My Cosmetic Side: Creams

One of my cousins has always used one cream only, to treat her entire face. Well, most of my life it has not worked for me. Whenever I used a face cream in the under eye area, my eyes were bugging me terribly. Besides, make up does not look too good when you apply some rich stuff near the eyelids. That is why this part of my face, the thinner and more delicate skin, requires special care, meaning eye cream.

Moisturizing, besides cleaning and toning,  is a vital part of my everyday face care routine. I still remember my very first face product, which I started using when I was about sixteen. The cream name was Juvilla. It was very light, had a pleasant, delicate and quite distinguish smell. I loved it. I can also recall, it was packed in a bluish tube with a white cap.
Later, in my early twenties, the time came when I first bought an eye cream. And has been using under eye care products since then.
Thorough all those years, I have tried many creams/brands. One of the best was an evening primrose facial cream. I had it a long time ago, so I do not know what or who the manufacturer was.But I do remember the elegant and rather heavy, glass jar with a cork top.

Nowadays, due to a damaged facial nerve, buying face care product is a kind of roulette to me. The point is: what half of my face likes, the other one most often hates. The nerve, which has been fixed, is very picky and does not tolerate most face creams. How do I know that? It simply announces the dislike with a terrible pain. The level of such pain is not funny at all, I can assure you. That is why the buying part is so difficult. I very often end up with a care item/moisturizer which I can use on one side of my face only, since the other side says painful 'no' to it. This makes the cream/lotion  application a bit complicated.

All in all, I have had some facial and eye cream which were gentle enough to be used on my entire face / under both eyes. It makes me happy when I come across such an item and can take care of the skin on my face with no pain effects.

What has worked best for me so far (meaning all my face needs)?

Eye cream

All About Eyes by Clinique
Renergie Eye by Lancome

Both products improve the condition of the delicate skin around/under eyes, in different ways though. The first one is good for puffiness and dark circles, the second one works more on the anti-wrinkle side.

I also quite liked the eye contour gel by Clarins. However, I used it as a moisturizing support only. The gel formula was good to be applied on make up as well. It was not rich enough to be used on its own.
Anyway, a kind of disadvantage of the above products is that they are rather pricey.

A cheaper option was something by Yves Rocher. Unfortunately, it has been discontinued.

Recently, I have 'discovered' Burt's Bees Sensitive Daily Moisturizing Cream. Although it is too light for my face, it is a perfect under-eye cream considering my facial nerve requirements - does not sting my eyes either.
Another item on my list was ender-eye cream Alterra for mature skin - great moisturizer for dry and sensitive skin. I used to buy it when in Europe - it is available in Rossmann stores only.

Face cream/care

• Dramatically Different Moisturizing gel for dry skin by Clinique - that was truly great indeed. 
• Day Wear Plus by Estee Lauder - I am not sure whether this version of Deay Wear morning/evening cream is still available. The one which I had was wonderful and smelled like cucumbers.

• I still use the Velvety Facial Moisturizer by Yves Rocher. It is one of my most favorite products which contains natural ingredients mainly - I wrote more bout it here.
•  If you have Rossmann stores where you live (Europe), I recommend Alterra Orchid face cream for mature skin. It has its morning and evening version and it contains coenzym Q + vitamin E (among others), moisturizes well and smells nice. Another plus is that it does not cost much.
• Right now, I am testing Equate face cream for dry skin. It seems to be something I have been looking for - replenishes my skin, makes it looks smother and, what is most important - it works well on my entire face, including the under-eye area. I bought it as I was tired with all the more expensive facial products which disappointed me considering my face special needs. I thought to myself then: 'if I buy this inexpensive cream and it does not work for me, at least I do not waste much money again'. Happy to say, it does work and my face likes it a lot! Besides, it is a type of day and night care thing in one. Well, I know that day and night creams are not the same, as they support the skin in different ways. Having had all the problems with the creams, I come to the point, I would want to use one only (like my cousin) and call it good. Anyway, next time, I will try the original formula of the face cream which is made by Ponds.

Not only the products which we use to treat our face matter, it is also important how we apply them. I usually spread a cream on my fingertips and tap it gently on my skin, including the eye area. To relax the muscles between the eyes, where two vertical lines often appear, I put the cream on my forehead and massage it at the same time (moving eg. two middle fingers - both hands - simultaneously/ see the picture below).

And what is your favorite face care product?