Estee Lauder • Idealist Cooling Eye Illuminator • Treatments (Eye)

rated 3.5(29 reviews)

Average Rating.3.5
Would buy this product again.55%
Package Quality4.3
Price4.3
Ingredients

rated 5 of 5 pauvres on 5/23/2013 9:06:00 PM more reviews by pauvres

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Black   Eyes: Blue    

I have never been too hot on eye products, and for the longest time dismissed them as pure farce. This all changed when I found this eye product last year but had never purchased it. Now I'm here for all eye products - I have an eye serum by Dior, an eye cream by Chanel and now this. I love this eye illuminator so much, not only for the formula which is flawless, but also for the packaging. The ceramic tip stays perfectly cold, just like I've taken it out of the fridge. It de-puffs my puffy eyes in the morning, and the light tint provides an uncaked coverage that is pigmented enough to not let it show that I'm wearing anything at all. I tried it for the first time and got lots of complements about how fresh I looked. The formula itself is also very nice and helps me looking fresh. It looks to have a slight shimmer, but on my skin this doesn't show. As a guy I don't wear makeup at all (other than concealer on the odd occasion) but this is the perfect mix. It provides a beautiful amount of coverage and colour without being too obvious, all the while making my eye area look amazing as per.

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rated 2 of 5 *TOP REVIEWER* misspris26 on 2/24/2013 8:25:00 PM more reviews by misspris26

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Cool   Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Hazel    

This is nothing more than a shimmery, thin concealer cleverly packaged in a tube with an ice cold ceramic-tip applicator. I will say I was quite impressed with how cold the tip stays. So cold and refreshing - it feels like it came out of the fridge however the product itself falls flat. It did nothing to reduce puffiness and it surely didn't conceal my slight dark circles. It actually didn't work as well as a cheap, drugstore undereye concealer and I paid $62 for this!! I realized I would be better off applying cold spoons under my eyes like our grandmothers all did back in the day and focus on a product which actually works! I returned this for EL Ideal Light Brush-on Illuminator and adore it - see my review. And it's half the price!!

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rated 3 of 5 kimmykim on 2/13/2013 3:26:00 AM more reviews by kimmykim

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Medium   Hair: Black   Eyes: Other    

Love the cool ceramic feeling on the eyes each time I apply this product. This seems to only help with the appearance of dark circles but not with reducing the puffiness. It could also be more of a make up trick rather than an eye treatment to treat the eyes. Since this is illuminating, it removes the appearance of dark circles temporarily? Just a thought. Anyway, will only repurchase if there is a value set as the applicator is nice and cooling to use.

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rated 5 of 5 frivolousfinish on 2/11/2013 11:28:00 PM more reviews by frivolousfinish

Age: 36-43   Skin: Normal, Fair   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

Miracle in a tube! I have dark circles not only from genetics, but they worsen with stress, lack of sleep, blah blah blah. I was looking for concealer when one of the Estee sales girls urged me to let her apply this stuff to my dark circles which already had a layer of foundation and 2 layers of concealer, but were still very visible. I couldn't believe the difference the application made in just a matter of minutes. It was weird seeing myself with such bright and awake eyes...I liked it! Granted, this does not make them go away forever, as I'm stuck with natural raccoon eyes for life, but it sure helps lighten them up for a few hours, at least. I will definitely buy this again. It's well worth the investment.

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rated 4 of 5 MsMe on 11/1/2012 7:52:00 PM more reviews by MsMe

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

This is one of the best eye treatments I have used in a long time. I am surprised that some reviewers were not impressed by it. I have dark circles (sigh, hereditary) that just make me look very ghoulish at times. I liked the ceramic applicator and the cool sensation when I massage the creme under my eyes. The slight pigment makes the shadows lighter and does not disturb my makeup. Will buy again.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

rated 5 of 5 johniswow on 10/26/2012 6:47:00 AM more reviews by johniswow

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Green    

I don't know why the reviews on this product aren't higher.

