Which Eye Creams Are the Best?

Editor’s Choice

I’ve been using Skinfix’s Triple Lipid-Boost 360° Eye Cream for around three years now, and I’m a big fan. The cooling sensation it provides feels amazing, especially for helping reduce puffiness, and it can be applied both on the under-eye area and the eyelids. What I love the most is how much it brightens up the area under my eyes—after using it, my eyes look much more awake, and I can definitely see a difference when I skip a day.

This eye cream is incredibly hydrating, making it perfect for use underneath makeup. I find that my concealer blends much more smoothly when I apply this cream first, and it doesn’t settle into fine lines. I’ve had issues with eye creams causing pilling before, but the Triple Lipid-Boost 360° doesn’t do that. Its texture is rich yet lightweight, offering a little touch of luxury each time I apply it.

Ideal For: Dryness, dullness, puffiness, dark circles, and fine lines | Key Ingredients: Triple lipid complex, alfalfa seed complex, saccharomyces complex | Fragrance-Free: Yes | Cruelty-Free: Yes | Formulation: Cream | Size: 0.5 ounces

Best for Reducing Dark Circles

If dark circles and overall dullness are your main concerns, then the Alpyn Instant Bright Eye Cream is exactly what you need. Key ingredients like niacinamide help brighten dark circles, while a blend of peptides works to firm the skin for a smoother look.

Reneseed, a mild plant-based alternative to retinol, targets fine lines, while chamomile provides soothing relief from irritation. The best feature, however, is the pink tint, which helps color-correct dark circles and diminish their visibility.

Perfect For: Dullness, dark circles, fine lines, and loss of firmness | Key Ingredients: Peptides, niacinamide, reneseed, chamomile | Fragrance-Free: Yes | Cruelty-Free: Yes | Formulation: Cream | Size: 0.5 ounces

Best for Brightening

For tired eyes, the Sunday Riley Auto Correct Eye Contour Cream is a go-to solution. While it’s a splurge, the results speak for themselves. With key ingredients like caffeine and Brazilian ginseng root extract, this cream helps depuff and reduce dark circles. Additionally, horse chestnut targets fine lines, while moisturizing ingredients like shea butter and cocoa butter enhance hydration, further improving the under-eye area’s appearance.

Ideal For: Dullness, fine lines, dryness | Key Ingredients: Caffeine, ginseng root extract, horse chestnut extract, watermelon extract | Fragrance-Free: Yes | Cruelty-Free: Yes | Formulation: Cream | Size: 0.5 ounces

Best for Pairing with Retinol

Retinol is one of the most powerful ingredients for anti-aging, making retinol-based eye creams ideal for targeting fine lines and wrinkles. This popular RoC eye cream includes the brand’s exclusive retinol and mineral complex to address wrinkles, puffiness, and dark circles.

Unlike most retinol eye creams, this one can be used both in the morning and at night, though it’s safer to use it in the evening to avoid sun-related irritation. Additionally, it is more affordable than many other retinol-based eye creams and is available at most drugstores.

Ideal For: Fine lines, dark circles, puffiness | Key Ingredient: Retinol | Fragrance-Free: Yes | Cruelty-Free: Yes | Formulation: Cream | Size: 0.5 ounces

Best for Reducing Puffiness

For reducing puffiness, opt for a product with a roll-on applicator. The roller ball offers a cooling sensation (especially when kept in the fridge) and can be used to massage the under-eye area, improving circulation and helping to decrease puffiness.

Innisfree’s Green Tea Caffeine Bright-Eye Serum is an excellent choice for addressing puffiness, featuring key ingredients like caffeine. Its serum consistency is lighter than typical creams, yet it still offers hydration with components like hyaluronic acid and green tea. However, this serum is not ideal for targeting fine lines or wrinkles.

Best For: Puffiness, dryness, dullness | Key Ingredients: Green tea, hyaluronic acid, caffeine, niacinamide | Fragrance-Free: Yes | Cruelty-Free: Yes | Formulation: Serum | Size: 0.34 ounces

Best for Reducing Fine Lines

While many potent anti-aging eye creams come with a hefty price tag, the Versed Smooth Landing Retinoid Eye Balm offers an affordable option. This luxurious balm includes premium ingredients like granactive retinoid, a milder form of retinol, and black currant seed oil, making it a great value.

The retinoid in this balm works to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, while nourishing ingredients like black currant seed oil and shiitake mushroom extract help replenish the delicate under-eye area. The thick, indulgent texture also helps brighten and hydrate the skin.

Best For: Fine lines, loss of firmness, dryness | Key Ingredients: Granactive retinoid, vitamin E, black currant seed oil, shiitake mushroom extract | Fragrance Free: No | Cruelty Free: Yes | Formulation: Balm | Size: 0.42 ounces

Best Drugstore

If you’re looking for an effective eye cream you can easily pick up at most drugstores, the CeraVe Skin Renewing Eye Cream is a great choice. This cream is packed with hydrating ceramides and hyaluronic acid, and includes a peptide complex that targets fine lines around the eye area.

