There aren’t many things that are quite as important as having one of the best eye creams by your side. After all, they deserve to be a part of your daily skincare routine just as much as your favourite moisturiser or face serum.
Why, you ask? The skin surrounding our eyes is considerably thinner than anywhere else on our face. It’s also closest to our blood vessels, so it only makes sense that your under-eye area would require something a bit more gentle than the average lotion so as not to cause any irritation.
Your under-eyes are also “more prone to sagging and to the darkening of the skin,” says Dr Michael Detmar, dermatologist and co-founder of IRÄYE Skincare. “Since there are no sebaceous glands, the skin around our eyes is also considered drier and it is easily stressed because contains a large number of lymphatic vessels,” he adds. And that’s the exact reason why you should start taking care of it as early as possible. After all, it’s also about time that we, once and for all, drop the myth about eye creams only being beneficial for mature skin.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: Is an eye cream necessary? | Why do you need a separate eye cream? | How to apply eye cream | What ingredients should we look for in our eye cream? | Our full reviews.
Best eye creams at a glance 2024:
- Best eye cream overall: Medik8 Crystal Retinal Ceramide Eye
- Best for fine lines: Clinique All About Eyes Eye Cream Rich
- Best for puffy eyes: The INKEY List Caffeine Eye Cream
- Best for instant firming results: Peter Thomas Roth Instant FirmX Eye
- Best for dark circles: Ole Henriksen Banana Bright + Eye Crème
- Best for lifting: Murad Retinal ReSculpt Eye Lift Treatment
Medik8 Crystal Retinal Ceramide Eye
Clinique All About Eyes Eye Cream Rich
The INKEY List Caffeine Eye Cream
Ole Henriksen Banana Bright + Eye Crème
So whether you’re after a de-puffing, brightening or a firming formula to take care of puffiness, dark circles, fine lines and wrinkles – no need to worry, we’ve got you sorted. Here, we’ve put together a neat list of all the nourishing and skin-barrier-friendly eye creams for every skin type, based on our personal top picks, our own first-hand experience and dermatologist recommendations from brands like Medik8, Clinique, CeraVe and more.
Check out all the best eye creams, as reviewed by our beauty editors…
Best eye cream overallMedik8 Crystal Retinal Ceramide EyeWhy we love it: There’s nothing quite like Medik8. The Crystal Retinal Ceramide Eye cream is a personal favourite of mine – it’s formulated with a healthy helping of clinical-strength retinaldehyde (a type of retinoid), along with a blend of ceramides and hyaluronic acid. All-in-all, it’s a great solution for reducing the appearance of wrinkles, crow’s feet and fine lines while depuffing and hydrating the delicate eye area.£42 AT MEDIK8
Best eye cream for sensitive skinKiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment with AvocadoWhy we love it: A creamy concoction that’s almost good enough to eat (don’t though…). I’m a big fan of this eye lotion – it’s made with avocado oil, which helps it moisturise, brighten and smoothen out your delicate under-eye skin. On top of being suitable for all skin types (including sensitive skin), it’s also a very versatile formulation that’s designed to address multiple skin concerns at once. Puffy eyes who?£47£37.60 AT LOOKFANTASTIC£47£37.60 AT KIEHL’S
Best eye cream for fine linesClinique All About Eyes Eye Cream RichWhy we love it: Infused with key ingredients such as mulberry root extract and green tea leaf extract, this botanical eye cream is designed to protect your complexion from free radicals. It’s also boosted with antioxidants and a bit of caffeine to help reduce the appearance of puffiness, dark circles and fine lines, as well as kickstart your natural collagen production for brighter-looking eyes. Seriously good.Enjoy exclusive offers when shopping for the best eye creams using these LookFantastic discount codes.£35£29.75 AT LOOKFANTASTIC£35£29.75 AT BOOTS
Best eye cream for instant resultsPeter Thomas Roth Instant FirmX EyeWhy we love it: Looking to depuff your eyes with near-instant results? Say no more. This lightweight formula comes with a patented technology that lifts and firms the appearance of skin by reducing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. Perfect for times when you need a quick-fix solution to tired eyes.£32 AT LOOKFANTASTIC£26.23£20.49 AT AMAZON
