Versus

The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG Versus Good Molecules Yerba Mate Wake Up Eye Gel

Serum
Eye Moisturizer
Canadian Brand Canada
American Brand United States

Updated on May 14, 2024

Overview

What they are

These products are both cruelty-free and reef safe . They have a total of 6 ingredients in common

Cool Features

They both contain hyaluronic acid

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for anti aging, dry skin, brightening skin, sensitive skin, reducing pores and scar healing

Free From

They both do not contain any parabens, silicones or sulfates

What's Inside

They both contain fragrances

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that needs an update? Let us know.

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and see relevant ingredients

What's inside (and what isn't)

What's inside (and what isn't)

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Ingredients Side-by-side

found in both products

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Skin Conditioning, Solvent

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water
Skin Conditioning

Caffeine is most associated with coffee, tea, and cacao. In skincare, it helps with calming inflammation and is rich in antioxidants.

While caffeine is used to treat cellulite and and dark circles, further studies are needed to prove this. It has been believed to help with these skin conditions due to its ability to dilate blood vessels and increase blood flow.

Some studies are looking into caffeine's ability to protect against UV rays.

Learn more about Caffeine
Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting

Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.

A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid.

As a humectant, it helps the skin stay hydrated by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin.

Hydrated skin improves your skin barrier; Your skin barrier helps protect against irritants and bacteria.

Glycerin has also been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Due to these properties, glycerin is often used in wound and burn treatments.

In cosmetics, glycerin is usually derived from plants such as soybean or palm. However, it can also be sourced from animals, such as tallow or animal fat.

This ingredient is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

Learn more about Glycerin
Solvent

Propanediol is an all-star ingredient. It softens, hydrates, and smooths the skin. 

It’s often used to:

Propanediol is not likely to cause sensitivity and considered safe to use. It is derived from corn or petroleum with a clear color and no scent.

Learn more about Propanediol
Humectant, Moisturising, Skin Conditioning

Hyaluronic acid is naturally found in healthy skin. It is a humectant, meaning it draws moisture to your skin.

This ingredient helps hydrate, soothe, and protect the skin.

What makes hyaluronic acid so hydrating? It has the capacity to bind or hold large amounts of water.

Fun fact: It is already naturally found in our bodies, such as the fluids of our eyes and our joints.

Studies find this ingredient to have anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties. This can help speed up wound-healing.

Hyaluronic acid can be irritating if the molecule has a low-molecular weight, or if the molecules are small.

One study found low-molecular weight hyaluronic acid to be pro-inflammatory, meaning some people may experience irritation. This is because our bodies use hyaluronic acid in the wound-healing process to signal to our bodies, via irritation, that something needs healing.

The same study found high-molecular weight hyaluronic acid to be anti-inflammatory.

These are some other common types of Hyaluronic Acid:

Learn more about Hyaluronic Acid
Skin Conditioning, Solvent

1,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic liquid and another multi-functional powerhouse. 

It is a:

  • Humectant, drawing moisture into the skin
  • Emollient, helping to soften skin
  • Solvent, dispersing and stabilizing formulas
  • Preservative booster, enhancing the antimicrobial activity of other preservatives 

When to use

1,051 Routines
56% use in am
44% use in pm
95% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->
1,289 Routines
64% use in am
36% use in pm
97% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->

Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG 25 ingredients

2.4 /5
from 14 ratings
Doesn't Work (6) Absorbs Well (4) Irritating (4)
fawns's avatar

🐾

10 months ago
Review

♡︎
- 𝗐𝗈𝗇'𝗍 𝗋𝖾𝗉𝗎𝗋𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗌𝖾, 𝗀𝗈𝗍 𝗍𝗐𝗈 𝗂𝗇 𝖺 𝗉𝖺𝖼𝗄 𝗌𝗈 𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝖿𝗂𝗇𝗂𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗆 𝗎𝗉
- 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗌 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄 𝖺𝗍 𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗂'𝗏𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝗅𝗒𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗈 𝗆𝗒𝗌𝖾𝗅𝖿 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝖺𝗒𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗂𝗍 𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗌
- 𝗂 𝖽𝗈 𝖺𝗉𝗉𝗅𝗒 𝗂𝗍 𝗈𝖿𝗍𝖾𝗇 𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝗌𝗈 𝗂 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝖿𝖾𝖾𝗅 𝖿𝖺𝗇𝖼𝗒 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝖿𝗂𝗇𝗂𝗌𝗁 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗆𝗒 𝖻𝗈𝗍𝗍𝗅𝖾𝗌
- 𝗐𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽𝗇'𝗍 𝗋𝖾𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝖾𝗇𝖽

#great value
#light
#absorbs well
#no scent
ThomasvV's avatar

Thomas VV

1 month ago
Review

A mistake a lot of people make is that they think this eye serum is made for the long term. It's not, it's a great depuff serum in the morning. So if you're prone to puffiness, then this is a great first step in your routine to depuff your eyebags before applying a more rich eye cream.

I hate the fact that the bottle gets a bit dirty because of the crystalization of the caffeine, but that's Show more

#great value
#absorbs well
#no scent
#works well

Good Molecules Yerba Mate Wake Up Eye Gel 22 ingredients

4.1 /5
from 9 ratings
Absorbs Well (5) Great Value (5) Hydrating (4)
king.sweetpotato's avatar

Gemini James

6 months ago
Review

Really surprised to say I like this. A lot. I normally wouldn’t bother with a separate eye treatment, my dark circles are from thin skin, so eye cream won’t help, and I don’t have puffy eyes. Usually. But I bought a bunch of Good Molecules items and I thought for $6, why not?

As coincidences do happen, the day I bought this I had a massive allergy flare up that lasted for several days. The Show more

#great value
#hydrating
#light
#absorbs well
arminr.'s avatar

Min

9 months ago
Review

with a gel like consistency this has a cooling effect. for the price it's great and my dark circles have gotten slightly better but there's def better out there. will continue to use until i find smth id like more

#great value
#light
#absorbs well
#no scent