June 2025
Your first question about this drop will be, "Why is it pink?"
Answer: Vitamin B12. Sounds exciting, but does it do us any good? Some of the things added to eye drops are more about marketing than substance. More about that shortly.
So what is Blink Nourish really all about? I suspect that this is Bausch's attempt to match and surpass Ivizia, which has been perhaps the very most popular new drop on the market in recent years.
Blink Nourish contains sodium hyaluronate and trehalose, which are the top two "brag factor" ingredients in lubricant drops today.
I tolerated this drop just fine, pretty much like I do all the other glycerin/hyaluronate drops. However, I found it thicker than Ivizia, and consequently slightly more blurring.
They also say Blink Nourish has vitamins (C and B12) and amino acids.
In fact, Bausch claims that Blink Nourish is the first vitamin enriched eye drop. That's not quite true. What they really mean is that it's (1) the first big pharma drop with vitamins (pretty sure that's true) and (2) the first time big pharma has dared to thumb their nose at the FDA rules by bragging about vitamins in the inactive ingredient list of an OTC eye drop (definitely true).
Any of you out there who remember Nutratear might, like me, be tickled to finally see another pink drop on the market, though I doubt you'll like it quite as much. In my opinion, nothing has ever matched Nutratear. Different era, better drops. Any of you remember the old Viva Drops? I never used it, but I have a vague recollection of that one as a B12-containing drop as well though I might be wrong about that.
The big question about Vitamin-containing drops is: are the vitamins actually bioavailable (i.e. able to do me any good) or is it just really great marketing? I do not know and I suspect I never will... call me jaded, but I think no one in their right mind would spend the money to conduct all that science to figure it out "just" for an over-the-counter tear. It sounds and looks nice though.
The most interesting thing to me about Blink Nourish - other than the fact that pink is fun, and I think the Blink brand has very pretty marketing - is the signaling.
Between Alcon's marketing of Systane Pro and Bausch's marketing of Blink Nourish, industry is absolutely going to town, no-holds-barred, advertising its INactive ingredients. Technically, doing that is a big no-no (though the FDA does not seem interested in enforcing that rule) because if you are advertising it, obviously it is active. In terms of consumer-friendliness, advertising inactives gets a failing grade from me because it's (a) confusing and (b) not transparent: companies do not disclose "inactive" ingredient concentrations, which makes it much harder for us to compare products.
But... I'm not really trying to pick on Bausch. Everyone is doing it and there's really no fix on the horizon. So I will abstain from sharing my opinion of marketing lines like "naturally inspired" ingredients. Sigh.
Anyway... if you're a dry eye junkie, you'll probably try it, and that's great because I want to know what you think. You just never know which drop might turn out to be a winner for someone who really needs a win.
p.s. No, it will not make your eyes appear pink. They say it won't stain. I decided against dribbling it on a white shirt just to prove it, so, use at your own risk and aim well.
DryEyeShop