Beauty Tips & Inspiration

The best eye creams for exhausted undereyes

Buying guide: the best eye creams for exhausted under-eyes
Gilly Ferguson
Gilly Ferguson,-Contributing Editor

Dark circles? Crow’s feet? Puffiness? No problem! How to soothe tired eyes, stat

Do you really need to use an eye cream? It’s one of my most FAQs – and something that dermatologists remain divided on.

Why? Many daily moisturisers will work effectively on your undereyes and yet – here’s the rub – the skin around our eyes is 10 times thinner than anywhere else on the face, so if your go-to AM/PM moisturiser contains higher concentrations of active ingredients (and it probably does), then it’s most likely too harsh for the delicate eye area. 

Eye creams are specifically formulated to better target skin around the eyelid and undereye, skin that’s more vulnerable to premature ageing. Sure, genetics play their part, but when we’re stressed or sleep starved, the right eye cream can leave your undereyes looking and feeling brighter, fresher and more *awake*. 

How to choose an eye cream

1. Pick your ingredient(s)

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Caffeine to de-puff

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Peptides to plump

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Vitamin C to tackle dark circles

2. Pick a formulation

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Gel or serum – to refresh tired eyes, for normal/oily skin

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Lotion or cream – to nourish and replenish normal/dry skin

3. How much and how often?

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Pea-sized amount AM/PM

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Tap product in with your ring finger or with a puff-reducing rollerball (kept in the fridge to s–o–o–t–h–e)

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Do boost your periorbital circulation (massage, massage, massage)

To brighten dark circles

With five-star ratings in the bag, Murad’s vitamin C eye serum helps to target multiple types of dark circles – in as little as two weeks. ‘Most vitamin C loses potency or is hard for skin to absorb,’ says Dr Murad, MD. ‘Gold-stabilised Vita-C complex is highly stable, bioavailable and preserves efficacy for full-strength results every time.’ IMHO? It puts the sparkle back into skin.

To ‘lift’ saggy lids

Give ‘bounce’ back to exhausted under-eyes with Dermalogica Phyto Nature Lifting Eye Cream – a highly sensorial cream formulated with potent peptides and CoQ10 to deliver a fast lifting, firming, and tightening effect to help smooth eyelid folds. Use to safe-guard the delicate eye area from future damage be it blue light tech or sleep deprivation.

For older skin prone to wrinkles

Created to help delay the appearance of eye wrinkles, Absolue The Eye Cream is powered with Lancôme’s active T12 Biotech Pearl™, selected from 4 trillion potential actives by AI for its smoothing action. With 5-star ratings as standard, Lancôme call it a ‘new golden era in anti-ageing eye care’ – and The One for a smoother, firmer eye contour. Used daily, AM and/or PM after cleansing and toning skin.

For tired, dry eyes

Like a cool glass of water for thirsty skin – and with daphne stem cell extract to strengthen the skin’s barrier function – Charlotte Tilbury Magic Eye Rescue works to refresh, hydrate and soothe exhausted undereyes, helping to reduce the appearance of dark circles and fine lines for brighter-looking eyes instantly. No wonder then that one Magic skincare icon is sold every two minutes… 

Best eye cream for sensitive skin

First up, the ingredient red flags to look out for if you have sensitive skin: avoid eye creams that contain retinoids, hydroxy acids, fragrances and alcohols. And the fix? Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment. It gently moisturises the delicate eye area, is ophthalmologist and dermatologist tested and – key – it won’t migrate into eyes. Rich, decadent, deliciously creamy and undeniably moisture-maxing, it protects skin against external stressors.

Best budget eye cream

The Ordinary’s NEW Multi-Peptide Eye Serum is fast reaching iconic status, thanks to its peptide-rich water-based formula – designed to target crow’s feet and undereye wrinkles, eye bags, puffiness and dark circles, leaving the eye area looking brighter, smoother and less puffy. The One for anyone looking to address multiple concerns around the eye area in a single hit (all of us then), it includes niacinamide and palmitoyl tripeptide-38. Combine with The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG to brighten. 

To brighten exhausted under eyes, fast

Charlotte’s backstage red-carpet secret to looking brighter, snatched and rested eyes in 10 minutes! Charlotte TilburyHollywood Skin Secrets Immediate Eye Revival Patches smooth and depuff – reducing the appearance of fine lines, dark circles and eye bags. Best of all the skin-quenching potent serum is fast-absorbing, meaning you can apply makeup immediately after use, ideal if you’re looking for a quick (A-list worthy) pre-party fix.

The all-in-one eye cream

Adored by A-listers, derms and beauty editors – and with 5,000 glowing reviews and counting – Estée Lauder’s multi-award-winning eye gel-creme tackles (…wait for it…) dark circles, puffiness, fine lines, dryness, dehydration, lacklustre skin – breathe – and the early signs of ageing. 

In a word, everything. The silky-smooth, gel-creme formula is lightweight and fast-absorbing (aka won’t pill under makeup) plus it’s suitable for all skin types, even sensitive ones. More than that? This overachieving all-in-one fights daily stressors (blue light, pollution, poor sleep) and is loaded with hard-working hyaluronic acid (moisture-maxing), vitamin E (to soothe and protect), caffeine (to de-puff) and tripeptide-32 (to repair). Sorcery at your fingertips. 

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