Swanicoco Fermented Eye Creams Review: Fermentation & Peptine

As I get older, my eye area has been one of great concern, along with hyper-pigmentation.  My eyes have crows-feet, laugh lines, wrinkles, crinkles, smile lines, whatever you want to call them, I have them.  I also have a little bit of puffiness right under my eye near my nose area and I am so concerned about bags now.  I am always looking for THE eye cream, serum, essence ~ whatever you want to call it ~ and I am now using a complete routine just for my eyes ~ a hydrating watery essence, a tightening serum and then a moisturizing eye cream.  For the last two months, I have been using these fermented eye creams from Swanicoco, graciously sent to me by the brand to try out and compare.

Swanicoco is a South Korean cosmetics company that began making naturally fermented soaps back in 2005.  They have been producing eco-friendly skincare, makeup and body care products, using their trademarked anti-aging fermentation process.  Swanicoco uses organic herbal and botanticals from all over the world ~ Korea, Europe, Australia and United States, and these ingredients are selected to create their products, which range from Pore Care to Anti-Aging Care lines.  The brand name combines elegance ~ swan ~ with natural botanical ingredients ~ coco.    

Disclaimer: I received several items from Swanicoco, tailored to my skin type and my issues.  Many thanks to Kevin, who patiently worked with me to come up with a routine and answering all of my questions and I have already reviewed many of the Swanicoco products (click here) sent to me.

Skin Type/Concerns:  Oily, blemish prone skin with aging concerns  ~ fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes, hyper-pigmentation

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These creams have undergone a major revamp from their previous versions ~ I never tried the older versions, so I cannot compare that, but I did list the old ingredients so you could see the major differences.  This review took me longer to write up as I needed to look up the new ingredients, as BeautyTap still has the old listing.  I used Swanicoco’s Korean site and translated the ingredients. All mistakes are my own.

These eye creams are very similar at first glace ~ they both claim to smoothing, nutritious, anti-wrinkling and moisturizing the skin around your eyes.  The Fermentation version also claims to promote brightening and the Fermentation Peptine promotes elasticity.  Both jars are similar ~ bright silver plastic tubs containing 30 mL of product ~ the Fermentation cream has blue lettering and the Fermentation Peptine has red lettering.  

Shared Ingredients

The ingredients list on these eye creams show two worlds that Swanicoco lives in ~ the traditional hanbang fermented ingredients and the more advanced derma ingredients that they are known for, such as peptides and ceramides.  One of the things I did notice while reviewing the old ingredient list to the new is that they are now quite different.  Originally, the ingredients for these two products were practically similar, with an exception of one peptide here and a couple of ferments there.  It makes sense that the revamped formulas are more consistent with their names ~ the Fermented version received more ferments and removed the peptides and the Peptine version added more peptides while removing most of the ferments, only leaving a couple.  Also, I noticed that these have a more fruity oils in them, so it does make them more naturally scented.

These are both fermented eye creams ~  but different types of ferments. Fermented ingredients can penetrate deeper into your dermal layers and are highly moisturizing, anti-aging with anti-bacterial benefits.  Bacillus and lactobacillus are bacteria based ferments which help create smaller molecules, so the nutrient dense ingredients can penetrate your skin more easily. Saccharomyces and aspergillus are fungus based ferments  ~ saccharomyces comes from yeast and aspergillus is a starchy mold ~and help with brightening and moisture. 

Arginine is an amino acid that promotes healing and detoxes your skin. It also helps guard against the formation of wrinkles and loss of skin firmness.  Adenosine is a yeast derived, amino acid and it became popular after it was found to help improve the reduction of wrinkles, smoothing your skin and anti-inflammatory. Adenosine is safe to use day and night, unlike vitamin C and retinol.  Allantoin moisturizes, exfoliates and softens skin, making it look smooth and refined, while reducing and relieving irritaion.  Betaine is an amino acid that is a humectant and anti-irritant, providing silky smooth skin and soothes and calms skin.

