The best eye creams for banishing dark circles and puffiness
Tired of looking tired? Keep eyes bright and youthful with these hydrating, firming and anti-ageing eye creams
Did you know that the skin surrounding the eyes is one of the most sensitive parts of the body? Feeling tired or stressed? Spot the puffiness and dark bags under your eyes. Dehydrated skin or poor diet? See the lack of moisture and rougher texture around your peepers. The eye area is also one of the first to visibly show ageing – with common signs ranging from fine lines and loss of firmness to wrinkles and crow’s feet. But don’t despair – there’s a plethora of great eye creams out there that have got your back (well, face).
What makes a good eye cream?
Like all skincare products, we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to the best eye creams, and it can be difficult to cut through the noise to find the right one. Whether it’s a cream, gel or serum, a helpful place to start is to look at the ingredients.
Hyaluronic acid is a common active in eye cream formulas due to its hydrating properties; it improves the skin’s texture and smoothness, making it plumper while reducing fine lines. Vitamin C is also a popular ingredient, packed with antioxidants to promote fresh cell growth and brighten the skin around the eyes. Then there are peptides, retinoids and retinol, which all boost collagen production, regenerating the skin and minimising signs of ageing, while caffeine is often included to reduce inflammation, re-energising the skin for a vibrant and de-puffed appearance.
How to apply eye cream
As the skin around our eyes is so delicate, it’s paramount to apply eye cream carefully to prevent damage. No rubbing, tugging or pulling haphazardly – instead, gently pat the product onto the skin and use your fingertips to lightly massage it in and making sure it is fully absorbed. Apply daily and focus on the skin underneath your eyes, the orbital bone (the bony bit around your eyes) and contours. And don’t be fooled – a little amount will work wonders (a pea-sized amount should be more than enough to cover both eyes).
When to start using eye cream
There is no right or wrong time to start using eye cream. Typically, signs of ageing gradually become more noticeable from our 30s onwards but that’s not to say you won’t benefit from getting into the habit before this age. More important than age is keeping tabs on what your skin needs as this will change over time. Is the eye area looking darker, drier or puffier than usual? Tailor the actives in your eye cream accordingly.
Whether you’re looking to simply freshen up the eyes and reawaken your skin or hoping to reap the age-reversing benefits, here’s our edit of the best eye creams to buy now.
Best all-rounder: La Mer The Eye Concentrate
You heard it here first – this is worth the investment. La Mer strikes again with its iconic Miracle Broth – a sea kelp which undergoes three to four months of fermentation to extract its natural nutrients and forms the basis for all of La Mer’s hugely successful products. A concentrated form of this renewing Miracle Broth is in the brand’s eye cream, helping to eliminate dark circles, fine lines and wrinkles while smoothing and brightening the skin.
Other active ingredients include a lime tea complex – the goodness extracted from the outer peel of the citrus fruit – which contains antioxidants to support the skin’s natural collagen production and improve firmness, encouraging a youthful glow. There’s also Clarity Ferment in the formula – made using fresh kelp from the waters of Jeju Island in South Korea – revitalising and strengthening the skin around the eyes.
Lightweight and fast-absorbing, this eye cream is a welcome treat for the skin, and best used twice daily. Top tip: pop the applicator provided into the fridge beforehand for the ultimate cooling, hydrating experience.
Best eye cream for dark circles: Dermalogica Biolumin-C eye serum
Illuminate tired-looking eyes with Dermalogica’s hydrating eye cream, ideal for everyday use. Apply under the eyes morning and evening to restore a healthy, luminous appearance thanks to the serum’s highly bioavailable vitamin C complex. Also containing Arjun tree extract (full of antioxidants) and omega-rich chia seed oil to help reduce dark spots, wake up to firm skin and a smoother complexion.
The lightweight texture is easily absorbed meaning no greasy residue is left behind – perfect for under make-up. Eye bags and puffiness be gone – this is the go-to for quick results.
Best nourishing eye cream: Kiehl’s Creamy eye treatment
Avocado fiends rejoice! Kiehl’s best-selling eye cream is packed with superfood goodness to create a rich and creamy formula that your skin will love. The 99 per cent natural blend combines amino and vitamin-rich avocado oil with shea butter to deeply hydrate and restore skin, as well as caffeine to instantly energise dull, sleepy eyes. Say goodbye to dark, puffy bags and hello to brighter, smoother-looking skin. Kiehl’s eye cream can be used day or night on all skin types and can also double up as an under-eye mask – simply leave on for 10 minutes before wiping away any excess residue and welcoming glimmering skin.
