I’ve mentioned several times how much I like Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Eye Concentrate that I discovered last November while shopping for Shiseido Eye Bright Eye Cream.
In spite of the price, I liked it so much a bought a second bottle. But after I finished up the original bottle and was about to start on the second one, I discovered an eye gel that I purchased some time ago and forgot about: Algenist Firming & Lifting Eye Gel.
It too is a pricey eye gel, and I felt like I should use it since it had been sitting there a while. I thought I would just wait to go back to the Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Eye Concentrate, and while I’m at it, determine if I have a preference.
Now, I’m not saying that these eye gels are exact dupes. Instead, they’re similar:
- they’re the same size: 0.5 fl.oz./15 ml (small)
- they’re pricey: $68 and $67 for the Algenist and Shiseido, respectively
- they come in pump bottles
- they’re gels.
Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Eye Concentrate is positioned as a “pre-treat” or “booster” to be used before other eye products, whereas Algenist Firming & Lifting Eye Gel is the sole eye product one is supposed to use.
So let’s look at pluses and minuses.
Packaging: Though the red and silver of the Shiseido packaging is eye-catching, the size of the packaging is a total fail, IMHO. It’s huge! Inside that big pump bottle is a mere half ounce, with all that unnecessary packaging making it look like you get more. The Algenist, on the other hand, comes in a petite heavy white glass bottle, much better suited to the product’s size and to the environment.
Aesthetics (what is it like to use it): Algenist Firming & Lifting is a thinner, almost watery gel, whereas Shiseido Ultimune has more substance to it. Because I use the eye gel to help firm up/hold the skin above my eye, I need to be feel like the gel itself is more firming. So Shiseido Ultimune wins here for me. I feel that for a younger woman with firmer skin to begin with, the Algenist would be fine. To be honest, I usually use another eye cream on top of the Algenist whereas the Shiseido that is meant to be used as a first step, I can use on its own. Go figure!
Ingredients: Both products start out pretty much with the same ingredients in the highest concentration at the beginning of the list: water, dimethicone and glycerin: hydrating and smoothing ingredients. Further down the lists, both have vitamin E/tocopheryl acetate. Algenist is a brand that uses algae in all of its products, and algae exopolysaccharides is up toward the beginning. From there, Algenist includes more plant extracts, whereas Shiseido seems to leave plant ingredients and extracts for further down. Take a look at the ingredient lists below.
Algenist ingredients: Water (Aqua), Butylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Algae Exopolysaccharides, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Medicago Sativa (Alfalfa) Seed Extract, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Seed Extract, Pisum Sativum (Pea) Extract, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Hydrolyzed Lupine Protein, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Tripeptide-1, Acetyl Tetrapeptide-9, Acetyl Dipeptide-1 Cetyl Ester, Tocopheryl Acetate, Glycosaminoglycans, Phospholipids, Caffeine, Squalane, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer, Aminomethyl Propanol, Disodium EDTA, Dextran, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol.
Shiseido ingredients: WATER(AQUA/EAU), DIMETHICONE, GLYCERIN, DIPROPYLENE GLYCOL, SD ALCOHOL 40-B (ALCOHOL DENAT.), SORBITOL, XYLITOL, METHYL GLUCETH-10, SODIUM CHLORIDE, PEG-10 DIMETHICONE, PEG/PPG-19/19 DIMETHICONE, HYDROGENATED POLYISOBUTENE, PHENOXYETHANOL, CETYL ETHYLHEXANOATE, ERYTHRITOL, NYLON-12, CELLULOSE GUM, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, PEG/PPG-14/7 DIMETHYL ETHER, PEG/PPG-17/4 DIMETHYL ETHER, ROSA DAMASCENA FLOWER WATER, FRAGRANCE (PARFUM), BUTYLENE GLYCOL, TOCOPHEROL, TRISODIUM EDTA, ECTOIN, LINALOOL, SODIUM METABISULFITE, GERANIOL, GINKGO BILOBA LEAF EXTRACT, CITRONELLOL, SODIUM CARBOXYMETHYL BETA-GLUCAN, THYMUS SERPILLUM EXTRACT, PERILLA OCYMOIDES LEAF EXTRACT
I’m afraid I’ve forgotten the definitions and uses of a lot of the chemical ingredients that are used in skincare products. Many of them, e.g. dipropylene glycol (Shiseido) and butylene glycol (both products), are used for viscosity in the skincare product – to either thicken or thin it, caprylyl glycol (Algenist) as a stabilizer, and oat-derived beta-glucans (Shiseido) with antioxidant and skin-soothing properties.
Though both products pretty much start out with the same ingredients at the beginning of the list, Algenist Firming & Lifting Eye Gel does seem to have more natural ingredients toward the first half of the list, while Shiseido seems to have its natural ingredients in the second half of the list. If I were choosing an eye gel on ingredients alone (as well as more environmentally sound packaging), I would probably go with the Algenist Firming & Lifting Eye Gel. But based on how the actual product feels and works on my skin, I will go back to Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Eye Concentrate after I finish up the bottle of Algenist.
This is my “battle of the eye gels”. I may be choosing the unexpected one.
How about you? Have you ever preferred a product that may not make quite as much sense rationally as another, but it suits you better?
The Algenist eye gel sounds pretty good but I am loyal to my Shiseiso and I think I will forever stick to it.
Shiseido Ultimune Eye Concentrate and the Shiseido Brightening Eye Cream are my faves, and even if Algenist has a few more natural ingredients at higher concentration, I don’t care 😉
It ultimately comes down to performance, and Shiseido clearly won for you! They both sound good though!
Yes, Shiseido Ultimune and also PCASkin are my two faves. Algenist is a really good brand, but the consistency is just too thin for me at this stage.
Sounds like the Shiseido is the best!
I like to switch around as you probably know and I usually find that a more substantial product works better for me in the long run. I don’t know if the Shiseido has fragrance but it does sound better.
If I had to choose one to try I’d go for the Algenist, since the Shiseido contains both denatured alcohol and fragrance, both ingredients that I avoid around my eyes.
I haven’t tried either of these, and I am very inexperienced at picking an effective eye cream/product. I might try the Algenist because my skin is in a different stage (my face is bloated with weight gain at the moment and the only positive is how it plumps my eye skin, lol). I’d experiment with the more natural ingredients up front. But the Shiseido sounds like such a win for you and your skin, and when I lose the weight, I will need something to lift and firm.
Great post, very informative.
I didn’t expect you to pick Shiseido! I love Algenist products, a lot of them work well for my skin type.
I am in need of a good lifting and firming eye product. The Shiseido sounds wonderful, but I wonder if it would be too heavy for me. On the other hand, I don’t like when a product feels too light…
I would say that the Algenist eye gel would be perfect for a younger woman like you, Kristina. Wish there were more affordable eye gel options out there!