frequently to soothe my eye area. I wouldn’t say you need this but the ceramic tip is truly unique (for now!) and will certainly offer soothing relief. I actually wish they sold it on its own. In Singapore, this eye illuminator retails at S$90 and is available island-wide at all Estée Lauder  counters.

6 Comments

  • Meow says:

    Interesting design of the tip. Another 2 in 1 product! Cream+ tool!

  • Jamilla says:

    I LOVE this stuff! My all time fave eye product!

  • AgnesM says:

    Hi Mag, since you have eyebags, what would you recommend as a concealer or use to conceal them? Thanks.

    • makeupmag says:

      Hi AgnesM,

      Unfortunately, makeup can only do so much for eye bags (as you can prolly already tell from my eotds). What I do is try to obscure the shadow under the slight fold with a subtly lighter-toned concealer (so if you use shade 10 to conceal, this would require shade 00). This only when I have the time, of course; I usually just use one concealer to even out the skin tone in the undereye area. ;) My staple is MAC Studio Finish SPF 35 Concealer in NW20.

      For something more colour-correcting, I like the Kesalan Patharan Magic Light Up concealing duo (only available in Hong Kong, Japan and Korea, as far I know).

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