12 Best Eye Creams for Every Concern

Caring for the skin around the eyes is a delicate process. Not only does it tend to be the first place to show signs of aging because it’s thinner, but it’s also more sensitive than the rest of the skin. Therefore, extra care needs to be considered when choosing an eye cream for this delicate area. Best eye creams? We’re glad you asked.

The skin around the eyes is approximately ten times thinner than the skin on the face. As we age, skin loses its elasticity and thins due to collagen breakdown, which can be further exacerbated by smoking and environmental aggressors.

Not to worry. Budget eye creams, cult favorites, and even luxury splurges can hydrate and protect the fragile eye area. Dermatologist-recommended eye cream? We’ve got you covered there, too. Also, it’s a misconception that you need a specific eye cream for women and men. It’s what’s inside the packaging that counts.

Don’t have time to sift through all of the best eye creams to find the right one? We’ve done your homework for you. Here at Derm Review, we’ve reviewed hundreds of products with a scientific lens to ensure you’re creating a skincare regimen that’s safe and effective. Ahead, 12  best eye creams to help you fight the signs of age that plague the thin, delicate skin around the orbital area.

Best Eye Creams: The List

BEST OVERALL

BEST: Carrot & Stick: The Eye Cream, $70

Best bet. The Carrot & Stick skincare bundle worth up to $240 for $88. Select 3 products, including our favorite Carrot & Stick: The Eye Cream. Use code DERM20 for 20% off. Offer applies to first shipment.

FULL LIST

Carrot & Stick The Eye Serum, $70

Formulyst Anti-Aging Eye Cream, $85

Origins GinZing Eye Cream, $34

Murad Essential-C Eye Cream SPF 15 PA++, $70

Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Intensive Eye Contour Cream, $64

Drunk Elephant C Tango Multivitamin Eye Cream, $64

StriVectin Peptight 360° Tightening Eye Serum, $69

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Complex, $64

Skinceuticals Eye Balm, $82

How to Choose the Best Under-Eye Cream for You

Changes to the skin around the eyes can have cosmetic and psychological ramifications — especially since the eyes are the focal point of the face.  

However, proper care — including using an eye cream — can provide long-term benefits. Here’s what to look for when shopping for the best eye creams.

Skin Concerns

The top under-eye skin concerns are  wrinkles, puffiness, dark circles, and loss of firmness. Start by identifying which bothers you the most — you may even have a combination of these woes. In this case, you may want to use a different eye cream for day and night. 

For example, choose a lighter gel formulated with caffeine to combat morning puffiness and a thicker cream with retinol to target wrinkles while you sleep.

Skin Type

The eyes have fewer sebaceous (oil) glands than other areas of the face, which is why it’s vital to apply moisture. However, you need to select the correct weight and texture, just as you would when choosing a moisturizer for your face. So, gels and light creams for normal to oily skin and mid-weight and heavy creams for dry and mature skin types.

Climate

Be it a change in seasons, the area of the country (or world) you’re living in, or simply taking a vacation to a different climate, you may find the need to adjust the formula you’re currently using because it’s too light or too heavy. 

Your Age

As with any skincare product, you’ll have to adjust the formula over time to address the current — and new — signs of age. For example: 

• 20s: You may not be thinking about aging too much (yet), so look for a formula with ingredients like caffeine, vitamin K, and antioxidants to address puffiness and dark circles (those late nights!) and the first signs of fine lines. 
• 30s: In your 30s, initial bone loss can occur, and you produce less collagen, leading to a loss of tone and elasticity. It’s time to introduce anti-aging ingredients such as retinol, hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, and niacinamide. 
• 40s: Fine lines and crow’s feet become more prominent, and your skin starts to lose even more elasticity, and consequently, moisture. All of the ingredients mentioned above still apply. Still, you may want to up the strength of retinol and add in a few more anti-aging fighters like coenzyme Q10 (and other peptides), glycerin, ceramides, and vitamin E. 
• 50s: Deeper wrinkles and more pronounced bags and dark circles characterize under-eyes in your 50s. While all of the ingredients noted above still apply, retinol is perhaps the best eye cream ingredient you can use as it addresses all three concerns, along with texture and tone. If dryness is a significant concern, plant oils and butters can provide additional moisture.

Best Eye Creams

Best Eye Cream Overall

While it’s impossible to choose just one cream to be deemed as “the best” (even with the categories below), at the Derm Review, the best means a product that’s formulated with a mix of safe synthetics and evidence ingredients and is void of harmful chemicals — like the “toxic twelve.” The best is also suitable for most skin types and doesn’t test on animals.

BEST OVERALL

BEST: Carrot & Stick: The Eye Cream, $70
This revolutionary treatment uses highly effective botanical extracts to reduce signs of stress and fatigue, including eye bags and dark circles. The Persian silk tree (Albizia julibrissin) has an anti-glycation effect that helps delicate skin around the lids feel tighter. St. Paul’s wort (Sigesbeckia Orientalis) boosts the appearance of collagen and elastin, restoring vitality. 

FULL LIST

Carrot & Stick The Eye Serum, $70
A blend of advanced peptides reduces the look of discoloration and rich moisturizers combat dryness. Crow’s feet are smoothed, puffiness is reduced and skin is visibly lifted and brightened with every application.