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Best lifting eye creamMurad Retinal ReSculpt Eye Lift TreatmentWhy we love it: Infused with retinal as well as gentian root extract and oat sugar extract that help amplify its benefits, this lifting eye cream is incredibly effective while still remaining gentle on the under-eye area. Exactly what you need for a more lifted, firmer and tightened appearance.£92 AT MURAD
Best eye cream for puffy under-eyesThe INKEY List Caffeine Eye CreamWhy we love it: Regardless of whether or no, we can all readily agree that just under £10 for an eye cream is an absolute steal. Powered by caffeine as an active ingredient, this affordable product helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and dark circles, giving you a much more even skin tone. Plus, it’s small and portable, meaning you’re free to pop it in your purse to help protect your delicate skin from environmental aggressors such as big-city London pollution.Enjoy exclusive offers when shopping for the best eye creams using these LookFantastic discount codes.£9.99 AT LOOKFANTASTIC£9.99 AT BOOTS
Best eye cream for dark circlesOle Henriksen Banana Bright + Eye CrèmeWhy we love it: Exclusive to Boots, this brightening eye cream from Ole Henriksen features light-reflecting pigments that colour-correct and revive tired-looking eyes. It’s crease-resistant and concealer-friendly too, on top of being fuelled by skincare-loving ingredients such as vitamin C and orange extract.Save when you shop for the best eye creams with these Boots discount codes.£37£27.75 AT BOOTS£38 AT SEPHORA
Best eye cream for over 50sSkinCeuticals A.G.E. Interrupter Eye ComplexWhy we love it: This advanced eye cream from SkinCeuticals is powered by a potent blend of proxylane, peptides and a new glycyrrhetnic acid that diminish the appearance of unwanted fine line and dark circles. Incredibly effective and has a pleasantly rich gel-cream texture that melts into your skin with each application.£105 AT LOOKFANTASTIC£105 AT SKINCEUTICALS
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Best eye serum for dry skinL’Oréal Paris 2.5% Hyaluronic Acid Eye SerumWhy we love it: Sure, although this serum technically isn’t an eye cream, it certainly does the job if you’re looking for a more cooling and liquid texture to treat your under-eye area. This item comes with a metal applicator that helps gently massage the product into your dehydrated skin to help reduce any unwanted puffiness with ease.£24.99 AT LOOKFANTASTIC£24.99£17.50 AT AMAZON
Best eye cream with retinolElizabeth Arden Retinol Ceramide Line Erasing Eye CreamWhy we love it: This multi-tasking eye cream helps your under-eye area look as youthful as ever by targeting any and all fine lines, crow’s feet and dark circles. It achieves this thanks to a formula that’s filled to the brim with retinol, ceramides and niacinamide, which work in tandem to brighten and smoothen your skin.£52£41.60 AT LOOKFANTASTIC
Best brightening eye cream111Skin Space Defence Bright Eye Lift Gel NAC Y2Why we love it: Made by 111Skin, a brand beloved by celebrities and beauty experts alike, this innovative eye cream comes with a brightening formula that will blow your mind. It has the texture of a cooling gel, which makes it incredibly pleasant to use. It’s also very effective when it comes to combatting dullness and reducing the appearance of dark circles, puffiness, fine lines and wrinkles.£140 AT CULT BEAUTY£128 AT AMAZON
Best eye cream for wearing under makeupBobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Eye BaseWhy we love it: Perfect for applying before makeup, this hydrating eye cream plumps and smooths the delicate eye area, nourishing it with sodium hyaluronate and shea butter. The result? No creasing or dryness, which helps this eye balm prime your skin to maximise concealer application, allowing your whole look to last longer.Enjoy up to 50% off when shopping for the best eye creams with these LookFantastic discount codes.£41 AT LOOKFANTASTIC£34.85 AT JOHN LEWIS
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Best eye cream for wrinklesDr Dennis Gross Advanced Retinol + Ferulic Triple Correction Eye SerumWhy we love it: The gold standard in firming, this 3-in-1 eye cream is packed with wrinkle-smoothing retinol, a substance derived from vitamin A that works wonders on fine lines by firming your skin. After all, the doc would know – he treats the great and good of Hollywood and his products are as close as we’ll get to his clinic from home.