Biosaccharide gum-1 is fermented plant ingredient polysaccharide and is known for its moisturizing and skin soothing benefits.  It binds water to your skin, creates a film on your skin, leaving it soft and smooth, without irritation.  Beta glucan it is a compound that is naturally derived from mushrooms, oats, yeast and grains and it helps stimulate the production of collagen, speeds up wound healing, soothes and calms skin due to its anti-irritant and strong anti-inflammatory properties. Grifola frondosa fruiting body extract ~ fruiting body, alias sporocarp , is actually where the spores are in a mushroom and this is from the maitake (grifola frondosa), which is a medicinal mushroom.  It contains a natural source of beta-glucan.

The powerful brightening ingredient is also found ~  niacinamide is an antioxidant that acts as an anti-inflammatory, improves your skin elasticity, enhance the skin barrier function and also it helps to even out skin tone and reduce post-inflammatory hyper-pigmentation.  

This also has some botanical oils in it for healing and brightening effects, as well as providing a nice scent  ~ lavender, frankincense, orange peel and tangerine peel oil.

Swanicoco Fermentation Care Eye Cream This eye cream is supposed to help with smoothing, nutrition, soften wrinkles, moisturize and lighten dark circles. It contains ginseng and a slew of fermented ingredients, and is designed to brighten the skin around your eye area.   

Ginseng cultured root extract is anti-aging skin care ingredient, as its phytonutrients can stimulate the skin and activate the blood flow, increasing skin toning and production of new skin cells.  It also has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, due to a natural carbohydrate called saponin, and will help reverse damage caused by free radicals, such as hyper-pigmentation while combating free radicals to prevent new skin damage of fine lines and wrinkles.  Ginseng detoxes your skin and leaves it radiant and glowing. Applied topically, it helps stimulate collagen production to promote cellular renewal, which will help keep your skin’s elasticity and create a glowing complexion.  Its herbal properties and usage dates back over 5,000 years.

Full of antioxidants, fermented soybeans moisturize, help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, helps firm skin and can reverse UV sun damage over time. It has anti-inflammatory properties so it helps reduce blemish swelling and redness. The power of soybeans contain amino acid glycine, which helps repair damaged tissue and to speed up healing, which means it is great for blemish prone skin as well. Polypeptides are found in fermented soybeans and are very moisturizing and help “plump up” your fine lines and wrinkles.  Fermented mistletoe contains flavonoids and has a rich source of mucilage, meaning that it is viscous in texture, acts as an emollient ~ moisturizing and hydrating your skin to keep it supple, while protecting the skin from dry, harsh conditions.

Swanicoco loves to use callus cultures with their plants ~ “Plant cells can be grown in isolation from intact plants in tissue culture systems. The cells have the characteristics of callus cells, rather than other plant cell types. These are the cells that appear on cut surfaces when a plant is wounded and which gradually cover and seal the damaged area.” (source)  Asian pear helps with brightening skin and regenerating; antioxidant myrothamnus flabellifolia (aka resurrection plant) is rich in quinic acids and helps deeply moisturize your skin; citron (yuzu)  not only brightens skin tone, but energizes and tones;  edelweiss has twice as potent as vitamin C as an antioxidant and helps bring moisture and balance your skin as well;  orchid is one of my favorite anti-aging ingredients, full of antioxidants and makes my skin glow.

Dictyopteris is a seaweed (brown algae) and it is known for skin plumping. It also has green tea which helps combat free radicals and reverse skin damage, and also provides anti-inflammatory benefits.   sodium hyaluronate will attract moisture and bind it to your skin.  Ceramides are lipids (fats) which are important in helping to repair and protect your moisture barrier. They will  keep your skin hydrated and plump as they retain water. Ceramides are found naturally in your body and you lose the ability to produce as you age, so adding them to skincare products helps with anti-aging. 

Asataxnthin is an anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory carotenoid, usually harvested from marine algae.  Studies have shown that it can reduce melanin (which causes hyper-pigmentation) by about 40% and over time, will fade hyper-pigmentation.  (source)  There is another skin brightening ingredient in here, tripeptide glutathione, known for its antioxidant and skin brightening properties, regulates other antioxidants and helps remove toxins.

