[REVIEW] BullDog Age Defense Eye Roll-On (Before and After)

[1]🐩Ingredients Breakdown [2]Instructions [3]Results VS. Claims [4]Before&After [5]Verdict

Price: US$ 16 (Asos) or 10£ (Bulldogskincare)
Texture: Light thin creamy gel
What you get: 15ml
Cruelty-free: Yes
Instagram: @bulldogskincare

+Ingredients

Ingredients of the BullDog Age Defense Eye Roll-On: Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Ethylhexyl Stearate (Emollient), ♦️Cetearyl Alcohol, Pentaerythrityl Distearate (Emulsifying), Phenoxyethanol (Preservative), Sodium Polyacrylate (Viscosity Controlling + Emollient + Emulsion Stabilising + Absorbent/Mattifier), Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate (Emulsifying + Surfactant/Cleansing), Sorbitol (Moisturizer/Humectant), Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Xanthan Gum (Viscosity Controlling + Emulsifying + Surfactant/Cleansing + Emulsion Stabilising), Benzoic Acid (Preservative), Echinacea Purpurea Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Dehydroacetic Acid (Preservative), Asparagopsis Armata Extract, Ascophyllum Nodosum Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Citric Acid (Buffering), Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Sodium Hydroxide (Buffering)

🐩In-Depth Details Of Interesting Ingredients:

Glycerine: Widely used as a quality Hydrator (occurs naturally in skin and its chemical structure attracts water). You can find this ingredient in most good skin-replenishing products.
Tocopherol: Vitamin E (Most abundant antioxidant found in human skin, works as a photoprotective agent + Anti-inflammatory ). Popular culture suggests that it also helps in wound healing but this is not adequately backed up by research.
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil (Sunflower): Emollient (Softens and soothes and acts as a moisturizer) + Hydration (Fatty Acids) + Anti-inflammatory (Linoleic acid)
Echinacea Purpurea Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract: Anti-inflammatory + Antibacterial + Antioxidant
Asparagopsis Armata Extract: Antioxidant + Antimicrobial
Ascophyllum Nodosum Extract: Antioxidant + Antibacterial + Potentially Anti-hyperpigmentation + Potentially Anti-inflammatory
Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract: Anti-inflammatory (Rosmarinic acid, carnosic acid, and carnosol, exhibit anti-inflammatory activities, in particular, acne-causing pathogen response) + Antioxidant (Rosmarinic acid and caffeic acid)

♦️Controversial Ingredients:

Alcohol Denat: Antimicrobial/Antibacterial + Solvent + Viscosity Controlling + Astringent

A lot of people assimilate alcohol and fragrances in skincare to dehydration and irritation. I would recommend that you watch this video: “Is Alcohol Safe in Skincare Products?” (by Liah Yoo, who worked at Korea's largest beauty company, AmorePacific and now also has her own brand: KraveBeauty) and consult the links provided in the infobox which refer to published scientific studies and articles. The main point is: yes, alcohol and fragrance can be very stripping and irritating to the skin, but it all depends on how they are used and combined in the final formulation and of their ratio, the reactions they have with other ingredients, etc…

+how to use the BullDog Age Defense Eye Roll-On

BullDog Age Defense Eye Roll-On Texture — Use morning and night.
Apply directly onto the area under your eyes.
Avoid direct contact with eyes.

+what does the BullDog Age Defense Eye Roll-On do?

It's important to note that this is an eye cream and brand designed for men. Your first inclination might be to dismiss this and assume that women's and men's skin is inherently the same. But differences do exist, you can google this and read a few articles, but one interesting study concludes the following on some of the parameters they were able to more or less accurately measure and compare: "Sebum content is higher in men because sebum is highly influenced by sex hormones. Also, skin pigmentation and thickness are significantly higher, facial wrinkles are deeper, and facial sagging is more prominent in the lower eyelids of men,. Still, there is no significant difference in skin elasticity between the sexes." [Male versus female skin: What dermatologists and cosmeticians should know]. So while differences exist, skincare products formulated and targeted for women can be used on men's skin since there is no outstanding or fundamental distinction - and vice versa. All this to say that I don't particularly buy into the whole 'formulated for men' umbrella, but if you're happier using 'masculine' products (Not that this really means anything, but I won't open up a sociology tangent here), do whatever makes you happy. Your skin itself (since it probably just identifies as an organ) will be just as happy using skincare targeted for women's use. One thing I like about Bulldog though, is that instead of creating a product full of fragrances associated with 'manly' smells and packaged in a 'manly' black-sleek-cool-dude-you-get-the-point way, there are no 'bad' ingredients on this list, and the packaging is pretty… dare I say it… cute.