Niacinamide and caffeine are also part of the formula, helping to reduce dark circles and making this a fantastic all-around solution for various eye concerns. While it’s a bit more expensive than other drugstore eye creams, it frequently goes on sale.

Best For: Fine lines, puffiness, dark circles | Key Ingredients: Ceramides, peptides, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, caffeine | Fragrance Free: Yes | Cruelty Free: No | Formulation: Cream | Size: 0.5 ounces

Best Firming

This powerful cream from Dermalogica is packed with essential vitamins A, C, and E, which help restore elasticity to the delicate eye area. Vitamin A, also known as retinol, is a renowned anti-aging powerhouse, while vitamin C helps diminish dullness and enhances collagen production.

By combining the power of vitamin E, an antioxidant, this formula works effectively to firm the skin around your eyes and reduce fine lines. While it's a bit pricey, the results make it a worthwhile purchase.

Best For: Loss of firmness, fine lines, dryness | Key Ingredients: Vitamins A, C, and E, red seaweed, grapeseed oil | Fragrance Free: No | Cruelty Free: Yes | Formulation: Cream | Size: 0.5 or 1 ounce

Best Lightweight

Eye serums provide a more focused treatment, making them perfect for individuals with oily skin due to their lighter texture. This affordable eye serum from Beauty of Joseon, a renowned Korean beauty brand, delivers impressive results.

Packed with retinal, a stronger version of retinol, this serum targets aging signs effectively, though it could be too intense for sensitive skin. It also includes ginseng root extract for enhanced hydration and niacinamide to reduce dark circles.

Best For: Fine lines, dark circles, puffiness | Key Ingredients: Ginseng root extract, retinal, niacinamide | Fragrance Free: Yes | Cruelty Free: Yes | Formulation: Serum | Size: 1 ounce

Ideal for Sensitive Skin

For those with extra sensitive skin, it's best to steer clear of harsher ingredients like retinol and opt for more soothing formulas that relieve irritation. Avène's Soothing Eye Contour Cream offers a fragrance-free option with a light texture that provides comfort for the delicate eye area.

Key soothing components like chamomile help reduce puffiness, while Avène's exclusive thermal spring water works to calm irritated skin. This cream excels at hydrating and calming sensitivity around the eyes, though it's not formulated to address wrinkles or fine lines.

Best For: Puffiness, dryness | Key Ingredients: Chamomile, hyaluronic acid, thermal spring water | Fragrance Free: Yes | Cruelty Free: No | Formulation: Cream | Size: 0.33 ounces

Ideal for Mature Skin

Though SkinCeuticals A.G.E. Advanced Eye Cream comes with the highest price tag on our list, it’s widely praised for its remarkable effectiveness. Dr. Yadav recommends it, noting that "it combats collagen degradation, which is responsible for the fine lines, wrinkles, discoloration, and puffiness around the eyes."

This eye cream boasts a powerful blend of scientifically advanced ingredients designed to address fine lines and loss of skin firmness, along with natural compounds that help shield against free radical damage. It also features a light-diffusing effect to brighten the under-eye area. For those with mature skin, it's a top contender.

Best For: Fine lines, puffiness, dark circles, dullness | Key Ingredients: Proxylane, wild fruit flavonoid blend, glycyrrhetinic acid, matrixyl 3000 | Fragrance Free: Yes | Cruelty Free: No | Formulation: Balm | Size: 0.5 ounces

Best for Dry Skin

For very dry skin, a rich eye cream with a thick texture is ideal. The Kiehl’s Avocado Eye Cream stands out due to its water-in-oil formula, providing lasting hydration and spreading effortlessly over dry under eyes.

The cream’s rich texture is attributed to avocado oil, which nourishes and softens the skin, helping to boost collagen production. It also contains beta-carotene, a potent antioxidant that brightens and protects the skin, and sodium PCA, a humectant that locks moisture in.

Best For: Dryness, dullness | Key Ingredients: Avocado oil, beta-carotene, sodium PCA | Fragrance Free: Yes | Cruelty Free: No | Formulation: Cream | Size: 0.5 or 0.95 ounces

Best Eco-Friendly

Eye creams with refillable packaging are an excellent choice if you prioritize sustainability. The Dieux Auracle Eye Serum stands out for its refillable design—once the product is finished, you can replace the refill and recycle the aluminum container.

This product features a light, gel-serum texture and is specially designed for sensitive skin. It combines hydrating glycerin with an algae complex and peptides to enhance skin texture and firmness.