Propolis is a natural antibiotic that is produced by honey bees. This ingredient is wonderful for those with blemish prone skin or have other skin issues, as it really helps heal your skin. Another healing oil is tamanu, which helps speed up wound healing and encourages new skin cells to form.  

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The fermentation cream is thick, dense and feels very occlusive ~ it has that traditional creamy texture and whereas it does apply easily and absorb nicely, I do not feel that has that slick sliding gliding lotion feeling.   This has a lovely light citrus fragrance to it, which is natural and derived from the orange peel oils.

What I notice immediately is that my fine lines and wrinkles are softened quickly and smoothed out.  Despite being very rich and moisturizing, it does not cause any puffiness under my eyes, doesn’t pill and it increases the moisture about 46%.   I have not noticed a brightening effect but then again, I don’t really suffer from dark circles ~ when I have them, it is because I am either very tired or sick

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New Formula Ingredients: (from Swanicoco Korean webstie): camellia  sinensis callus culture extract, panax ginseng cultured root extract, hydrogenated polydecene, butylene glycol, glycerin, niacinamide,  1,2 hexanediol, dicaprylyl carbonate, arachidyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol, arachidyl glucoside, polyglyceryl-3 stearate, cetearyl olivate, betaine, ipentaerythrityl hexa C5-9 acid esters, pyrus pyrifolia culta (asian pear) callus extract, citrus junos callus extract, leontopodium alpinum (edelweiss) callus culture, neofinetia falcata (orchid) callus culture extract, myrothamnus flabellifolia callus culture extract, dictyopteris membranacea extract, glycerin, hydrogenated lecithin, ceramide NP, glutathione, grifola frondosa fruiting body extract, maltodextrin, panax ginseng root extract, saccharomyces/viscum album (mistletoe) ferment extract, saccharomyces/imperata cylindrica root ferment extract, lactobacillus/soybean ferment extract, viola mandshurica flower extract, origanum vulgare (oregano) leaf extract, vitis vinifera (grape) fruit extract, papaver rhoeas (red poppy) flower extract, propolis, punica granatum extract, ficus carica(fig) fruit extract, morus alba (mulberry) fruit extract, ginkgo biloba nut extract, astaxanthin, biosaccharide gum-1, beta-glucan, sodium hyaluronate, calophyllum inophyllum (tamanu) seed oil, tocopherol, cetearyl alcohol, carbomer, acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, allantoin, arginine, lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil, boswellia carterii (frankincense) oil, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) peel oil, citrus reticulata (tangerine) peel oil, adenosine  cosDNA analysis

Old Formula Ingredients: ginseng callus culture extract, centaurea cyanus flower water, hydrolyzed collagen, aspergillus/rice ferment filtrate, sodium hyaluronate, butylene glycol, stearic acid, niacinamide, rh-oligopeptide-1, saccharomyces/viscum album (mistletoe) ferment extract, saccharomyces/imperata cylindrica root ferment extract, lactobacillus/soybean ferment extract, ceramide eop, glycerin, 1,2-hexanediol, caffeoyl tripeptide-1, sh-octapeptide-4, nicotinoyl tripeptide-1, acetyl hexapeptide-22, polysorbate 60, caprylic/capric triglyceride, bacillus/cordyceps sinensis/ganoderma lucidum/inonotus obliquus/lentinus edodes/phellinus linteus/schizophyllum commune/tricholoma matsutake extract ferment filtrate, allantoin, tocopheryl acetate, carbomer, arginine, centella asiatica extract, saccharomyces/cornus officinalis fruit/angelica acutiloba root/deer antler/thyme ferment filtrate, camellia sinensis leaf oil, scutellaria baicalensis root extract, polygonum cuspidatum root extract, glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice) root extract, camellia sinensis leaf extract, magnolia kobus bark extract, adenosine, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, chamomilla recutita (matricaria) leaf extract
cosDNA analysis

Swanicoco Fermentation Peptine Eye Care Cream is mainly designed for improving elasticity, along with smoothing, nutrition, soften and moisturizing ~ it also contains peptides and a couple of fermented ingredients.

