Product: Today’s product is a little unusual and it has some strange properties. It is Sudden Change 3 Minute Under-Eye Firming Serum.
Overall Rating = 
2.25 Stars – Just okay
Cost: $13.95 for .23 oz. ($58.7 per ounce) Price Category: Mid-range
Sold By: Sudden Change and retailers everywhere (Walgreen’s, Wal-mart, etc.)
Container: Glass bottle with glass-tipped dropper and outer paper/plastic carton
Description: Sudden Change 3 Minute Under-Eye Firming Serum is a temporary-fix, fragrance-free tightening product. It is intended for use under the eyes to smooth and tighten bags or lax skin. It can also be used on other parts of the face for temporary tightening. This is a difficult product to rate, as people have a love/hate relationship with it and I agree for many reasons. I even considered not reviewing it due to the difficulty.
I have been using this product for many years and I keep several bottles in my makeup kit. I use it for creating special effects, as a thick layer of it once dried, will cause the skin to have a cracked or peeling look. It is very useful for horror or zombie makeups. I also use it on stage performers where no one is close enough to scrutinize the makeup. Okay, so you don’t want to look like a zombie and you’re not on stage; you want to look younger, rested and attractive, right?
As far as the effectiveness for removing lines, wrinkles, puffiness or dark circles under the eyes, let’s begin our review and discussion. Depending upon your particular concern, this serum may or may not prove beneficial. It will do nothing to improve or camouflage dark circles, so if that is your only eye issue, this is not going to help you.
Morning Review: The Sudden Change serum instructions state, “Apply to clean, dry skin. Works with or without makeup.” I disagree with those instructions. The problem with this product is that if you use it by itself, or you use too much, it will dry with a white residue that will be obvious and will crack and flake as you move your facial muscles (i.e. speaking, eating, laughing, etc.). You will feel a tightening wherever you apply the serum. The second ingredient in this serum following water is “Serum Albumin”, more commonly known as egg white. If you have never gotten egg white on your skin, crack one open, apply a small drop of egg white to your face, and you will experience the effects of this product. (Don’t get it near your mouth or eat it; that can be dangerous.)
Since I have used this product for years, I have tried it every way there is to use it: by itself; mixed with water; mixed with foundations; mixed with lotions; mixed with creams; mixed with serums; etc. This is definitely a product that has a learning curve and requires some experimentation to achieve positive results.
If you use this serum by itself on clean, dry skin it will produce the most dramatic tightening results. It will also produce the most obvious white residue, so what is the point? The company claims that if you have white residue, tap a drop of water on that area, rub it in and let it dry again. True, the water will remove the white residue; unfortunately the water will also reduce the tightening effect, which is the whole reason you used the product in the first place.
The company recommends two drops of product under each eye. Two drops is way too much and you will be left with the unsightly white residue when it dries. I find that one drop is sufficient for both eyes. More is not better with this product.
Also, if you have dry, dead skin under your eyes, it may peel off when you apply this product. The Sudden Change serum works best if you have recently exfoliated your skin.
In my experience, the only way to effectively use this product is to mix it with something. If you have dry skin, it is best to mix a drop of under eye cream with the Sudden Change serum and apply it that way. If you use another serum and/or moisturizer, those products need to be fully absorbed into your skin before you apply the Sudden Change serum. If you try applying those on top of the Sudden Change serum, the tightening effect will be completely eliminated.
Also, mixing one drop with a liquid foundation will minimize the white residue issue and will produce a slight tightening effect. This is how I typically use this product. If you use a mineral powder foundation, the Sudden Change serum probably will not work for you. Powders tend to crease on top of this product.
During my many trials, I also found that I have better results on the upper eyelids than I do under the eyes. If you have hooded eyes, you might try a drop of this before you put on your eye makeup. Eyeshadow will camouflage any residue and it should not be an issue for you above your eyes.
Morning Rating = 
2 Stars
Evening Review: At the end of the day my bags and wrinkles were back, just as they were before I applied the Sudden Change serum. The company claims the effect lasts 8 hours. I have not found that it lasts nearly that long. If you just want to look better for a photograph or for a short time, this product can be useful.
The Sudden Change serum has a drying effect on the skin on its own as it does contain SD Alcohol 40. If you have really dry skin, as I do, you will need to moisturize the application areas after removing this product.