Claims taken from the Bulldogskincare product page.

1.For use under the eye to brighten the skin and help to reduce the appearance of dark circles: Dark circles are influenced by genetics, lifestyle, tiredness, and diet - among other things. But from an anatomical perspective, the skin under our eyes is thinner, making it so that the darkly colored blood vessels underneath it are more apparent. There is also the general form of the area, characterized by a depression below the eye, forming the tear trough: in some people, it’s just deeper and creates shadowing, darkening it. Taking these things into consideration, you would need ingredients that promote collagen/elastin (to thicken up the area), as well as anti-inflammatory/depuffing ones (to make it less apparent), and brightening ones (brightening the skin there follows the same logic as applying an under-eye concealer). Looking at the ingredients that compose the BullDog Age Defense Eye Roll-On, the majority are anti-inflammatory, antioxidating, and hydrating. There are not potent ingredients when it comes to inhibiting melanin production (brightening) or promoting collagen and elastin productions. So basically, for dark circles, this claim is invalid. I would tell you about my own experience, but I don’t have dark circles. However, from a brightening perspective: since this is a hydrating dewy product, it did plump up my skin and reflected more light when applied, giving me a brighter, more well-rested appearance.

2.Soothes puffiness under the eye with the smoothing and nourishing formulation (purpose-built for men): Most of the ingredients are anti-inflammatory, the thin gel/creamy consistency of this eye cream keeps it relatively cool, and the roll-on metal ballpoint contributes to the cooling effect, so yes, this is true. As for me, I’ve done my fair share of crying in 2020 ✨, which has led to puffy eyes, and this was a good remedy to this.

3.With Rosemary, Echinacea, and Vitamin E are used here to create a powerful antioxidant complex: You can read the in-depth ingredient list above for more details, but as someone who does a lot of reading on skincare ingredients, while these are good antioxidants, I would not qualify them as ‘powerful.’ They’re nice, but there are ingredients with more potent and interesting properties out there or even products with the same ingredients but at higher concentrations. You can check out something like the Purito Centella Green Level Eye Cream for reference.

BullDog Age Defense Eye Roll-On before and after

I liked using the BullDog Age Defense Eye Roll-On. It has a pretty nice list of ingredients that work as an okay preventative measure against aging and dry skin, and it can end up giving you quite a dewy fresh, brightened look around the eye area. But I'm speaking strictly as someone with no eye-area-related issues. My only 'issue' is that I have a couple of fine lines when I don't sleep well, but this eye cream easily plumped them up. No complaints there. All this to say is that while I was quite content with this product, if you're someone with deep dark circles, this product isn't going to magically make them disappear and has rather slim chances of diminishing them.

However, if you're just looking for an eye cream that keeps the eye area healthy and hydrated, with low chances of irritating/sensitizing it, then this is definitely a good option, and I would recommend it. Even for people with more sensitive eyes, this has a fair amount of anti-inflammatory ingredients that shouldn't cause adverse effects.

The preservatives used are also noteworthy: many eye creams tend to use Ethylhexylglycerin, which people with sensitivities tend to get irritation from (I go more in detail in this review if you care about this particular ingredient: Mizon Snail Repair Eye Cream).

If you have more mature skin, or you’re looking for a potent anti-aging product, you could probably gather from everything I’ve said above that the BullDog Age Defense Eye Roll-On won’t revolutionize your skincare game; you’re better off looking for something else. And finally, if you have a particularly dry eye area, I don’t believe the hydration and moisture this cream brings will be enough to satisfy you. The Mizon Snail Repair Eye Cream has some pretty great moisturizing properties if you want to check it out instead.

My only issue with this eye cream is its price point: although it costs 13.58$ if you buy it directly from Bulldog (which is fair), most resellers sell it for around 16 or 20$. In comparison, you can get the Purito Centella Green Level Eye Cream -which has a better formulation- for about 10 to 12$ with most resellers.