These Eye Creams Practically Reverse Ageing, Banish Dark Circles and Much More
Eye cream is one of those skincare products most of us still aren't sure we actually need. While more mature skin can really benefit from an eye cream in order to target fine lines and wrinkles (if that's what floats your boat), it can feel unnecessary for younger skin types or people who just aren't fussed about disguising the signs of ageing. So can't we just use our usual moisturisers all over our faces?
Turns out no. "A great eye cream has a formula which is gentle enough for the most delicate skin on our body," explain VenEffect founders Rebecca and Cecil Booth. The skin around the eyes is particularly sensitive (and some of the thinnest on your face); therefore, it needs a special type of product. Booth recommends an eye treatment that's fragrance-free and doesn't roll up with makeup—that way it can be used both morning and night.
Application is also crucial. To apply eye cream effectively yet gently, tap it on with your ring finger and lightly blend. You don't need to use too much or go too close to the eyes themselves. So now that we know that our delicate peepers could do with a special cream to care for them properly, which eye creams are actually worth the money? Keep reading to check out the ultimate edit of eye creams beloved by beauty editors, our fashion friends and some of our favourite celebs.
The Best Eye Creams, Listed:
1. Best Eye Cream for Lines and Wrinkles: Beauty Pie Super Retinol Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream (1% Retinol Complex)
2. Best Eye Cream for Dark Circles: TEMPLESPA Windows of the Soul Eye Cream
3. Best Sustainable and Vegan Eye Cream: Stella McCartney Beauty Alter-Care Serum Full
4. Best Affordable Eye Cream: The Oridinary Caffeine Solution 5% + Egcg
5. Best Eye Cream for Pollution Defence: Lisa Franklin Pollution Defence Cream
6. Best Eye Cream for Pigmentation: Paula's Choice Ultimate Eye Cream
7. Best Eye Cream for Tired Eyes: Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Gel-Creme
8. Best Eye Cream for Puffiness: The Inkey List Caffeine Eye Serum
9. Best Eye Cream for Brightening: Origins Ginzing Eye Cream
10. Best Drugstore Eye Cream: CeraVe Eye Repair Cream
11. Best Eye Cream for Hydration: Vichy Vichy Minéral 89 Eye Brightening Serum
12. Best Eye Cream for Firming: Chanel Le Lift Smoothing and Firming Eye Cream
13. Best Eye Cream for Radiance: Charlotte Tilbury Magic Eye Rescue
14. Best Eye Cream for Lifting: Medik8 Eyelift™ Peptides
1. Best Eye Cream for Lines and Wrinkles
Price shown is member price. If it's fine lines and wrinkles that are troubling you, then reach for a retinol eye cream. Retinol is one of the only proven ingredients to help plump fine lines and wrinkles, so it's ideal to use around the eye area. If you're new to using retinol, you'll want to start off slowly by using it once a week, gradually building up to every day as your skin tolerates it. This one from Beauty Pie not only is affordable but also has retinol and hyaluronic acid to help plump and hydrate the skin around the eyes too. One customer said "I love this product, it applies easily and does the job it is intended for. My eyes are noticeably better."
2. Best Eye Cream for Dark Circles
Dark circles can be tricky to treat, so it's important to look for targeted ingredients that will do the job. Edelweiss, echinacea and the eyebright complex help to brighten dark circles while hydrating with its gel-cream texture. "Once you try it you won't want any other product. I have used it for over 10 years" raved one loyal user.
3. Best Sustainable and Vegan Eye Cream
Not only is Stella McCartney's Alter-Care Serum refillable but is a multi purpose serum that works on the face, neck, décolleté and as well as the eye area. One customer said that the product "sinks into my skin effortlessly and leaves me feeling like I just drenched my skin in nature"
4. Best Affordable Eye Cream
For under £10, it doesn't get much better than The Ordinary's Caffeine Solution if you want to address tired eyes, dark circles or puffiness. Much how the caffeine in our latte gives us a boost, it works the same way on the skin to wake up tired-looking eyes and help reduce eye bags. Many customers saw results immediately, with one saying "I've been using this product for 7 months, and my under eyes are a bit lighter and the puffiness is almost minimum".
5. Best Eye Cream for Pollution Defence
Pollution can wreak havoc on our skin, and the sensitive skin around the eyes can also be subjected to our commutes. Antioxidants are your best port of call for shielding the skin from pollution, and this cream from Lisa Franklin contains Kakadu plum (which is high in vitamin C) to protect the skin. It also boasts an impressive list of ingredients, such as peptides to plump and plant extracts to soothe and moisturise delicate skin. "It's so light but so hydrating. My skin craves it!" says one customer.
6. Best Eye Cream for Pigmentation
Whether it be for dark circles, pigmentation around the eye area or skin that's looking a bit blah or lacklustre, try this brightening new eye cream from Paula's Choice (a brand I really trust for skincare). It uses vitamin C to brighten dullness and discolouration, while plumping peptides and hyaluronic acid help to hydrate and fill out fine lines. When the reviews all sound like this "Lightweight, easy to apply, fast to absorb and effective on hydration and fine lines" what's not to love?
