I have deep set eyes and combined with no sleep, I have dark circles. I have been using the Bobbi Brown corrector for years now and find it really helps with the dark circles but I also like to brighten the under eye area too. I had been using a concealer a little lighter than my shade up until last year when I received the Charlotte Tilbury Mini Miracle Eye Wand £29.00 as a Christmas or Birthday gift (they are so close together I can't remember which it was) and then at the end of the summer, I purchased the Maybelline Eraser Eye Concealer in the Brightening shade £8.99.
Now these two products are by no means dupe products and today is a comparison of brighteners, so one end of the CT wand, but since both products are meant to do the same thing in terms of brightening the under eye area but one is £20.01 more expensive than the other and I decided I would do a comparison test with them both and see if the Charlotte Tilbury product really is worth the extra money, and today I am going to share my findings with you. I will share a bit of information on the two products and then let you know how they compare and which I think is the best of the two.
First of all please accept my apologies for the photograph quality of the Charlotte Tilbury product, they were taken when I got the product late 2016/early 2017 with the intent to review on my blog and I completely forgot.
Charlotte Tilbury Mini Miracle Eye Wand - £29.00
What Charlotte Tilbury Say
Darlings, this genius product was 5 years in the making! My Mini Miracle Eye Wand in Shade 1 features ingredients to create the antidote for tired, dull & exhausted eyes. This is a neutral pink beige shade for fair skin tones with cool undertones.
WHAT MAKES MINI MIRACLE EYE WAND MAGIC:
• The hydrating eye cream is enriched with specially-tailored under-eye agents to make your skin feel firmer & taut. These included hyaluronic acid, rice proteins, cyclodextrins and bio extract of Salicornia.
• Inspired by photographer’s silver light reflector, the concealer contains light-reflecting micro-particles to brighten shadows, conceal discolouration & diffuse the appearance of under-eye hollows.
• Fine-coated Mother-of-Pearl brings radiance to your skin and colour-corrects discolouration by neutralising pink, blue & brown undertones, whilst polypeptides work to minimise the appearance of dark circles with every use.
• Silky elastomers cover the surface of the eye bag & smooth over wrinkles for a perfect base for your eye makeup.
• Ideal if you want to conceal any discolouration for under-eye circles & get a light-reflecting base.
My Thoughts
The Charlotte Tilbury Mini Miracle Eye Wand is a double ended product with one end containing an eye cream and one end containing a brightening concealer. Both ends have a brush applicator and a twist up function to release the product. The brush on the eye cream end is shorter than on the concealer end and both are numbered 1 and 2 so you know which end is which.
1 - Eye Cream
2 - Concealer
The directions for use are to apply the eye cream directly from the nib of the brush onto the eye area and then tap the product into the skin, lightly. Then once you have applied your foundation, apply the concealer directly with the brush applicator to your under eye, dark circles and in the eye socket. The wand is available in 5 shades 1-5 and I have shade 1.
The first time I used the eye wand the eye cream took a long time to dispense and when it did a lot came out all at once, I used the brush to apply the cream as directed but found it to hard and uncomfortable, so I used my ring finger to pat the cream into my skin instead. I didn't notice anything groundbreaking about the eye cream and thought it was quite thin. I also noticed that it doesn't say anywhere on the product which eye cream it is? I don't think it is the Magic Eye Rescue cream as that has a peachy colour and the one in the eye wand is white and surely it would state on the packaging if it was? So I have no idea what the eye cream is, but it didn't do much at all the first time I used it.
Once I had applied my foundation, I applied the corrector, again I found the brush to be hard and uncomfortable so I used my ring finger and my beauty blender to apply it instead. As with the eye cream, I didn't find the concealer/brightener to be anything special, it applied well and felt nice to apply but by the time I had done my eye makeup it had settled into the fine lines under my eyes and creased. I tapped it out with my finger and set with powder but first impressions of both products weren't great.
The next time I came to use the mini wand, the eye cream had leaked into my makeup bag, and when I looked, the lid of the eye cream side was full of the eye cream, it had gone everywhere. I used a cotton bud to scrape the cream from the lid and cleaned the wand up, and continued to use it, but the cream only lasted a few applications before running out, I thought this was a bit strange but put it down to the fact it leaked. The eye cream really isn't anything special and didn't do anything different, I couldn't see any difference in my dark circles and my skin wasn't any firmer, it felt nice and hydrating but no more than anything else I've tried and I wasn't happy that it had leaked either.
