I always said Go-To would never make an eye cream. 

To me, they are just tiny pots of very expensive moisturiser - (gently) taking your face cream up to the eye area will be just as beneficial for hydration. To create one simply because Skincare Brands Make Eye Creams felt disingenuous. Even the fact that you, beloved customer, asked for one repeatedly, wasn’t enough to sway my cold, miserable heart. 

But eye serums, those I can get behind. Serums sink into the skin quicker (so they work quicker), and contain potent actives. They’re not messing around. Specifically those with vitamin a. If ya gonna spend big on a teeny product, it had better do something. 

Vitamin a (in the form of retinol, retinal, Retinyl palmitate, tretinoin etc) is the gold standard in anti-ageing. It increases cell turnover, collagen production, and reduces the appearance of lines. Ask any derm: if you wanna soften the lines on your face: vitamin a. *And if you wanna help prevent them in the first place: SPF. Always take your face SPF right up to the orbital bone and over the eyelids. (Finding one that doesn’t irritate your eyes is key.) 

When we made De-Crease, our new eye serum, and our first foray into the world of vitamin a, my directive was clear: it had better bloody work.

Here’s why it really, really does:

Its superstar active is retinal: not a typo. Retinal is just like retinol, but is proven to be better and faster at boosting cellular turnover, increasing collagen production, and improving the appearance of fine lines and crow’s feet wrinkles. Let me science at you for a sec…

Retinal and retinol both need to be converted to retinoic acid before they start performing all their anti-ageing magic - this happens naturally when applied to the skin. Retinol needs to convert twice before becoming retinoic acid, while retinal only needs to convert once (it’s a direct precursor). Each conversion adds more chance of irritation, so the less the better. Retinal is known to be more tolerable for this reason. We LOVE retinal.

De-Crease also contains peptides, proven to visibly lift and firm the eye area. Honey locust extract provides a smoothing effect and helps reduce the appearance of under eye bags. Then we added niacinamide and mushroom extract to soothe, intensely hydrate, soften and plump the whole eye area, and keep the formulation gentle enough so that those with sensitive skin, or first-time vitamin a users, can enjoy this serum without the bitey irritation often associated with this class of active. It’s the Go-To way: we want you to use the best actives; we don’t want you to experience irritation.

Not being the kind of dingdongs to tell you how great something is without proof, we did a 12-week independent clinical trial in which De-Crease was proven to: 

• reduce the appearance of crow’s feet wrinkles by up to 50%,
• increase firmness in the eye area by up to 55%,
• increase smoothness in the eye area by up to 60%

With consistent nighttime application, 100% of the women involved in the trial confirmed they saw visible improvement in the appearance of skin around the eyes. 

Even me, the vocally anti-eye product woman, loves it.

Oh, you’d better believe I came into product development sceptical. The lab team had to not only change my mind that eye products were unnecessary, but create one that could deal with the deep, expansive crow’s feet my father gifted me. They fan right down onto my cheeks and underneath my eye. I don’t aspire to a creaseless face, but my crow’s feet annoy me. Softening them has been a fun ongoing puzzle - until I began using vitamin a. 

Having used De-Crease for months, there is an obvious difference in my crow’s feet. The lines are smoother, far less aggressive. More smile lines, less unpleasant genetic gift. I used to avoid placing any foundation, highlighter or powder in that area for fear of it exacerbating the lines: this is no longer a problem. I now brush highlighter on the top of my cheeks (Charlotte Tilbury, for those interested) with reckless abandon! Look at me go!

How I use De-Crease:

• Always and only at night.
• Always on clean dry skin.
• One pump for both eyes, tapped in gently around the orbital bone and up around onto the eyelid.
• I let it sink in fully then mist (optional), apply Much Plumper Skin, then Face Hero, then Very Luxe Face Cream. **If you’re just starting out with De-Crease, you can apply your hydrating moisturiser before AND after De-Crease.
• No acids (other than hyaluronic!) when using retinal. (Alternate your acids with your vitamin a throughout the week… eg I use Glow Exfoliant one night, retinal the next etc.)
• Always SPF in the morning/sunglasses when using vitamin a products. 

De-Crease is for anyone looking to soften the lines around their eyes. And I mean anyone: it was dermatologically tested to be suitable for all skin types and skincare levels. It’s the perfect intro for first time retinal users, but impressive enough for hardcore skintellectuals, too. Nice!

… Looks like we’ve all got a new step in our skincare routine. (Sorry.)

Zo x