I work for Clinique and get to sample out a lot of products in Macys.

I was using Cliniques Even Better Under Eye Corrector for one month and was moderately satisfied with it. My eyes did look slightly brighter but nothing too noticeable.

I tried 'Estee Lauder Idealist Cooling Eye Illuminator' and immediately loved the natural instant brightening effect it gave me. Coworkers immediately noticed my eyes looked brighter and asked what I used.

My boyfriend even mentioned that the dark shadows under my eyes were completely gone and Cliniques product really worked for me. Little did he know it was actually Estee Lauders Idealist Cooling Eye Illuminator that made the huge improvement.

I LOVE THIS PRODUCT!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

rated 1 of 5 TeresaAnn on 6/20/2012 11:50:00 AM more reviews by TeresaAnn

Age: 36-43   Skin: Oily, Fair   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Green    

This product is overpriced. Big time. I have used the entire tube and I have noticed no benefit. I told the lady at the sales counter that I wanted something to treat the hyper-pigmentation under my eyes. (It can be tricky to treat that area because the skin around my eyes can be quite sensitive.) Yes, the cooling tip feels amazing but I haven't noticed anything positive. My eyes still have the discoloration... The only thing that became lighter was my wallet---which lightened significantly. As for packaging, I wasted a TON when I pulled the cap off and accidentally squeezed out a large portion of the tube. If you don't grab it around the gold, plastic rim you will end up wasting product.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

rated 4 of 5 eileen08 on 6/7/2012 1:44:00 PM more reviews by eileen08

Age: 25-29   Skin: Dry, Medium, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Black    

I didn't know about this product until I saw it on a duty free shop. I decided to buy it. I do have dark circles, I can't hide them at all and I've used lots of products and creams. I was looking for a luminous effect under my eyes and this cream has a shimmering in it, but not glitter. It makes the eyes brighter and gives this healthy look.
I use it over my eye cream and under my concealer. I have seen a great effect but it's not a treatment, more like a make-up.. It has this cool ceramic applicator but you really need to pay attention to the amount you squeeze. I will have to see more about the long time effects of this cream, I've only used it for a week now. But I guess I will buy it again, until I'll discover a miracle:)

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

rated 4 of 5 chrisy159 on 4/12/2012 10:36:00 AM more reviews by chrisy159

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

Of course this is gimmicky. You don't need to leave the store to know that.

The "cooling" aspect can be achieved by splashing your face with cold water.

But anyway, I'm 21 and used to have fat deposits in my eye area due to using strong and copious amounts of creams lazily. This got rid of it...the mechanisms of that...I'm not entirely sure.

It provides a nice sheer "illuminated" look.

However it is horrible to wear under makeup. My foundation above my eye will "bleed" and clump in my eye lids (foundation is Double Wear Light).

Also, like previous comments, it takes practice to figure out of to control the amount of product being dispensed. All to often, I would end up splurting too much out...a mess.

Lastly, I don't' know how effective this moisture is in doing what it claims. Yes my eyes are brighter and more hydrated....but that will happen anyway if you use a)a cream and b) something tinted.

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rated 3 of 5 elle1974 on 4/8/2012 9:41:00 AM more reviews by elle1974

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Olive   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

It's just an OK product. I like the ceramic applicator, it dispenses too much product though. Illuminates nicely the eye area, but nothing further than that. Will definitely not pay the price again.

