Which skincare brands spend the most on research/R&D?

[punchyfrisky]

I'm 37 and starting to show signs of aging. Out of nowhere, my eyelids suddenly got crepey and it's hard to put on eyeliner! I want to start investing in good skincare, but it's SO hard to know what "good" is. More money doesn't mean a more effective product. But I am willing to spend the money if it actually works. I've been researching eye creams for two weeks and don't know how to choose one. There are so many with big promises, good reviews, high price tags. Which skincare companies invest in research to back up their claims?

[nche]

For crepey eyelids, my mom has this problem and uses CLINIQUE All About Eyes Eye Cream with Vitamin C 1 oz/ 30 mL which she swears by. You can use it on the eyelid and it is encouraged. And she says the richer the eye cream, the worse it gets. So don't get the rich version of all about eyes. Just the regular one. In fact, she's tried far more expensive eye creams with fancier ingredients that actually make her eyes crepey-ier. Realistically, beauty is a trial and error game. That's why GWP and promo codes are so popular. 

Regarding R&D: how much companies spend on R&D is a bit of black box. However, realistically, the biggest companies in the world will be spending the most on research - not because they are better but their budgets are bigger. If L'Oreal spends 0.1% of their top line revenue on R&D, that's gonna be more than some 'indie' brand who spends 10% or even 20% (this amount doesn't actually happen). Whether you are okay with certain companies is a matter of personal choice. That said, a large portion of beauty company R&D results are not published or peer reviewed so we don't what it means anyways. 

Then there is the question of new tech/ingredients vs formulation. For example, neither vit c or ferulic acid are new ingredients. But there's a patent held by Skinceuticals/L'oreal for the method in which the two are combined to make a more effective, shelf stable compound. Hence, the C E Ferulic product is relatively expensive because they hold a legal stranglehold on their invention. Others have similar products but they are not as stable/effective or the company gets sued for copying (Drunk Elephant lol). 

[tg1973]

I've seen research by Estee Lauder and Perricone, actual clinical research.  Several products will show tiny survey results like x% of participants reported looking more radiant, which isn't terribly helpful.  I think that if you wanted a real comparison brand to brand, you would have to dive really deeply into things like quarterly reports to shareholders with spending breakdowns, and of course those are only available for publicly traded companies.  Your question made me wonder why we aren't given this information more freely, and I can think of two reasons offhand, that it would unintentionally expose just how high profits really are versus the prices we're charged as consumers, and secondly that we would want to see more research results, many of which would sound really negative to the public because there is always a lot of failure before success.  I also suspect that in reality, most claims are marketing woo based on general beliefs of what is traditionally believed about certain ingredients.  If we sat down and looked at how every penny the vast majority of brands are spent, I strongly suspect that marketing and legal advice on how to thread the needle on marketing laws would vastly outrank actual research expenses.

All of that being said, I have crepey lids as well, and one product that has really delivered results for me is SubQ Skin by Hylamide, which is another brand from the parent company of The Ordinary, Deciem.  They also have a specific eye product, SubQ Eyes, which I tried after I was already using the Skin product, so I don't know that it added anything (big disclaimer, I don't have dark circles, which is a big part of their Eye product claims), but I stopped using the Eye product because it was breaking me out, which is rare and I don't think makes it a bad product for other people.  Honestly, even if I stopped using SubQ Skin on the rest of my face, I would still buy it just for how much is does to improve the crepiness of my lids ( lol, spell check thinks it improves the creepiness of my kids).  I've spent more than a few dollars on eye products, and I don't ever remember anything firming my lids so well.  It also really helps that it only costs $22 for an ounce of product.  I don't know that you could find a drugstore eye product priced so well.

I don't know any kind of breakdown of what Deciem spends on research, but I do know that they spend it.  All of their lines are full of very innovative products, many with ingredients unique to them.  I suspect that most real research dollars go into patented ingredients sold wholesale to skincare brands, and much of the meatier performance claims refer to the research done by the companies that developed those ingredients.

By all means, check out Deciem, there is so much more to them than The Ordinary, which is their least expensive facial care line.  Hylamide is slightly more expensive and is designed to be a streamlined routine.  NIOD is their prestige line with both very innovative and very traditional ingredients influencing their products.  Estee Lauder owns a piece of Deciem, but my understanding is that it is a small but influential piece.  Beauty business sites will probably have more of the kind of information you're looking for, and there is a fantastic blog by kindofstephen that tracks industry developments.

Wherever your research leads you, I definitely recommend giving Hylamide SubQ Skin a go.  I would pay a lot more for it than it costs, especially for my lids!

[Emy10]

@tg1973  did you mention a product that you directly put on your eyelids??

[tg1973]

The app is showing me a question asking if it's safe to put this product directly on eyelids, but for some reason it won't show me the whole message or let me reply to it.  I can say this, that I have been putting it directly on my lids for months now with nothing but great results, no stinging or peeling or burning eyes.  It doesn't contain retinol or acids, so there are no red flags in the ingredients list.  I personally have no patience for eye creams that can't be used on lids, as my lids are problematic--saggy and getting crepey.  I use my Curology on fine lines around my eyes but not on my lids.  If you would rather get SubQ Eyes, that's fine, it's a great product, it just happens to give me whiteheads in my brow area, which was a bummer.  So I stick to using the SubQ Skin all over.

[tg1973]

Yes, Hylamide SubQ Skin.

[Emy10]

@tg1973 , are you sure we can put it directly on the eyelids? 

I looked into those products and nowhere in the directions says it can be put on the eyelids or suggested.

Did someone from a store told you it was safe?

From what i know, its supposedly safe to put castor oil on the lids and eyelashes, but im curious about this because i would like to slow down the crepiness on my lids (ill be 40 next year in june).