Aspergillus/rice ferment is full of amino acids, over a 100, organic acids, saccharides, vitamins, nucleic acids and esters. Fermented rice filtrate helps keep your skin clear and moisturized, while helping to even out your skin tone by reducing hyper-pigmentation. Lactobacillus/lemon peel ferment, also known as Lemon Peel Bioferment, is a rich antioxidant that will suppress tyrosinase activity ~ which is the enzyme that creates melanin.  This will help prevent and brighten hyper-pigmentation.  Polyglutamic acid is made from fermented soybeans (natto) and helps moisturize and exfoliate old skin cells. It can penetrate to the deepest layers in your skin, locks in moisture and helps increase the production of NMF (Natural Moisturizing Factor)

Lots of anti-aging, repairing amino acid peptides in this cream! sh-polypeptide-11 is a FGF (Fibroblast  Growth Factor) and helps tone and firm your skin’s density.  It contains collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid.  Copper tripeptide-1 aids in the production of glycosaminoglycans which help support and maintain the production of collagen and elastin, making your skin firm and retain moisture; sh-oligopeptide-2 is a CG-IGF-1 (Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1) and will “reduce and prevent lines and wrinkles by actively generating new skin cells and increases collagen and elastic levels and reduces blotchiness [discoloration]”  (source)  Dipeptide diaminobutyroyl benzylamide diacetate, also known as Syn-ake, is a neuro-peptide  that is mimics the peptide called Waglerin 1, which comes from the snake vemon of the Temple Viper. It is a powerful 6th generation peptide developed by Swiss company Pentapharm Ltd.  This is similar to Botox, which causes your muscles to relax and smooths out your skin.  Acetyl hexapeptide-8 (Argireline) is a neuropeptide that helps reduce wrinkles and fine lines. It is also similar to Botox as it will help relax your facial muscles, smoothing out your skin. And just like Botox and Syn-ake, the effects are just temporary.

Hexapeptide-12 helps boost your skin cells productivity and is a powerful anti-aging ingredient.  Acetyl dipeptide-1 cetyl ester will help increase your skin’s defenses against both internal and external stressors.  Synthetic peptide palmitoyl tripeptide-5 helps firm your skin by activating tissue growth factor called TGF-beta, helping aid in the production of collagen. 

This also has colloidal PLATINUM (woo woo), a natural anti-oxidant that helps restore balance to your skin and combats free radicals.

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The Peptide version has a slightly lighter and thinner texture than the Fermentation version ~ although it looks similar in the jar. It feels like a soft aqueous cream, looks to be “whipped” and it looks to be a bit pearlized in its color too.  This is not a watery lotion, but it does glide on effortlessly as if it has silicones in it, but it doesn’t contain silicones.  I was surprised at this texture as I thought due to all of the anti-aging peptides in here, it would be heaver cream of the two.  The scent is a very light lavender scent to me, but it is so light, it could be scentless.

This absorbs quickly into my skin, leaving no residue and doesn’t pill when I apply makeup over it.  It increases my moisture levels by 36%, so it isn’t as moisturizing as the Fermentation cream.  However, what I really noticed was that the “puffy skin” (ie bags) under my eyes seem to SUCK inwards and looked more taunt and firm. 

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New Formula Ingredients:  panax ginseng callus culture extract, aspergillus/rice ferment filtrate, butylene glycol, stearic acid, glycerin,dicaprylyl carbonate, niacinamide, 1,2-hexanediol, lactobacillus/lemon peel ferment extract, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) peel extract, sh-polypeptide-11, sh-oligopeptide-2, acetyl hexapeptide 8, hexapeptide-12, polyglyceryl-3 stearate, cetearyl olivate, betaine, sodium hyaluronate, palmitoyl tripeptide-5, copper tripeptide-1, sorbitan laurate, hydroxyethylcellulose, acetyldipeptide-1 cetyl ester, ginsenosides, colloidal platinum, hydrolyzed collagen, punica granatum extract, ficus carica(fig) fruit extract, morus alba (mulberry) fruit extract, ginkgo biloba nut extract, arnica montana flower extract, artemisia absinthium extract, achillea millefolium extract, gentiana lutea root extract, anthemis nobilis flower extract, polyglutamic acid, ascorbyl glucoside, grifola frondosa fruiting body extract,  maltodextrin, magnolia kobus bark extract, hyaluronic acid, biosaccharide gum-1, dipeptide diaminobutyroyl benzylamide diacetate, beta-glucan, camellia japonica seed oil, tocopherol, carbomer, allantoin, arginine, lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil, boswellia carterii (frankincense) oil, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) peel oil, citrus reticulata (tangerine) peel oil, adenosine  cosDNA analysis