Best anti-aging eye cream: 111Skin Black Diamond eye cream
If you’re dreaming of younger-looking skin, this one is definitely worth splashing the cash on. 111Skin brings the very best in skincare know-how to the table with a formula that is potent but gentle, nourishing but lightweight, and where a little goes a long way. Target dark circles lurking under your eyes with this peptide-powered eye treatment, enhanced with the brand’s exclusive Black Diamond Technology, designed to specifically combat signs of ageing.
The collagen-boosting plant extracts in the formula also stimulate cell regeneration to counteract signs of ageing (we’re talking unwanted sagging and fine lines) while firming, sculpting and freshening the skin for a radiant result. Apply in the mornings and evenings after cleansing for consistent results.
Best eye cream for sensitive skin: La Roche-Posay Hydraphase Hyaluronic Acid eye cream
If you have super-sensitive skin, this eye cream’s hypoallergenic formula is for you. A hydrating gel enriched with hyaluronic acid, caffeine, glycerin and La Roche-Posay thermal spring water, it promises to soothe and refresh dehydrated skin. For the TLC your skin is craving, this combination of ingredients target signs of fatigue and visible stressors, revitalising the skin for a plumped, radiant complexion. It’s also non-comedogenic, so it won’t block your pores – win-win. Use after cleansing and moisturising for super-supple skin.
Best eye cream for under makeup: Summer Fridays Light Aura Vitamin C + Peptide eye cream
It had us at the name Summer Fridays, but if that isn’t quite enough for you, perhaps the eye cream inside this pot will be enough to convince. A lightweight formula of vitamins and peptides, this is the cream to turn to for rehydrating and re-energising fragile skin around the eyes. Vitamin C helps support the skin’s natural collagen production (with the added benefit of antioxidant properties) while vitamin E soothes dried-out areas – meaning your overall skin health is guaranteed to improve and be left refreshed and radiant. The peptides will firm and plump the skin too, while caffeine combats dark circles and bags for a brighter, more youthful appearance.
Best eye cream for fine lines: Lancôme Absolue eye cream
Lancôme’s latest innovation is one to look out for if anti-ageing is a must-have in your skincare routine. The new Absolue eye cream is inspired by nature and powered by advanced T12 Biotech Pearl and pro-xylane. This creamy formula works to smooth and firm the skin around the delicate eye area, which is prone to showing ageing lines, and contains Absolue perpetual rose molecular fractions to encourage cell renewal for healthier, rejuvenated skin. No wonder it’s a best-seller. Use daily as part of your skincare regime after cleansing and toning.
Best firming eye cream: Shiseido Uplifting and firming eye cream
Like to see visible improvements quickly? Shiseido’s moisturising eye cream will do just that. Apply to a cleansed face mornings and evenings and watch (and feel) your skin wake up, becoming brighter, firmer and smoother, while combatting signs of ageing. A restorative cream, it’s formulated with ReNura Technology++ to tighten the skin, reduce sagging, bags or wrinkles around the eyes and provide a refreshing and awakening effect. It also has retinol and Matsu-ProSculpt Complex (containing pine extract and coix seed extract) to control the skin’s water balance, and strengthen and tone the surrounding eye area. A skincare staple, day and night.
Best awakening eye cream: Dior Prestige Le Concentre Yeux
Indulge in Dior’s best-selling eye cream and slow down the visible effects of ageing in an instant. Infused with rosapeptide and yeast extract, the thick, nourishing formula will not only help reduce signs of fatigue but will also work to bring back definition to the skin around the eye, lifting the upper eye contour, smoothing out fine lines, brightening dark circles and reducing puffiness (it’s a real multitasker).
Using the applicator included, roll under the eyes twice a day to rejuvenate skin, leaving you looking wide awake and with a subtle glow. The cream is thick yet lightweight, non-greasy (and absorbed quickly by the skin), and the jar is refillable for sustainability.
Best overnight eye cream: Medik8 Crystal Retinal Ceramide eye cream
Medik8’s all-in-one eye cream brings the perfect balance of deeply moisturising and revitalising. Its main ingredient, retinaldehyde (retinal for short), is a potent form of vitamin A which effectively targets and visibly reduces the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and uneven skin texture around the eye, leaving skin smooth, plumped and totally radiant. Proven to work 11 times faster than classic retinol, it’s a real TLC package for your skin.
Medik8’s formula also includes twin-encapsulation technology for an ultra-slow release (providing gentle but powerful effects) and is available in three different strengths – start low and slowly build up to see progressive results that become more evident over time.
The lightweight formula is kind to sensitive skin, featuring chamomile extract, a natural antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties to calm and soothe; apply in the evening and sleep well, dreaming of brighter, younger-looking skin.