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rated 2 of 5 adriann1973 on 1/28/2012 1:07:00 PM more reviews by adriann1973

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

ok I got suckered really with this one. Went in to get some Double Wear which I love (my first time trying it) and asked about a double wear conceealor for undereye circles. The lady raved and raved about this product and its ceramic tip which does stay cold and feels good but you don't sit there with it on your eye long enough to reap any benefits and if you squeeze then you get too much product on your undereye which is a pain to blend/wipe off and a waste of product at $58!!! Nothing more than benefit high beam which i also have and don't love as much as I thought I would either. Any highlighter will do this...put it in the fridge and then you have your cool feeling.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

rated 3 of 5 AngelaywHo on 1/16/2012 3:51:00 PM more reviews by AngelaywHo

Age: 19-24   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Black, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Black    

I got this product for free for some reason and so I didn't have much hope about it to start with. I wouldn't say it is a bad eye cream but definitely not something that can fade your dark circle or improve your eye area condition, well it conceals the imperfection pretty much like foundation( it has some shimmer which is odd for a skincare product) but I do like the cool ceramics applicator, it wakes me up in the morning and I usually apply it with my bobbi brown concealer.
However, a product comes in £39 you can definitely get something way better than this.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

rated 3 of 5 *TOP REVIEWER* katrosado5 on 12/8/2011 12:52:00 PM more reviews by katrosado5

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Olive, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

Let me first say that I do purchase and collect a lot of Estee Lauder. But I have to be very honest about this product. I really don't think it's worth the money. It is a highlighter and that's about it. You can get much cheaper highlighters that work just as well. Just being very honest. I think I paid 58.00 for this.

The packaging is nice, the ceramic tip is pleasantly cool to touch to face. However, this is just gold highlighter.

A special note for those with sensitive eyes: This makes my eyes burn and water like crazy. Not everyone has sensitive eyes but I wanted to make sure to share that. I couldn't use the skintone illuminator in this line either.

Estee Lauder does have some very good skin care and I use it but I really can't recommend this one.

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rated 4 of 5 kaylanault on 11/24/2011 12:37:00 AM more reviews by kaylanault

Age: 19-24   Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Cool   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Hazel    

I love this - this eye illuminator is almost magical! The ceramic applicator stays cold, feels refreshing and is curved to fit perfectly under your eye. Easy to use. It is slightly tinted which is a plus. It erases about 70% of my eye darkness after a few moments. I don't need to use my finger to help gently rub it in - the ceramic top is great for that purpose. Brightens my entire eye area and goes well under makeup. Effect is long lasting. I would reccomend this product to anyone!!

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rated 3 of 5 *TOP REVIEWER* dioraddict84 on 10/29/2011 12:46:00 AM more reviews by dioraddict84

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Brown, Wavy, Coarse   Eyes: Blue    

The ceramic tip is very cool (literally) and a good feature, but I didn't enjoy the eye cream as much. it did brighten, but too much comes out at once, wasting a lot of product. It's overpriced for what it is.

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rated 1 of 5 *TOP REVIEWER* GlamDiva on 10/28/2011 2:02:00 PM more reviews by GlamDiva

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Other, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Hazel    

Idealist Cooling Eye Illuminator has a cool-feeling ceramic applicator, but the formula irritated my eyes enormously, despite the sales talk about "botanicals" and reducing puffiness etc around the eye.

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rated 5 of 5 *TOP REVIEWER* blondbunny on 10/23/2011 3:33:00 AM more reviews by blondbunny

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Green    

I purchased this in light medium and received. A free EL gift set I'm amazed at how this product stays cool its as if it been in the fridge,its packaging is very hygienic and the ceramic tip is indeed ingenuous the color matches my skin,wonderfully however I do need a concealer over this as for puffiness and dark circles which is a major issue for me at the moment is soon to tell but it makes my eyes look wide awake and fresh it's expensive but will repurchase again..