Old Formula Ingredients: aspergillus/rice ferment filtrate, ginseng callus culture extract, rh-oligopeptide-1, caffeoyl tripeptide-1, sh-octapeptide-4, nicotinoyl tripeptide-1, acetyl hexapeptide-22, butylene glycol, palmitoyl tripeptide-38, dictyopteris polypodioides extract, stearic acid, niacinamide, saccharomyces/viscum album (mistletoe) ferment extract, saccharomyces/imperata cylindrica root ferment extract, lactobacillus/soybean ferment extract, ceramide EOP, glycerin, 1,2-hexanediol, polysorbate 60, caprylic/capric triglyceride, saccharomyces/asparagus cochinchinensis root/lycium chinense root/ophiopogon japonicus root/panax ginseng root/poria cocos/rehmannia glutinosa root ferment filtrate, allantoin, tocopheryl acetate, carbomer, arginine, centella asiatica extract, magnolia kobus bark extract, scutellaria baicalensis root extract, polygonum cuspidatum root extract, camellia sinensis leaf extract, ruta graveolens oil, glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice) root extract, adenosine, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, chamomilla recutita (matricaria) leaf extract, citrus grandis (grapefruit) fruit extract, thujopsis dolabrata branch extract  cosDNA analysis

Quick Compare

Fermentation on the left, Peptine on the right

Fermentation: thicker, more occlusive, faint citrus scent, applies smoothly, no residue, no pilling, increases moisture, no brightening (yet), softens fine lines and wrinkles

Peptine: a bit lighter, softer pearlized cream, faint lavender scent, applies smoothly, no residue, no pilling, firms and tightens puffy skin, increases moisture (but not as much as Fermentation)

When I first did my swatch test, I had no idea that the ingredients list was so racially changed from the older formulas, so some of my information in this test about the ingredients are wrong.  It was not until I was going thru my review and comparing the the Korean Swanicoco site to the ingredient list I had, that I realized how different they were.  However, my thoughts on the textures are the same.

Final Thoughts

Both of these fermented eye creams are really excellent products ~ I think that the Fermentation version is more moisturizing and really helps soften my fine lines and wrinkles, whereas the Fermentation Peptine has shown that it does help tighten up the skin around my eyes.  That said, if I had to choose one, I would go with the Fermentation version ~ why?  Well, I feel it does a lot of the same things as the Peptine, plus it is more moisturizing, has a lovely light citrus scent and it is $21.00 cheaper!  The Fermentation doesn’t include peptides, but it has a lot of anti-aging ingredients in it.  However, regardless of which one you choose, they are both really excellent products. Are they HG status?   I would have to continue using the Fermentation one to determine this, but I would purchase that one again.  The Peptine version, I would not ~ not because it isn’t a good cream, but only because I like the Fermentation version better.

Where to Purchase

Beauty Tap (formally known as W2Beauty) is the authorized retailer for Swanicoco products and they do ship internationally.  They carry a huge line of Swanicoco ~ not just the skincare lines, but body and makeup lines as well.  If you purchase any of the two eye creams, use unboxingeyes promo code to save 20%, valid through February 28th, 2018.

• Swanicoco Products
  • Fermentation Care Eye Cream RV $30.00
  • Fermentation Peptine Care Eye Cream RV $51.00
    

I have some additional promo codes (affiliate based) with W2Beauty and these are good thru the end of February 2018.  One coupon per cart

• unboxing15: 15% off sitewide
• unboxingeclado:  30% off Eclado Glycyrrhiza Extract Ampoule (review coming soon!)

[ disclaimer: products received for review purposes. contains affiliate links. all opinions are my own & unbiased.  ]