3 Tula Eye Balms: Which is best? (BRUTALLY Honest review!)

Have you heard of a brand called Tula? Chances are, if you follow ANY blogger on Instagram, the pretty teal packaging of at least the Tula eye balm has graced your feed at one point or another. 😉 And also, hi hello my name is Erica and I’m addicted to Tula. More on the brand overall + other product thoughts to come, but they’ve been in many a Cool Sh*t I Lovelovelove roundup and for good reason: it’s one of THE most effective skincare brands I’ve tried. Granted, not every skincare brand or products universally works for everyone – of course, we all have different complexions and needs that warrant a pretty personalized approach to our everyday skincare regimens. What works best for me might not work best for you – and that’s A-OK! My job + intention is just to always be brutally honest about my own experiences and thoughts in the hopes that one of you might read it, relate, and end up finding a new favorite. SO – let’s talk a hot topic today: Tula eye balms!

Today we’re trying + testing all three, battling them out against each other with a reaaaaally comprehensive review and breakdown of each. 2/3 of these Tula eye balms are bestsellers on their entire website, so there’s quite a bit of hype around these guys. They’re like little probiotics powerhouses for your undereye, so I wanted to dedicate an entire post to deep diving into each in a side-by-side way, so that you can figure out exactly which one is best for you.

OH ALSO, before I forget – my Tula discount code works (COMINGUPROSES) on all of these goodies below, so make sure you to save 15% on your entire order! And if you spend over $35, you’ll get FREE shipping! Bless up. Let’s begin!

To note from left to right: orange stick, blue stick, pink stick

Original/Blue stick

This was the first Tula eye balm of the collection, as well as the first Tula eye balm in my own. It was a smash hit upon release, its success being the impetus for the others following suit. The Glow & Get It original stick is cooling + brightening, meant to “fill” the look of fine lines + wrinkles around the eye. Overall, an instant pick-me-up to help you look + feel more refreshed and energized. And it’s got over 2,000 5-star reviews!

**For each of the three Tula eye balms, I’m including what’s inside + what it does DIRECTLY from the website, so you know the actual ingredients + claims being made!

WHAT’S INSIDE:

Caffeine: helps to tighten and firm the look of lines & wrinkles in tired eyes
Aloe, Apple & Watermelon: provide deep hydration to the delicate eye area
Blueberry: rich in antioxidants, hydrates and protects the skin around the eye

WHAT IT DOES:

Gives you immediate cooling, hydration and glow so you look refreshed and energized
Helps with the look of dark circles, puffiness and wrinkles around your eyes
Contains probiotics and superfoods for a truly healthy glow
Portable eye balm stick, use on-the-go and re-apply throughout the day
Super easy eye care product to use — swipe under & around eyes and on top of cheekbones

PRICE & SIZE:

$28 – or $23.80 with code COMINGUPROSES for 0.35 ounces of product

Both this Tula eye balm and the pink one are a GREAT size and value, in my opinion. My code brings it down to just over 20 bucks, which might feel pricey at first for an undereye balm, but they last SO LONG – you really get a ton of bang for that buck. I don’t even think I’m a third of the way through one stick, and I use mine DAILY! So it’s a perfect little pickmeup, treat yo’self, or gift to have on hand, whether it’s for the tired mamas on your shopping list, your girlfriends who already seem to have everything, or even your kiddo’s teachers (because Lord knows they need all of the pickmeups + caffeinated boosts they can get right about now – Lordy!

Rose/Pink stick

The pink stick is my personal favorite. It’s my ride or die, and the one I have on my vanity, in my purse, in my car, and in all of my travel bags. A must have in my collection, and something I use every single day. This one is like the original blue stick except with MORE glow-enhancing stuff inside. It’s still got probiotics + superfoods (caffeine, aloe, blueberry, hyaluronic acid, etc), but it’s also got plant-based retinol alternative, rosehip oil, and hydrating rosewater.

This is important to me since I’m always caring about preventing fine linkes, wrinkles, etc and like getting that long-term benefit with my daily eye balm. It feels like more comprehensive skincare then, instead of a more cosmedic approach.

