Numbuzin No.9 NAD Retinol Eye Cream Review – 50 Different Peptides in One Treatment!

Numbuzin always goes 100% with their formulas and is not afraid to deliver high levels of concentration in one vial. This is no different with their revitalizing NAD+ skincare line. We’ve previously reviewed the famous NAD+ eye patches (i.e. the most expensive hydrogel eye patches in Korean beauty) and thought it was time to test out their rich eye cream to see if it holds up to the hype.  With a frankly insane ingredients list (designed to deeply plump and rehydrate the eyes), is it able to deliver real, visible results? 

Yes, it’s on the bottle – but what is it really? The simple version is that it is a molecule, naturally found in our cells that is essential for energy pathways. If your cell loses levels of NAD+ (which naturally happens over time) they tend to slow down, lose its ability to heal and grow dull. 

Niacinamide is the precursor to NAD+ and is the reason why this addition is so great to even skin texture and give skin a natural glow, but giving NAD+ directly cuts out the ‘middle man’ and helps restore skin healing, provide protection and enhances natural elasticity. It reduces extrinsic aging and helps cool fibroblasts, providing our skin its natural elasticity. 

It's still an innovative and exciting skincare ingredient, but does that make it worth adding to your routine? Let's see what else is included in this eye cream formula!

With 50 different peptides, we won't go over the benefits of all of them. It's also important to note that there's only scientific evidence for ~10 of the included peptides (and the rest are experimental additions that are known to be skin safe, but their benefits have not been shown in study).

Macadamia Seed Oil: rich in healing fatty acids that help seal in skin moisture and protect and strengthen the skin barrier. 

Niacinamide: brightening vitamin B3 that helps boost cell energy, reduce inflammation and skin redness and provides a gentle, healthy glow to skin. 

Olive Oil: refreshing and moisturizing extract rich in antioxidants that helps smooth fine lines, improves skin healing and regenerates cells. 

Shea Butter: moisturizing fatty acids rich in healing vitamins that help smooth fine lines, seal the skin barrier and reduces inflammation and redness. 

Coconut oil: rich extract that naturally moisturizes and protects skin barrier function, whilst also cooling skin irritation and reducing fine line formation. 

Cocoa Seed Extract: protects skin barrier against UV radiation, reduces depth of fine lines and wrinkles and improves cell circulation for refreshed texture. 

Resveratrol: powerful polyphenol extracted from grapes that helps boost wound healing, gives protective antioxidants and brightens skin appearance. 

Retinol: this eye cream contains 0.05% retinol (but it has a powerful formula), which helps stimulate collagen production within cells and exfoliate skin to reveal brighter, softer texture. 

Copper Tripeptide-1: helps stimulate skin cells for healing and wound repair. It’s a well-known peptide that’s been used in skincare for some time and has been shown to reduce fine lines, reduce depth of wrinkles. 

Acetyl-Hexapeptide-8: This prevents your face from tensing up and forming wrinkles, helping reduce wrinkle depth by 30% and creating a smooth visage. 

Nonapeptide-1: to stops melanocytes from producing pigment. This helps improve skin texture and creates even, brighter appearance.  

Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4: has the ability to stimulate ‘regrowth’ of your skin cell matrix. It triggers collagen production, elastic production and hyaluronic acid to immediately firm, plump and strengthen skin texture.   

Dipeptide Diaminobutyroyl Benzylamide Diacetate: modelled after Temple Viper venom (a little green-and-yellow snake), which helps inhibit facial muscles to relax wrinkles and smooth out fine lines.   

(There are 43 more peptides included in this formula, but fewer of them have scientific evidence and studies that uniquely show their benefits. These peptides above are likely doing the heavy lifting to boost skin firmness and reduce depth of fine lines). 

This nourishing eye cream is designed for dry skin, fine lines & anti-aging skincare. It's not well suited to oily skin and especially acne-prone skin (as the addition of rich oils and shea butter can trigger breakouts and irritation of pores).

This eye cream also contains retinol and should not be used with other retinoids (i.e. retinol/retinal) or with harsh exfoliating agents.,

I'm an individual with plenty of eye-located fine lines, so getting a good eye cream is a must! I've tried so many, but have been loving the addition of peptides in recent K-Beauty. When placed in a good formula, they help really plump skin, improve glow and firm up fine lines in a way you can really appreciate. 

I started adding this eye cream to my evening (PM) routine, slowly adding in the retinol and being sure to not combine it with anything irritating. I did overdo it on the first week and got a burn, so take care and start slow (even though its only 0.05%, it still has a strong concentration).

In two weeks of using the eye cream, I think it's a valuable addition to a routine targeted on fine lines. It helped reduce dryness and uneven textures and reduced the depth of fine lines and appearance of crows feet. It has a great boost to firmness and hydration, however you do have to be careful with the retinol combination. 

The peptides are the real star of this eye cream, giving a rich firming effect that is perfect to wake up to. I really recommend this eye cream to be used overnight with a combination of a refreshing moisturizer or barrier cream, as it gives you an amazing next-day glow.

This eye cream is a great addition to fine line and boosting firmness. It does use 50 different peptides (but honestly the first 10 are probably doing the heavy lifting), but it is a fun and innovative new eye cream that gives you a great glow.

Want to find more K-Beauty gems to add to your routine? Check out the new Numbuzin range below, live on Arktastic! 🩷

Want to learn more about your K-Beauty favourites? Check out our review of the matching Numbuzin No.9 Eye Patches. Or check out our guide to the Numbuzin Number system to see what's designed for your skin.

What Does the Numbuzin No.9 NAD Retinol Eye Cream do? 
It’s a rich eye cream aimed at plumping and rehydrating your eye, targeting fine lines, puffiness and reducing tired-looking eyes. It contains a variety of 50 different peptidse to powerfully stimulate collagen production and firm fine lines. 

What are the Key Ingredients in Numbuzin No.9 NAD Products? 
These include a special blend of 50 peptides to stimulate skin cell function and restore youthful texture and appearance. This is blended with cell healing NAD+ to restore energy and a rich base of macadamia. 

What is NAD+ in Skincare? 
NAD+ is a coenzyme linked to skin energy and renewal. In skincare it helps restore skin cell energy and healing, leading to more refreshed and revitalized skin texture. 

Is retinol safe to use around your eyes? 
It’s important to follow safety protocol for good retinol use (as otherwise you can risk retinol burns and irritation). Start with very low quantities and only use after 2-3 days. Then gently increase as your skin tolerates it. Retinol is the number one way to reduce fine lines and improve skin dullness.