Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle Roller

I purchased my 15 mL tube of Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle Roller in Light from Walmart for about $15 CDN. Since then, I have seen it average anywhere between $12 and $16 a bottle.

Garnier says that this product contains caffeine, lemon essence, and mineral pigments to hydrate and refresh, while covering dark eye circles. The caffeine is supposed to stimulate microcirculation and have decongesting properties. Lemon essence instantly brightens the skin to give it a more radiant look, while reducing the appearance of dark circles. The mineral pigments contain concealing properties that offer sheer coverage in hiding undereye circles. The "cooling roller ball" is supposed to alleviate signs of fatigue, and the concealer is fabled to "adjust" to your skin tone for natural coverage. Garnier's site also claims that this product is hydrating to the delicate undereye area.

Garnier boasts that you will see "brighter" eyes in just one week. I can't speak much to that claim - I did notice a very small improvement in the darkness of my undereye area, but not enough so that I would buy this product for it's "brightening" properties, or that I would consider my own improvement as a function of the use of the product. So beware of the potential 'hoky-ness.'

The packaging is very sleek and study. A transparent cap twists over the top of the tube, covering the applicator until the next use. The roller is made of metal (not plastic), and glides easily across the skin - not tugging or skipping. The bottle has a very tiny base, however, and does not stand up easily on it's own. For storage purposes, I set it (upright) in my jar with my mascara and eyeliner (that keep handy for use everyday).

Despite the steep cost of this eye roller, the tube itself holds a lot of product. A little goes a long way, so it should keep for a long while before needing replacing or tossing.

Before applying, I shake the tube a little to get product on the roller ball. Sometimes, if I skip this step, I will go to apply the product, and none will be on the ball; however, this definitely isn't a deal breaker, at least not for me.

The product glides on smoothly and effortlessly. Many reviews I've read note that the application leaves your skin feeling cooler - this is probably a function of the metal ball used for the application, as opposed to the functioning of the product itself. The concealer blends out easily, sometimes almost too easily - it wouldn't take much to blend this right off your skin.

The concealer is of a thin, almost watery consistency - it's not runny, just wet. The actual product itself is moderately pigmented. When blended out, the product becomes more light and sheer in application, but the pigmentation remains. However, as was said earlier, it is definitely easy to overblend and need to reapply. This is not a heavily pigmented, thick concealer. If you have incredibly dark undereye circles, this product is not going to help you out a lot. I have my product in Light but it is also available in the shade Medium. Sorry to those of you with darker complexions, Garnier has yet to make a shade available for you.

I use the roller to apply a generous amount of concealer under my eye area. I use a Crease Shadow brush from Quo to blend the product in, starting from the outer eye area and working in towards the tear duct. Quite frequently, I'll add a dot of extra concealer right over top of my undereye area where it is most dark, and I'll use my brush to lightly pat the concealer out, only sweeping and blending the outer most edges of the additional concealer to ensure the most pigmented finished product.

The pigmentation of the product is a creamy peach/apricot shade - great for canceling out the blue tones in your undereye area. There is no shimmer in the product, however, it does brighten the area its applied to, giving you a more 'awake' appearance.

A swatch of the Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle Roller in Light. To the left, unblended. To the right, mostly blended into the skin.

The concealer dries matte. Sometimes it can be a little dewy looking as it's still drying - but if you put a light dusting of powder over it to set it, it will stay absolutely matte all day. Also, by adding a powder to set it, I do not find that it appears cakey or chalky at all... the powder does not cling and stick to the concealer in an obvious way.

For my modest undereye circles, this is a nice everyday fix. Some days, I'll just throw on a coat of mascara, and pop this under my eyes and blend with my finger for a quick look to go. I love it because it's quick and easy, and has enough pigmentation to make me look more 'awake.'

The staying power is quite phenomenal. It lasts ALL day. It might fade a little, but it's still there at the end of the night. I have a few deep lines under my eyes, and this product does tend to crease into the deepest of the lines, but it does not crease nearly as badly as some of the other concealers I've tried, so I'm quite happy with it.

I am very happy with this roller. It's great for every day use, easy for on-the-go application. It blends easily with my finger or with a brush. It offers sheer to medium coverage, but is easily buildable for a more heavy coverage. It's light and lasts all day. I don't know if it would be worth the splurge if you had never tried it before - it's a costly mistake to make if you don't enjoy the product after you buy it; however, should you be willing, it's definitely worth a try, and the price... The only downside is the limited shade selection. Otherwise, a huge MUST HAVE for every makeup junkie's collection!

5 out of 5 stars.
* * * * *