WHAT’S INSIDE:

Rosehip Oil: a plant-based retinol alternative that’s rich in vitamin C & protects against free radicals
Rosewater: hydrates, softens & tones skin while offering antioxidant protection
Caffeine: helps to reduce the look of dark circles
Aloe, Apple & Watermelon: provide deep hydration to the delicate eye area
Blueberry: rich in antioxidants, hydrates and protects the skin

WHAT IT DOES:

Instantly cools & hydrates so you look refreshed & energized
Helps with the look of dark circles and puffiness instantly & over time
Glowy formula doubles as a highlighter that can be used on the cheekbones, cupid’s bow & more
Contains probiotics & superfoods for a truly healthy glow
Portable, use on-the-go and re-apply throughout the day
Super easy to use — swipe under & around eyes and on top of cheekbones

PRICE & SIZE:

$30 – or $25.50 with code COMINGUPROSES for 0.35 ounces of product

It’s a few more bucks than the original, simply because it’s got more good-for-you ingredients inside – the anti-aging rosehip oil and hydrating rosewater! Like I said before – of all of the Tula eye balms, this one is my ride or die. So if you’re choosing between the three, I’d say THIS IS IT.

Glow Hour/Orange stick

Not my favorite, namely because my skin isn’t necessarily rich or tan enough to have a golden undereye look natural. Glow Hour claims to treat/neutralize dark circles over time while protecting against blue light’s damaging effects. It still says it’s cooling, but this one feels remarkably less cooling than the other two (seemingly because it doesn’t have caffeine in it like the other two?). I have more intense thoughts on this one in particular, which I’ll list below…

WHAT’S INSIDE:

Probiotics: help lock in moisture & improve skin smoothness
Grapefruit & Algae: brighten the look of dark under eye circles
Lingonberry: protects eye area from damaging blue light
Hyaluronic acid, Aloe Water, Apple & Watermelon: deeply hydrate & help reduce the look of fine lines & wrinkles

WHAT IT DOES:

Brightens, neutralizes & diminishes the look of dark under-eye circles
Helps treat the look of dark circles over time
Protects from damaging the damaging effects of blue light—overexposure linked to premature skin aging
Helps reduce the look of puffy, tired eyes
Instantly cools, refreshes & leaves a golden, dewy glow
Wears well under & over makeup, or on its own
Versatile eye balm stick can also be used as a highlighter on the nose, eyelids, top of lips & cheeks for a golden, dewy look
Travel-friendly eye balm stick for easy, on-the-go touch ups

PRICE & SIZE:

$32 – or $27.20 with code COMINGUPROSES for 0.14 ounces of product

My positive thing to say about this Tula eye balm is that I think it *does* help cover darkness; you can see in a swatch image below, it covers my dark veins on my hand pretty well, so it does do a pretty good job at covering dark circles on your undereye. BUT.

We need to talk about the size.

I heard it said that the size was intentionally chosen by Courtney to better fit the inner corner of the eye, for that highlight/glow. Because of that, the product tube is 0.14 ounces, compared to the original tube at 0.35 ounces.

BUT…the price point is more than the original.

$4 more, for less than half the amount of product as the other Tula eye balms.

So I’m a bit confused at that tidbit, because that seems like an obvious markup because of the collaboration. I get it from a business standpoint, but from a consumer-trust standpoint – I’m iffy, especially since I’ve been a diehard customer from the start (literally 5+ years).

I’m pretty disappointed that an influencer who is admittedly SUPER familiar with Tula products put something like this together without pushing for a lower pricepoint to help out consumers, especially since folks are BOUND to be thoroughly disappointed when they receive it if they were under the impression it was the same size as its two predecessors. Granted, I’m not sure how much say Courtney had in the price, but if she had as much say in every other aspect of the product as she’s claiming to have had – than she had a say. It’s one of the first Tula products that I think was really upcharged because a name was attached to it, which feels disappointing, since there just ain’t no way the product itself cost that much more. I want to give the benefit of the doubt that the new ingredients (grapefruit + ligonberry) are more expensive, but seeing as I haven’t produced product like this before myself, I have no real clue. Just trying to give benefit of the doubt + grace since I want to assume the best in people + brands and keep things as positive as possible!

It was also claimed to be good for “every skin tone,” which is also not true – it’s truly a GOLDEN glow. For really pale skin tones, it doesn’t work. It looks too orangey, or too much like your favorite GOLDEN highlighter, which doesn’t really make sense on your undereye. A “brightening” undereye balm would need to be lighter than your skin tone to actually brighten + lighten the area. The two other Tula eye balms make sense for that since they’re more of an irridescent glow. But this one seems like it would really brighten undereyes that are darker than the orange stick and are very warm in nature. I’d lovelovelove to see it swiped on a darker-skinned girl because it might be GORGEOUS on her undereye. But I don’t think it’s correct in being advertised as something for “every skin tone,” or even as something for brightening the under eye. As a regular swipe of highlight on your cheekbone paired with bronzier, warmer makeup – OK sure, might make sense. But under your eye? I don’t think so.