Save big when you shop for the best eye creams with these Cult Beauty discount codes.£72 AT CULT BEAUTY£72 AT SPACE NK
Best hydrating eye serumLa Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Eye SerumWhy we love it: You won’t find any unnecessary filler ingredients in this product. This fragrance-free serum from La Roche-Posay contains vitamin B5 and hyaluronic acid to plump, hydrate and ward off wrinkles. Plus, it’s great for sensitive skin, and melts into the under-eye to support natural cell renewal in a very soothing and gentle way.£33 AT BOOTS£22.99£18.95 AT AMAZON
Best firming eye creamShiseido Exclusive Ultimune Eye Power Infusing Eye ConcentrateWhy we love it: This eye cream is able to restore and strengthen the delicate skin around the eyes to improve firmness, reduce puffiness and improve the appearance of lines and dark circles. Pricey, but well worth adding to your wishlist. If you’re shopping around the holidays, then keep a look out – Shiseido often includes it as part of their bestselling skincare gift sets.Enjoy more savings when shopping for the best eye creams with these LookFantastic discount codes.£52 AT LOOKFANTASTIC£52£41.60 AT BOOTS
Is eye cream really necessary for the skin?Meet the experts:- Dr Michael Detmar, dermatologist and co-founder of IRÄYE Skincare
- Dr Dendy Engelman, skincare specialist and consulting dermatologist at Elizabeth Arden
- Kate Kerr, clinical facialist
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What does eye cream do?“The thin skin around the eyes is the first to show signs of ageing, but if you induce collagen and elastin formation in thin skin, it very much translates clinically,” says Dr Dendy. However, thin skin can mean regular skincare products such as moisturisers can be too irritating. “We have to make sure that the cream is formulated for the eye area so that it’s not too irritating,” she adds.It’s not just the density of our skin, that’s different. “There are fewer sebaceous glands around the eye area than in oilier areas like the T-zone,” says Dr Dendy. “Less oil means increased risk of wrinkling so I think you absolutely need the separate step of an eye cream to nourish,” she says.
How do I apply eye cream?As well as under the eyes, Dr Dendy recommends going up on the brow bone and down to the crease. As for where to avoid? “If you put eye cream on your lash line, it’s going to transfer through into your eye while you sleep, which is irritating and then you’ll rub and scratch it,” says Dr Dendy.
What ingredients are best in an eye cream?If you do decide to incorporate an eye cream into your skincare routine, there’s a wide variety of ingredients that can be called upon to tackle eye-related concerns like appearance of dark circles, crow’s feet, lack of elasticity, dry skin and puffiness.Most skincare experts and dermatologists advise that the most common ingredients to look out for are hyaluronic acid (great for hydrating and nourishing tired eyes), vitamin C, which is a champion for brightening skin and diminishing pigmentation and dark circles, ceramides to plump skin, vitamin E, aloe vera, squalane and glycerin. They all work to give your under-eyes the proper TLC that they deserve.The best caffeine eye creams are also great for reducing puffiness, while the best retinol eye creams are good for anti-ageing.Speaking of retinol, clinical facialist Kate Kerr explains that “a retinol eye cream is necessary to help stabilise melanocytes [the cells that create pigment in skin] in order to prevent hyperpigmentation. It also thickens the dermis [which can mean veins appear less prominent], improves texture, smooths lines and wrinkles and hides purple skin tones.”Feeling inspired to upgrade your skincare routine? Shop the best moisturiser for dry skin, best moisturiser for combination skin, and the best moisturiser for oily skin. We can also help you pick the best face masks, sleep masks and eye masks, sunscreens and face SPFs, anti-ageing creams, face cleansers, hyaluronic acid serum and vitamin C serums.For more shoppable beauty content from Glamour UK Commerce Writer Denise Primbet, follow her on Twitter @deniseprimbet and Instagram @deniseprimbet.