Formulyst Anti-Aging Eye Cream, $85
A breakthrough anti-aging treatment specifically developed to target the delicate skin around your eyes, Formulyst’s Anti-Aging Eye Cream blurs away dark circles, puffiness, and even stubborn crow’s feet.

Formulated with clarifying concentrate and moisture-rich complexes that stimulate, strengthen and hydrate, this lightweight formula delivers five anti-aging actions in one. It’s enriched with hyaluronic acid to help restore your skin’s natural suppleness and elasticity while visibly smoothing away wrinkles. This advanced eye treatment leaves skin feeling smoother and tighter and dramatically reduces the appearance of dark circles, fine lines, and puffiness.

Origins GinZing Eye Cream, $34
This soothing, refreshing formula harnesses the power of caffeine to help depuff swollen eyes. The caffeine comes from Ethiopian coffee, as well as green tea leaf extract. Other vital ingredients include ginseng root extract and magnolia extract to condition skin for a softer look that helps reduce the appearance of eye wrinkles. 

Murad Essential-C Eye Cream SPF 15 PA++, $70
While most skincare experts suggest you apply a retinol-based eye cream at night (more on that in a bit), this formula contains an SPF to protect against the skin-damaging effects of harmful UVA/UVB rays. Along with providing protection, retinol reduces the signs of aging, caffeine banishes puffiness, and avocado oil and shorea stenoptera butter deeply hydrate.

Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Intensive Eye Contour Cream, $64
This anti-aging eye cream addresses multiple eye wrinkles, including crow’s feet, under-eye wrinkles, corner creases, and lid creases. 

Key ingredients include green and brown algae, turmeric extract, aqua peptides, and the brand’s proprietary KOMBU-Bounce Complex to help address the causes of wrinkle formation while serving as a natural wrinkle inner-filler. This potent, newly reformulated, anti-wrinkle eye cream reveals visible results in as little as one week.

Drunk Elephant C Tango Multivitamin Eye Cream, $64
The brand developed this famous cream to brighten hyperpigmented skin around the eyes while moisturizing at the same time. It features a combination of eight peptides, five forms of vitamins C, vitamin E, superoxide dismutase, ubiquinone, and several more antioxidants. These ingredients work together to promote brighter, firmer, stronger-looking skin around the eye area.

StriVectin Peptight 360° Tightening Eye Serum, $69
Thanks to a cooling applicator, this lightweight serum visibly tightens and firms the entire eye area while providing instant depuffing effects. StriVectin’s number one selling eye serum has been clinically proven to improve firmness, elasticity, fine lines, wrinkles, under-eye bags, and puffiness, so it’s genuinely an all-encompassing treatment product.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Complex, $64
This cult eye cream is truly all that it’s cracked up to be. It’s formulated with 10X “concentrated repair technology” to restore the adverse effects of a lack of sleep, UV rays, and pollution. It’s been clinically proven to reduce dark circles’ appearance in just three weeks and keeps the eye area hydrated for 24 hours, thanks to a hydration booster. Caffeine reduces puffiness to boot. 

Skinceuticals Eye Balm, $82
This anti-wrinkle eye cream is designed specifically for mature skin. It’s formulated for dry aging skin and features a synergistic combination of powerful yet gentle plant-based ingredients to nourish and smooth skin around the eye. 

This rich, hydrating crème explicitly targets three prime visible signs of aging — moisture loss, skin laxity, and free radical damage — as well as puffiness, fine lines, and wrinkles.

Eye Cream: The Bottom Line

What is the Best Eye Cream? Overall, we suggest, Carrot & Stick The Eye Cream. 

While it’s impossible to choose just one cream to be deemed as “the best,” at the Derm Review, the best means a product that’s formulated with a mix of safe synthetics and evidence ingredients and is void of harmful chemicals. 

A revolutionary treatment that uses highly effective botanical extracts to reduce signs of stress and fatigue, including eye bags and dark circles.

When shopping for an eye cream, consider your skin type, under-eye concerns, age, and the climate where you live — or are traveling to. Remember, being more expensive doesn’t necessarily mean better. It’s the quality and strength of ingredients that truly matters. 

What’s the best eye cream, in your opinion? Let us know in the comments below!

Best bet. The Carrot & Stick skincare bundle worth up to $240 for $88. Select 3 products, including our favorite Carrot & Stick: The Eye Cream. Use code DERM20 for 20% off. Offer applies to first shipment.

FAQs

Should you use a different eye cream for day and night?

At what age should I start using eye cream?

How often should I apply eye cream?

Should I apply eye cream before or after moisturizer?

Does eye cream help with dark circles?

Is hyaluronic acid safe for eyes?

How can I plump under eyes?

What’s the difference between best eye creams and the worst?

How to Apply an Eye Cream?

What are some tips for keeping skin around the eyes healthy?

Sources:
Evaluation of the Clinical Efficacy and Safety of an Eye Counter Pad,” National Library of Medicine National Center for Biology.
“Is it True That Smoking Causes Wrinkles?,” Mayo Clinic.
“The Top Twelve Toxic Chemicals in Cosmetics,” EWG.