Best For: Fine lines, puffiness, dark circles, dryness | Key Ingredients: Glycerin, algae complex, peptides | Fragrance Free: No | Cruelty Free: Yes | Formulation: Serum | Size: 0.68 ounces

Best Retinol Alternative

Retinol is a potent anti-aging ingredient, but it can sometimes be too strong for sensitive skin. If you're seeking the benefits of retinol without the irritation, consider looking for a milder alternative like bakuchiol. This plant-based compound can help minimize fine lines and wrinkles while enhancing skin elasticity.

For a great bakuchiol-based eye cream, we suggest the SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Probio-Cica Bakuchiol Eye Cream. This Korean skincare product also features Centella Asiatica extract, a soothing ingredient that calms the skin, and hyaluronic acid for added hydration. The included applicator ensures smooth and efficient application.

Ideal For: Fine lines, dryness | Main Ingredients: Centella Asiatica extract, bakuchiol | Fragrance-Free: Yes | Cruelty-Free: Yes | Formulation: Cream | Size: 0.68 ounces

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, the best eye cream for your needs depends on your skin type and the concerns you wish to address. I recommend the Skinfix Triple Lipid-Boost 360° Eye Cream, as it addresses multiple skin issues such as fine lines, dark circles, puffiness, and dullness. This versatile product can be used twice daily for all skin types and delivers much-needed hydration to tired, dry eyes.

How to Choose the Right Eye Cream

Key Ingredients

The ideal ingredients for an eye cream depend on your skin type and the specific concerns you aim to address.

• For wrinkles, seek out ingredients that enhance collagen production, hydrate the skin, and plump up fine lines. Some common anti-aging ingredients to consider are retinol, peptides, and hyaluronic acid.
• To tackle dark circles, choose ingredients that reduce puffiness, brighten the skin, and promote circulation. Caffeine is a popular choice for improving circulation, while vitamin C can help firm the skin and reduce discoloration. Other beneficial ingredients for dark circles include Vitamin K and niacinamide.
• For puffiness, eye bags, and general irritation, look for soothing ingredients such as green tea extract, chamomile, and aloe vera. Dr. Yadav explains that green tea also helps protect the skin from free radical damage. Caffeine works well here too, as it constricts blood vessels around the eyes to reduce swelling.
• For dryness, Dr. Yadav suggests seeking out hydrating and nourishing ingredients similar to those in moisturizers, such as hyaluronic acid, glycerin, squalane, and ceramides, which are essential in an eye cream as well.

Skin Type

Although eye cream is applied to a small area of the face, it's still crucial to consider your skin type when selecting one. For dry skin, opt for thick, rich creams that provide both moisture and help retain it. This is also a good choice for mature skin, as rich creams that deliver intense hydration are best for addressing fine lines.

If you have oily skin, choose lighter creams or gels that contain non-comedogenic ingredients that won’t clog pores. Dr. Yadav recommends opting for a formula with a texture more like a serum if you're prone to milia. Heavier creams tend to congest the skin and can trigger the formation of milia, especially for those with oily skin.

For sensitive skin, look for fragrance-free formulas that feature soothing ingredients, as these are less likely to cause irritation or redness. Avoid strong ingredients like retinol—instead, opt for gentler retinol alternatives such as bakuchiol. Be sure to look for certifications like the National Eczema Association's Seal of Acceptance to ensure the product is suitable for sensitive skin.

Eye Cream Formulas

Popular formulations of eye creams include creams, gels, and serums. Creams are thick and nourishing, making them ideal for dry or mature skin in need of hydration. Gels are lighter and absorb quickly, which makes them perfect for oily or acne-prone skin. Additionally, they offer a refreshing sensation that can help alleviate puffiness. Serums are even more lightweight and absorb rapidly, making them suitable for specific, targeted treatments.

Although most eye creams are applied manually, roll-on applicators have gained popularity. These are typically used with gels and serums and are especially effective in addressing puffiness and dark circles. The roller provides a cooling effect, and when used for gentle massage, it can enhance circulation around the eyes.

Common Questions

Where does eye cream fit into your skincare routine?

Eye cream should be one of the final steps in your skincare routine, whether it’s morning or night. During the day, apply it after your moisturizer and before sunscreen. At night, it should be applied after your moisturizer or night cream. If you practice slugging in the evening, apply the eye cream before slugging.

Do you need different eye creams for daytime and nighttime?

You don’t need separate creams, though it could be beneficial, says Dr. Yadav. “For the daytime, opt for a lightweight eye cream or serum that won’t feel heavy on the skin and will likely pair well with concealer or makeup. For nighttime, use a richer cream that provides additional nourishment while the skin is in its repair phase.”

Hear From Us

This article was crafted by Nicole Lund, a seasoned writer and editor, most recently serving as the shopping editorial director at Mytour and Southern Living. With over six years of experience researching and testing top products, including eye creams, Nicole conducted extensive research on the best options available, considering formulation, ingredients, and overall value. She also consulted with Dr. Geeta Yadav, a board-certified dermatologist and the founder of Facet Dermatology in Toronto, for expert insights.