I continued to use the concealer/brightener, this lasted a little while longer than the eye cream, probably because the eye cream leaked and the fact you don't use as much, but I didn't find the concealer/brightener amazing either, it settled into my fine lines and creased and isn't very brightening, I was disappointed completely in the product, I usually love Charlotte Tilbury products but this really didn't wow me at all, quite the opposite.
Swatch
Maybelline Eraser Eye Concealer - Brightening - £8.99
What Maybelline Say
The active formula combined with the Micro-Corrector Applicator perfects the under-eye area and brightens tired, dull skin. Erases dark circles, puffiness and fine lines instantly.
- Full coverage concealer, flawless finish.
- Instantly erases dark circles & fine lines.
- Visibly diminishes under-eye puffiness. - With goji berry + haloxyl.
- Full coverage concealer, flawless finish.
- Instantly erases dark circles & fine lines.
- Visibly diminishes under-eye puffiness. - With goji berry + haloxyl.
My Thoughts
After using the Charlotte Tilbury Mini Miracle Eye Wand up earlier in the year, I finally picked up the Maybelline Eraser Eye in the brightening shade in the summer of 2017, I had heard a lot of great things about it and was excited to try it.
The product comes as it is, no box, in a plastic tube with a pull off lid and a dome shaped almost like a fluffy and sponge hybrid applicator, you twist the tube from the bottom to dispense the product.
The concealer is available in 5 different shades including a neutraliser and a brightener and I bought the brightener. The first time I used the brightener I loved it, it applied really well straight from the applicator and it felt lovely and soft on my skin. I applied it under my eyes with the applicator and then blended it out with my beauty blender.
As when I tried the Charlotte Tilbury for the first time, I didn't apply my corrector, just the brightening concealer and I applied it over the top of my foundation as with the Charlotte Tilbury. I really liked the consistency and the way it felt on my skin and how it blended in nicely and it hadn't creased when I'd finished my eye makeup.
I have continued to use the Maybelline Eraser Eye brightener since the end of the summer in 2017 and I still love it, I have tried a few other concealers too but the brightener is definitely my favourite. It brightens brilliantly and my dark circles look so much better, and my eyes brighter. It is nice and hydrating and doesn't crease or settle in my fine lines.
Swatch
Overall Thoughts
I think it's obvious that on this occasion my advice would be to save rather than splurge. I really like the Charlotte Tilbury brand and I usually love her products but the Mini Miracle Eye Wand just didn't wow me at all. The eye cream was thin and didn't do anything and I don't feel the brightener is pink enough in colour to help with dark circles.
When I saw the Mini Miracle Wand and the fact it had eye cream and a brightener, I thought it sounded brilliant and I assumed the eye cream would be the Magic Eye rescue and that it would be a great way of trying it and I assumed the brightener would be brilliant since I had loved every other Charlotte Tilbury up to that point, so I was really disappointed when the eye cream was less than mediocre and the brightener didn't do much.
Also I realised when writing this post why the eye wand didn't last very long, obviously the eye cream side leaking didn't help, but the wand only contains 3ml of product, 3ml for £29 so 1.5ml of each product, so no wonder it didn't last very long.
Swatch Comparison
The Maybelline brightener is more salmony pink in shade which is probably why it is better at disguising dark circles, it also contains 6.8ml so obviously lasts a lot longer too and is much better value for money at £8.99 for 6.8ml compared to 3ml for £29.00 for the mini miracle wand, which actually works out at 1.5ml each of the eye cream and the brightener for £14.50, so a lot more expensive for the amount.
Overall after trying both products out and using up a full tube/wand of each product, I have re purchased the Maybelline and won't be re purchasing the Charlotte Tilbury, I wanted a product to conceal and disguise my dark circles and to brighten my under eye area that didn't settle into fine lines or crease and for me the Maybelline Eraser Eye ticked all the boxes and is £20.01 cheaper and has 3.8ml of product so for me it is a no brainer and is definitely a SAVE and not a SPLURGE.
If you would like to try either product, you can find the Mini Miracle Eye Wand on the Charlotte Tilbury website priced at £29.00 3ml and the Maybelline Eraser Eye Concealer in the shade Brightening on the Superdrug website priced at £8.99 6.8ml, currently on a two for £12.00 promotion.
Have you tried either of these products? Have you ever loved a brand and then be disappointed in one of it's products? And did you think the eye cream would be the eye cream in the mini wand? Let me know in the comments below.
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