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rated 4 of 5 EdwinMonzon on 8/30/2011 3:11:00 AM more reviews by EdwinMonzon

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Black   Eyes: Hazel    

This isn't your every day eye cream, it has a ceramic tip that is one of a kind... currently the only eye cream that has a ceramic tip and that's what gives you immediate reduction puffiness if used correctly. You can't just glide it over your eye area and expect results, you actually have to massage it into your eye area. It also has a bit of a tint which instantly adds radiance to the eye area without having to use a concealer (for me, i'm a male) but i would definitely recommend combining this eye cream with a concealer for best immediate results... it comes in two shades light/medium and medium/deep... don't let that fool you light medium works very well for very light and light skin but medium / deep can also work for light skin it gives you a really good bronze glow around the eye area. As far as a treatment is concerned I feel it really has helped repair my dark circles, I have noticed a dramatic reduction. Fun little tip, this eye cream is tested safe for your entire eye area so i actually apply it under eye and upper lid or just brow bone to highlight.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

rated 4 of 5 OVincze on 8/17/2011 8:52:00 AM more reviews by OVincze

Age: 30-35   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Black, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

This is only an initial review of the product as I have only tried this once. It will be available in my country in Europe next week. I have the worst undereye issues which is a curse. I was born with great skin and at 35 my skin is still about perfect except for my eye area. I have horrid puffiness, undereye circles due to terrible allergies and genetics. Nothing seems to really get rid of these issues the best products only diminish them. I believe that this is something we should all take into account, skincare will not perform complete miracles on anyone as no product is capable of doing that; if you have deep wrinkles no matter what you use nothing will make them completely disappear. Only cosmetic surgery can do that. Skincare is supposed to aid in maintaining great skin and correct to a certain degree and it it something we should all be aware of. There are no surgical options available to people battling terrible eye area issues such as puffiness and circles and I personally do not believe in that. Prevention is a key in skincare but there is again not much you can do to prevent circles and bags. Wrinkles yes as my eye area is still as smooth as it was over 5 years ago.

Having said that we all need to have realistic expectations I went into EL quite skeptical. I tried this product and the immediate effects were amazing, it did almost completely get rid of my circles that no product had done in the past and really helped with puffiness as well. It looked like I did not even need concealer and I am convinced my eye area is one of the worst cases possible.

However, there are two reasons I am only giving this product four stars for now is that the effect of lightening circles unfortunately diminished after a little while so it looked like I needed concealer. It was still much better than using a regular concealer and my usual mask, serum, cream, concealer each morning so definitely worth purchasing and it may be due to the fact that it is a light formula. I think that one solution is that you take it with you and reapply it during the day like you would with a concealer, which is what I plan on doing. But you do use up the product much faster this way though I guess this is not a big problem. As to creasing, application technique is key. This product does not crease if it is applied right, which is another thing I love about this product. All concealers crease and cake or run off and look ugly almost immediately after being put on and you have to keep patting your undereye area to look like a human. If this product is applied right there is no creasing. The key is using a small amount and completely blending it and then reapplying, with layering circles will disappear and there will be no creasing whatsoever.

The second small reason is that I really wish there were more antiaging benefits to this formula because unfortunately I will have to use an antiaging eye cream at nite and use this during the day. To date I have found no eye treatment that offers both benefits together so again an option would be using this together with a cream layered. It might be something I would try but the optical benefits of this product would be reduced by putting a cream on top of it so I still need to try this.

As to long term effects I am very hesitant to believe that anything helps puffiness or circles long term but I need to edit at a later date after I buy this product and use it for at least a few week period.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

rated 2 of 5 rosebud264 on 8/9/2011 8:00:00 PM more reviews by rosebud264

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Blond, Kinky, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

Very disappointed, especially given that EL usually has great products. Also, expensive! It's $AU98 (!!) so thank God I bought it duty-free for $68.

The good parts: the ceramic tip is a great idea, it always feels lovely and cool on the skin. The packaging is beautiful, but EL always has great packaging.

The bad parts: It doesn't do anything for my puffiness or dark circles. I know it's supposed to illuminate that area, but I've found that, with the shimmery-gold formula, it actually *highlights* my dark circles instead! Think YSL Touche Eclat but with a lot less pigment.

I will keep using until it's finished, simply because of the price, but I would not purchase again nor recommend to anyone else.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No