REVIEW: Sana Nameraka Isoflavone Wrinkle Eye Cream

I first started experimenting with eye creams when I was 15. I had just become intensely self-conscious about my physical appearance (I know, I was a late bloomer) and noticed these creases under my eyes. I’d seen enough 30-something actresses smiling coyly in Olay Regenerist commercials to know that these were wrinkles and they were bad. I hit the local Rite Aid immediately and built up quite a stash of under-eye creams. I used them religiously for about a year before I realized, “Wait, what the fuck, I’m sixteen years old” and threw away all my anti-aging products. I accepted my genetic, totally normal under-eye creases and haven’t touched an eye cream since then.

But, as I finish up my twenties and barrel headfirst toward the actual demographic for those Olay commercials, I’ve upped my anti-aging game. To that end, I got my hands on Sana Nameraka Isoflavone Wrinkle Eye Cream. I’d already become a Sana convert with their Soy Milk Astaxanthin Lifting Gel, so I was stoked to wade back into the world of eye creams with this one.

What it’s supposed to do

As you can guess from the name, Sana Nameraka Isoflavone Wrinkle Eye Cream aims to fade the appearance of wrinkles around your eyes. You can also use it around your mouth for the same purpose.

How to use it

As your very final skincare step at night, apply a small amount around your eye and mouth area.

Ingredients

Water, butylene glycol, glycerin, squalane, octyldodecyl myristate, batyl alcohol, dipentaerythrityl tetrahydroxystearate/tetraisostearate, stearic acid, polyglyceryl-10 distearate, glyceryl stearate, behenyl alcohol, dimethicone, lactobacillus/soymilk ferment filtrate, soybean extract, soy protein, retinyl palmitate, ceramide 2, tocopherol, PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, alcohol denat, carbomer, xanthan gum, cyclopentasiloxane, glycine soja sterols, Elaeis guineensis kernel oil, palm oil, betaine, polyglyceryl-10 myristate, rutin, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, hydrogenated lecithin, phenoxyethanol, methylparaben

Ingredient highlights

This is from Sana’s soy line, and they don’t mess around. There are four sources of soy in this product: fermented soymilk, soybean extract, soy protein, and soy sterols. Each plays a different function, but they’re all great for your skin: as demonstrated in this aggregation of current research, soy is a powerful antioxidant and may induce collagen production, fade hyperpigmentation, and thicken the epidermis.

Squalane is a skin-identical oil that’s one of my favorite emollient ingredients. Ceramides constitute about 50% of your stratum corneum’s fatty intracellular matrix and are absolutely crucial to skin health. Retinyl palmitate is a combination of retinol and palmitic acid; it has anti-oxidant properties and can regulate cell turnover. Rutin is a bioflavinoid that has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

What it’s like in action

It comes out of the tube as an extremely rich, unscented cream. It’s a small tube – only 0.9oz – but you only need a tiny amount to cover your whole eye area. This is all I use, and it’s more than enough:

It has a wonderful texture – it’s almost a little gel-like when I spread it out, but so rich, thick, and creamy. It’s not sticky in the slightest. It doesn’t absorb quickly, but that’s to be expected with such an occlusive cream (and one that’s meant to be used as your very final step at night).

My experience

I’m new to the eye cream game, but there are three things I would expect of my perfect eye cream:

1. Moisturize my eye area
2. Plump and smooth the skin to reduce the appearance of wrinkles
3. Brighten and thicken the area under my eyes to reduce the appearance of dark undereye circles

Sana Nameraka Isoflavone Wrinkle Eye Cream kills it at #1. It’s incredibly moisturizing, and on days when I’ve been rubbing my eyes or have gone a little too hard with the actives, I’ve found it dramatically improves healing time. I’ve also been using it around my mouth, where I tend to get real flaky and gross, and it’s done a great job at moisturizing and reducing flakiness.

I was honestly surprised by how well it did at #3. I’ve always had dark undereye circles, but since I started using this cream, they’ve noticeably brightened. I used to wear concealer under my eyes every day, but now I skip it about half the time.

The major disappointment for me was #2. I haven’t noticed any difference at all to my budding crow’s feet, which is fine by me because I love my smile lines, but given the word “wrinkle” right there in the name, I would have expected better.

Conclusion

This is a rich, soothing, well-formulated eye cream that has significantly reduced the appearance of my under-eye circles as well as cut down on flakiness around my mouth. It didn’t do anything for my wrinkles, though. In the end, it’s a very solid but not life-changing eye cream.

Overall score: 4.25/5

You can buy Sana Nameraka Isoflavone Wrinkle Eye Cream on Amazon Prime for $11.80 or Sasa.com for $13.30.