7. Best Eye Cream for Tired Eyes
You'd be forgiven for thinking that tired eyes need a heavyweight eye cream to revive them. However, a heavy eye cream can add to the puffiness around the eyes. Instead, choose a lightweight gel-cream like this one from Estée Lauder to give tired eyes a wake-up call. In fact, this eye cream is part of the Advanced Night Repair range, which is loved by beauty editors and helps to supercharge the skin with hydration, de-puff and plump out dehydration lines around the eyes. Loyal customers can attest to its power, "When I wake up my eye area is still moisturised and feels firm in the morning".
8. Best Eye Cream for Puffiness
Waking up with puffy eyes is no fun. As one of The Inkey List's best sellers, this formula (as its name suggests) uses caffeine to perk things up in an instant by de-puffing the eyes. It has a cooling gel consistency that melts instantly into the skin, making it great to use on busy mornings and as prep for makeup too. One customer said "I noticed a difference in my eyes two weeks into using the caffeine eye cream, they looked brighter and the darkness around them has faded".
9. Best Eye Cream for Brightening
Bright, radiant eyes can be hard to come by in the mornings if you're lacking sleep, but thankfully, this eye cream is like eight hours of sleep in a pot. It contains vitamin C and niacinamide to counter dark circles and give the skin a shot of radiance, and beauty editors love it. It also comes in two slightly tinted shades (one for fair to medium skin and one for medium to deep) to give a subtle concealing veil to the eye area. One customer who has been using the products for years says "This is only product that covers my dark circles and also brightens my eyes up.".
10. Best Drugstore Eye Cream
If you want a no-frills, affordable yet effective eye cream, then I would encourage you to pick up this tube of CeraVe's Eye Repair Cream. This is best suited for you if you want an eye cream without any aggressive actives that might irritate your sensitive skin. Not only is this fragrance-free and ultra gentle, but it also contains ceramides to help restore the building blocks of the skin when it's irritated or compromised. I regularly reach for this whenever I have an eczema flare. One customer has just found her new loyal eye cream as she says "This is so good at removing my dark circles and puffiness around my eyes—I'm definitely buying it again".
11. Best Eye Cream for Hydration
Dryness around the eye area can be a real Debbie downer. Not only can it feel tight and uncomfortable, but it can also prevent makeup from gliding on as smoothly. This super-hydrating eye gel sinks right in to the skin to quench parched skin with moisture while instantly plumping fine lines that often go hand-in-hand with dehydration. It works wonders for makeup application too, with one customer saying "Such a lovely refreshing eye cream for the AM, goes well under makeup too".
12. Best Eye Cream for Firming
Let me preface this by saying that no eye cream will ever compare to the effects of an in-clinic firming or lifting treatment. However, if you do want to lift and firm the area around your eyes with skincare, this is a great eye cream for restoring elasticity and firmness to the area. The results speak for themselves. I can see why it's loved by many around the world as one customer writes "I have dry sensitive skin around my eyes and found the product really moisturises without stinging or any irritation".
13. Best Eye Cream for Radiance
Charlotte Tilbury's whipped eye gel is just as magical as her Magic Cream from the same line. It gives the skin a really radiant finish and is ideal for prepping the eye area before makeup. One customer instantly became a fan, saying "A little goes a long way and after using for a few weeks, my dark circles are less evident".
14. Best Eye Cream for Lifting
Lifting the eye area is only really achievable by in-clinic aesthetic treatments. However, if you want to slow down skin ageing in this area, then this eye cream is a good fit for you. It contains peptides, which help to regenerate the eye contour and keeps the skin around the eyes sculpted. "I needed something to help my wrinkles around my eyes and I believe I found the magic cream. Loved it will definitely be buying it again highly recommend it" says one customer.
Eleanor Vousden is the beauty editor for Who What Wear UK. She was previously deputy editor at Hairdressers Journal, health writer at Woman & Home and junior beauty editor at beauty website Powder. She has also contributed to Wallpaper and Elle Collections with written and styling work.Working as a beauty journalist since 2015 after graduating in fashion journalism at the London College of Fashion, she has been highly commended at the BSME Talent Awards for her work on Powder and also contributed to the title winning Website of the Year at the PPA Awards.Eleanor’s journalistic focus is to provide readers with honest and helpful beauty content. Through words, video and live broadcast, she has interviewed several celebrity makeup artists, hairstylists and top dermatologists throughout her career, as well as celebrities such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Scarlett Johansson. She has a particular interest in finding solutions for acne and eczema, which she has experienced firsthand. She has also amassed a large collection of fragrances and can never say no to a new candle.When she’s not writing or testing the latest beauty product or treatments, she’s on the seafront in her hometown of Brighton and Hove, where she lives with her partner and her miniature dachshund.
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