Tony Moly Panda’s Dream Brightening Eye Base

What do pandas dream of? Getting rid of their dark eye circles, of course.

Disclaimer: Yes, there are links to products in this post. No, I will not get a commission if you click the link. I know I have an affiliate link disclaimer in my sidebar. My blog is way too new for me to be apart of any affiliate programs yet, but I have it there to cover my butt in the future. You know, just in case. The links in this post are so you can click over to the product and buy it if you want to. (See? I’m helping!)

Tony Moly… Sounds cute. Who is he?

Tony Moly is a Korean skincare brand known for their super cute packaging and formulations that just work. The price of items from this brand varies depending on where you purchase them. They aren’t super cheap, but most of the Panda’s Dream line costs less than $20.

Various formulations of sheet masks and the Panda’s Dream line seem to be a couple of the most popular products from Tony Moly. You can buy some Tony Moly products in store at most Ulta locations. I usually order most of my K-beauty skincare from Amazon.

What the heck is this panda stick thing?

I recently went on an eye stick purchasing bender. To me, the crinkles under my eyes seemed to be getting crinklier and I needed to get something to help with that, STAT! I think I purchased at least 3 different products in stick form specifically for putting under my eyes in one weekend.

This cute little guy was one of them. I was hoping to pick up the Panda’s Dream So Cool Eye Stick ($12.00 at Ulta. Buy it here: http://bit.ly/2IpVgiC), but Ulta was out of it. So, I picked up the Panda’s Dream Brightening Eye Base ($12.00 at Ulta. Buy it here: http://bit.ly/2HCRuRJ) instead, because, dammit, I wanted a cute panda eye stick!

So, what does this do exactly?

According to Ulta’s website, this brightening stick is “a portable eye serum base in a stick, infused with chrysin and brightening peptides to illuminate the look of skin around the eye area.” It’s supposed to have pearl in it to help with illumination, and bamboo sap/extracts to soothe the skin. The Tony Moly website says that “this base can also be used as a primer to instantly brighten up the look of dark circles at home or on the go.”

The eye base stick comes in a black plastic twist-up tube with a lid that looks like a panda. What more could you want?

That’s cool, but does it WORK?

Yes… and no. I have been using this eye stick for a few weeks now, and I can say that I like it. I bought two other eye stick products around the same time and I definitely reach for this waaaay more than the others.

I am pretty pale (M.A.C. NW13), and this does help brighten up my eye area when I have noticeable dark circles. It leaves a pearly sheen on the skin after you lightly pat it in with your finger. This stuff seems to benefit from the warmth of your fingers when blending it out. I’m not sure how this would look on deep skin tones.

It also seems to act as a pretty good base for my concealer. Being in my mid-40’s, I find my under eye concealer sometimes needs help looking good until the end of the day. (I work 10-hour days, so I ask a lot of my makeup.) I find my concealer looks a bit smoother and doesn’t seem to settle into the fine lines under my eyes as much when I use this brightening stick. I have used the e.l.f. hydrating under eye primer, and by comparison, the e.l.f. is more hydrating, but the Tony Moly stick holds on to concealer better.

As for the skin soothing and hydrating claims, I’m not so sure. I wouldn’t trade my eye cream in for this, that’s for sure. Also, if you have puffiness under your eyes, this won’t really do anything to help with that. (If you want something for puffiness, the So Cool Eye Stick is the better bet. The description even says it helps with puffiness!)

So, would you buy it again?

At this point, I’m going to say, “Maybe.”

Is this one of those items that I deem absolutely necessary for everyday use? No. Would I miss it if I lost it or ran out of it? Yeah, I think I would.

The Panda’s Dream Brightening Eye Base isn’t some earth-shaking new product. However, it does do a good enough job at brightening and priming my under eyes that I will continue to use it. I guess I will find out if I like it enough to repurchase it when I run out.

Are you also suckered in by cute packaging? Do you have any favorite under eye products? Have you used this brightening stick? Leave a comment and tell me your thoughts below!