Clinique All About Eyes Versus Natio Plant Peptide Firm & Smooth Eye Cream

Clinique All About Eyes Versus Natio Plant Peptide Firm & Smooth Eye Cream

This eye moisturizer is formulated around Caffeine and Phytosphingosine to hydrate skin.

This anti-aging eye moisturizer is formulated around Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate and Caffeine to soften the look of wrinkles.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Cyclopentasiloxane

Water

Isostearyl Palmitate

Polyethylene

Butylene Glycol

Polysilicone-11

Ethylene/Acrylic Acid Copolymer

Morus Bombycis Root Extract

Caffeine

Phytosphingosine

Triticum Vulgare Bran Extract

Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract

Whey Protein

Olea Europaea Fruit Extract

Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract

Cholesterol

Linoleic Acid

Tocopheryl Acetate

Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate

Pyridoxine Dipalmitate

Sucrose

Glycerin

Dimethicone

Glyceryl Laurate

PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone

Petrolatum

Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone

Propylene Carbonate

Sodium Chloride

Quaternium-90 Bentonite

Disodium EDTA

Phenoxyethanol

CI 77491

CI 77492

CI 77499

Cyclopentasiloxane, Water, Isostearyl Palmitate, Polyethylene, Butylene Glycol, Polysilicone-11, Ethylene/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Morus Bombycis Root Extract, Caffeine, Phytosphingosine, Triticum Vulgare Bran Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Whey Protein, Olea Europaea Fruit Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Cholesterol, Linoleic Acid, Tocopheryl Acetate, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Pyridoxine Dipalmitate, Sucrose, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Glyceryl Laurate, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, Petrolatum, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Propylene Carbonate, Sodium Chloride, Quaternium-90 Bentonite, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499

Cetearyl Alcohol

Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil

Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer

Sodium Hyaluronate

Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil

Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil

Butyrospermum Parkii Butter

Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate

Hydrolyzed Hazelnut Protein

Coffea Arabica Seed Extract

Ceramide NP

Ceramide Ns

Ceramide Eos

Ceramide EOP

Ceramide AP

Caprooyl Phytosphingosine

Caprooyl Sphingosine

Behenic Acid

Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract

Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract

Xanthan Gum

Cetyl Alcohol

Ceteareth-25

Lecithin

Kaolin

CI 77891

BHT

Caprylyl Glycol

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice

Water, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Hydrolyzed Hazelnut Protein, Caffeine, Coffea Arabica Seed Extract, Ceramide NP, Ceramide Ns, Ceramide Eos, Ceramide EOP, Ceramide AP, Caprooyl Phytosphingosine, Caprooyl Sphingosine, Cholesterol, Behenic Acid, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Xanthan Gum, Cetyl Alcohol, Ceteareth-25, Lecithin, Kaolin, CI 77891, Disodium EDTA, BHT, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice

Reviews

Alternatives

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Caffeine is a naturally occurring plant compound found in coffee beans, tea leaves, cocoa pods, and guarana.

As an antioxidant, caffeine protects your skin from free radical damage caused by UV exposure and envionrmnetal stressors.

Early research also shows that caffeine can help calm redness, soothe irritated skin, and support hair growth by stimulating microcirculation in the scalp.

You might have seen eye creams marketing caffeine as a depuffing ingredient. This is because it is a vasoconstrictor meaning it can temporarily constrict blood vessels, though clinical evidence for this specific use is still limited.

Most skincare products contain this ingredient at concentrations between 1-6%. It is able to penetrate skin easily regardless of skin type or thickness.

Just so you know, a very small number of case reports describe caffeine-induced allergy. This ingredient is generally well-tolerated, non-irritating, and non-sensitizing for the majority of people.

Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract (tea extract) is one of the most well-researched plant extracts in skincare with an impressive resume.

Black tea, green tea, and oolong tea are all harvested from the Camellia Sinensis plant.

Studies show green tea extract and its catechins (like epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)) help your skin cells product energy more efficiently and reducing the number of free-radicals that can damage your skin from the inside.

In lab-grown skin models, this translated to younger, healthier, and stronger skin.

There's also good sun protection data; researchers saw less DNA damage and redness on human skin when green tea was applied before UVB exposure. And the more they applied, the better the protection.

Needless to say, this ingredient shouldn't replace your sunscreen. But it is a great supportive ingredient that you can already find in many sunscreens and antioxidant serums.

A 2009 study found a 2% green tea lotion was effective for mild-to-moderate acne thanks to its anti-inflammatory and mild antimicrobial activity.

The quality of the extract matters a lot here:

Good extracts contain 50-90% catechins while lower quality ones are mostly there for marketing. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about the quality or source of their ingredients.

Human Repeated Insult Patch Testing showed no irritation or sensitization at use concentrations (0.86% in leave-on products and up to 30% as leaf water).

Cholesterol is a lipid that is naturally found in human skin and is one of the three key components of your skin barrier. In skincare, it is an emollient and barrier-repairing ingredient.

It works by fitting directly into the lipid layers of skin to help restore structure and reduce transepidermal water loss (TEWL).

This is a great ingredient for dry, compromised, or aging skin; our skin starts to produce less cholesterol with age.

Research shows cholesterol works best in combination with ceramides and fatty acids, the other two major components in your skin barrier.

Cholesterol is also a well-establish penetration enhancer and can help other actives absorb more effectively.

Cosmetic-grade cholesterol is usually derived from lanolin but plant and synthetic options also exist. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about their source of cholesterol.

Disodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.

This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:

On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.

One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).

Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.

You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.

Glycerin (or glycerol) is a compound naturally found in your skin. It's a powerhouse humectant that pulls water into the stratum corneum.

Topically, glycerin does several things at once:

Your skin makes glycerin on its own (mostly from sebaceous oil breakdown) and shuttles it to your outermost layer of skin, or your epidermis, via aquaporin-3.

Aquaporin-3 is a transporter that is essential for normal skin hydration, elasticity, and repair. Interestingly, mice lacking in AQP3 have dry and less elastic skin that can be fully corrected with glycerin.

This ingredient is non-irritating, plays well with almost every ingredient, and works across all skin types. Typical use is anywhere between 3-10% but can go up to 79% in some leave-on products.

Just know very high concentrations (>40%) can feel tacky in low humidity.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

Phenoxyethanol is one of the most widely used preservatives in skincare (and for good reason!).

It has a large spectrum of antimicrobial activity and especially effective bacteria, yeast, and mold while only having a weak effect on your skin's natural microbiome.

On a cellular level, it disrupts the cell membranes of microbes by poking holes that make the cell leak. This shuts down the chemical reactions the microbe needs to make energy so it can no longer survive.

Another perk of this ingredient is that it stays functional across a wide pH range (3-10).

You'll often see it paired with boosters like Ethylhexylglycerin; one study showed that a 1:9 ratio of Ethylhexylglycerin to Phenoxyethanol damages bacterial membranes as effectively as doubling the Phenoxyethanol concentration on its own.

Typical use concentrations range from 0.3-1% depending on the formula, and this ingredient is capped at 1% int the EU.

Safety-wise, the fear mongering does not hold up to the evidence. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and FDA consider it safe as a preservative at up to 1%, including for children of all ages.

Adverse systemic effects only showed up in animal studies at exposures roughly 200x higher than what people get from cosmetics. And despite its very widespread use, this ingredient is a rare sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon.

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Remember to stay hydrated!

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