Overall Review: The Sudden Change 3 Minute Under-Eye Firming Serum does tighten skin. The problem is that it is a difficult product to use to achieve positive results. You’ll most likely have to experiment mixing it with different products to combat the unsightly white residue and flakiness. Most of my clients got frustrated with it and gave up before they found a method that worked for them.
I’d like to hear your experience and results with this product. If you have used this serum successfully, please share your results.
Sudden Change 3 Minute Under-Eye Firming Serum is suitable for the following skin types:
- All ethnicities;
- All ages;
- All sexes;
- Dry (will need to moisturize);
- Sensitive;
- Consistent;
- Oily;
- Combination.
RATINGS REPORT:
Morning Rating = 2 Stars;
Evening Rating = 2 Stars;
Average from Other Testers = 2 Stars;
Value Rating = 
3 Stars;
Overall Rating = 2.25 Stars – Just okay. (Please review the About 365 Cosmetic Reviews page for the rating info.)
Ingredients: Water, Serum Albumin, SD Alcohol 40, Dimethicone Copolyol, Hyaluronic Acid, Dextran Sulfate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Quaternium-15, Methylparaben.
Formulated Without: Artificial fragrance, Artificial color, Dyes.
Important: Please read our full Disclaimer before using this or any product.
Best and most honest review I have read! Not only tells you the pro and cons of the product, but also gives you tips and tricks on the best way to use it.. Cudos to you, and thank you! Sheryl Murray
Hi Sheryl, thank you very much for taking the time to leave your comment. Please let us know if there are any specific products that you would like to see reviewed or how-to guides for a product or technique. We truly appreciate the feedback!
Hi Stephanie, welcome to our site and thank you for your compliments. Your new site sounds interesting.
Regarding what platform you should use to build a site on depends on your goals. WordPress is a good place to start; it is very easy to use. WordPress is naturally set up to be a blog, but since you didn’t indicate what type of site yours will be, that may or may not be appropriate. You can always move to a different platform in the future if you need additional features. I use Joomla for my primary website, but it is much more complicated and has a substantial learning curve if you’ve never designed websites before.
Please send me a link when you get it up and running. Good luck!
Hi I bought this serum for my mum, although it was good it left unsightly white crusted crystal under her eyes, she wouldn’t buy it again. I mixed it with a little foundation but it still leaves crusted bits, I am going to try warming up a little bit to see if it melts the crystals, any more advice people could give x
Yes, this is a tricky product that you have to play with. The key is to use very little. If you’re still seeing white even after mixing with foundation you may be applying too much product. Also, you can try putting the serum on, let it dry, then once the white film appears tap, don’t rub, with a fingertip moistened with a drop of water. Then you can carefully put a liquid foundation on top. This will lessen the effect, but should still be better than not using it.
First, always use good lighting and preferably a magnifying mirror.
Apply Sudden Change to fingertip in a line about 1/4” long. Concentrating on the area just below your eye, drag it swiftly across, applying slight pressure ( but not enough to move the skin).
Think of applying as you would rolling on paint to a wall; too little pressure bubbles paint and too much creates a heavy line of paint just below the rollers edge.
After it is dry, if you feel there is not adequate cover to the problem area, apply another line just below where the first application has dried. Make sure you do not go over any of the original application!
Let dry. If you see scaling, moisten your finger with saliva or tap water ( shaking off excessive water).
Tamp gently over problem areas until obvious residue disappears. You may not have as much of a tightening effect after doing this but I guarantee the effect will be much better than not using product.
Some applications will be more successful than others but don’t be discouraged. It’s still an amazing product! On any given day I look better after use and it gives me a minimum of 6 hours of great results. Patience!
Hi PB, I’m glad you like this product. Thanks for sharing your application tips, but I would never recommend putting saliva on your face, as saliva contains a lot of bacteria and that is never a good idea. I’ve gone through many bottles of this stuff and it does have positive and negative properties. There are similar products that work better.
I like the product… but I do not like the white residue it leaves behind under the eye…
The less you use of this product the better it works. If you are dealing with white residue that may mean you may be getting too much product. Once it dries try lightly tapping the area with a damp finger and that should resolve the white residue.
This works for a bit but doesn’t last long and it will not wash off! How do I get it OFF because it’s making my eyes look really bad.
You should be able to easily wash this off with any good facial cleanser or eye makeup remover. I’ve never had any issues removing it on any of my clients. Good luck with it.