Benefit Puff Off Eye Gel Review and Ingredients Analysis

Benefit Puff Off Eye Gel is Benefit's latest eyecare product - an "instant eye gel to help smooth the look of undereye puffies", according to Benefit Cosmetics' website. The website also says that "the custom “ironing” tip instantly helps smooth the look of undereye puffies & fine lines", and you can literally "iron away for a smoother day!" Their adds are also pretty interesting and quite quirky and memorable in this respect - they reinforce the "ironing" concept, featuring a girl and a guy, with the girl telling the guy to "puff off" when he asks her to press his shirt! One of the things I've always enjoyed about Benefit's products is their really fun, quirky sense of humour, and gorgeous packaging. Who doesn't love a person (or a brand) with a sense of fun?

Benefit Puff Off Eye Gel: An "instant eye gel to help smooth the look of undereye puffies"

This definitely made me sit up and take notice. I mean, while I'm not particularly picky about eye creams, I'm always looking for a way to help alleviate my pesky undereye circles and bags. And the tip certainly looks interesting too - a little cooling metal tip like an iron? That's definitely worth checking out in my book!


Benefit Puff Off Eye Gel: Claims to smooth out skin and minimize fine lines
For this review, as always I'll start off with a look at what's inside the Puff Off Eye Gel, and how it works, and of course, the first stop for this analysis will be the ingredients list as always!


Benefit Puff Off Eye Gel Ingredients: Emollients, humectants and various polymers make this a lightweight product with moisturizing properties
The main ingredients in this product (other than water) are some emollients (Isohexadecane, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Isododecanesome), some of which serve double purpose - Hydrogenated Polyisobutene for example, is also a film former for that nice smooth surface and finish when applied on the skin, while Isohexadecane and Isododecane also help with enhancing the feel of the producdt, as a thickener or as a solvent. There are also humectants (Butylene Glycol, Glycerin), solvents (C13-15 Alkane), as well as some polymers (Nylon-12, Sodium Acrylates Copolymer, Sodium Acrylate/Vinyl Alcohol Copolymer, Sodium Acrylic Acid/Ma Copolymer) that variously serve as film formers, thickeners, slip agents, and the like. There's also some absorbents (Alumina, Silica) and preservatives (Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol). There are also some plant derived oils and lipids with potential skincare benefits (Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Phospholipids) present in small amounts of likely less than 5% (this is an educated guess, because these ingredients are listed right after Caprylyl Glycol, which is typically used in amounts of up to 5% in cosmetics).


Benefit Puff Off Eye Gel: A pretty good eye cream with humectants and emollients, that is not too likely to trigger any issues (although it does have some alcohol in small amounts)
There's also Alcohol Denat., which is likely there as a penetration enhancer or to thin out the mixture, which might be a concern to some people (particularly people with dry skin or skins with compromised skin barrier function), but this seems to be fairly low down the ingredients list at 12th place, and after a bunch of emollients, so I'm not too worried about its presence. Another interesting thing is the presence of Titanium Dioxide and Bismuth Oxychloride, which here likely add some colour and shine to the product. Titanium Dioxide is often used in sunscreens as a UV filter, but here it is likely an opacifying agent of some sort, while Bismuth Oxychloride has a pearlescent appearance and helps in making the under appear brighter.

So all in all, from a formulation perspective, the Puff Off Eye gel looks like a pretty good eye cream that has both basics of eye creams - emollients and humectants. It's not particularly ground-breaking from a formula perspective, but the good thing is that on the other hand, nothing in the main ingredients strikes me as being potentially irritating or pore-clogging, unless you happen to be sensitive to the alcohol in the product, or the fragrance or something towards the end of the ingredients lists which is present in less than 0.1% (another educated guess, because these ingredients come after the preservative Phenoxyethanol, which is used in concentrations of up to 0.1%).


Benefit Puff Off Eye Gel has an "ironing" tip for application that feels cool on skin
With that said, let's take a look at the famed iron-like tip applicator! This is a metal tip that is designed to look like the base of an iron! Isn't that cute? It also feels really cooling when it touches the skin, and for me this tip is a bonus - I don't know if it really helps to improve the skin around the eyes, but the feel of cooling metal really feels very relaxing to the eyes. I feel like all eye creams should have this sort of metal applicator - it really feels great on, and it's also more hygienic and fuss-free than eye creams in a tub.

Oh, and a little note when you're removing the cap from the tube. It's not a twist-off cap, but a pull-off cap, and the cap on my tube happens to sit quite tightly on the tube. So, when you're pulling off the cap, be careful not to squeeze the tube when doing so, otherwise you'll end up squirting the eye gel all over the place like I did! A little bit of care is best here, so don't rush to get it off!


Benefit Puff Off Eye Gel has a medium beige colour and fine shimmer, but imparts subtle brightening with no colour
The Puff Off Eye Gel itself feels very light and weightless on the skin. It also has a fairly strong scent that's both fresh and floral, but doesn't linger on the product too long once applied. I'm used to eye creams that are heavier and thicker, so by comparison this gel sinks in fast and after awhile, doesn't feel like there is much on the skin. It also has a slight medium beige-ish tint to the colour, and some very fine shimmer. To be honest, the colour doesn't show up much on me and my dark eye bags - it basically applies transparent - but the slight tint of colour, combined with the fine shimmer, do make my undereye appear slightly brighter. When I used this, I felt that it did make my undereye feel smoother.

For me, I found this pretty decent as an undereye cream, but I also liked it as a primer for eye makeup of sorts. Because it helps the skin to feel smoother (as a result of the film formers and polymers in the product), I found that applying my undereye concealer (yes I have very bad bags and need another concealer on top of this one!) was much easier with this product. I think I would get the most mileage out of this as a double-duty eye gel and primer.


Benefit Puff Off Eye Gel also works surprisingly well as a undereye primer because of its smoothing effect
So, would I recommend this product? I think it depends on your preferences for eye creams. If you're looking for a thicker, heavier eye cream that feels more emollient on, then the lightweight formula of Benefit's Puff Off Eye Gel not feel moisturizing enough for your preference. But if you're looking for a super-light eye gel with moisturizing properties that sinks in fast and sits well under undereye concealer, then this might be up your alley. Perhaps the only drawback is the price - at SGD$45 for a little 10ml tube, this isn't the cheapest thing on the market, although it certainly isn't the worst either, and we typically only use a little bit of eye cream each time, so 10ml can probably last a few months. I personally prefer my eye creams thicker and more emollient, but for those who don't share my preferences (for example, if you find the eye creams I like too thick and hate my usual favourites), then this might work for you!

Recommended?	Formulation	Packaging	Ease of Use	Effectiveness
If you like lightweight eye creams	7/10	7/10	9/10	8/10
The Bottom Line: Benefit's Puff Off Eye Gel is a very lightweight weightless eye gel with moisturizing properties, and a slight brightening and smoothing effect on skin, making it great as an under-eye primer of sorts in addition to an eye gel.

(Product was sent for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company.)