Trust us when we say that applying an eye cream is NOT a step worth skipping
It’s a debate as old as time itself: do you really need an eye cream? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’. Despite usually being packaged in the tiniest of pots, the best eye cream is like a soft-focus lens for crow’s feet and can help disguise dark under-eye circles.
Yes, it’s another step in the old skincare routine, but necessary because regular serums and face creams aren’t necessarily formulated for the fragile skin that sits just below your lower lash line. Even the very best face serums may have actives that are too potent for this delicate area, while some creams are too rich and clog pores, causing milia (those pesky small white bumps) to form under the skin.
According to Lee Etheridge, Vice President Global Education & Consumer Experience at bareMinerals, we should be taking every precaution to treat the eye area if we want to delay the visible signs of ageing.
‘The skin here is thin. It’s made up of less collagen and elastin compared to the rest of the face,’ she says. ‘When you consider the average person blinks 23,000 times, it’s not surprising that the eye area is susceptible to wrinkling.’
‘Our eyes are one of the first places to show the signs of ageing, due to a combination of factors,’ says Consultant Ophthalmic and Oculoplastic Surgeon, Elizabeth Hawkes. ‘While ageing plays a large part with the decrease in collagen resulting in loose skin in those areas, and the weakened muscles and tendons causing it to sag, stress can speed up this process significantly. This coupled with the effects of outside factors such as more exposure to the sun, alcohol, smoking and poor nutrition can speed up the signs of ageing and result in heavy or sagging upper lids and wrinkles around the eyes and on the eyelids.’
The best eye creams: as tried and tested by our beauty editor
In order to find the best, our beauty editor tested every product in this round-up, paying close attention to texture, ingredients, price, and of course, the results.
1. Best for firming: Allies of Skin Peptides and Omegas Firming Eye Cream
Allies of Skin Peptides and Omegas Firming Eye Cream, £72 | Cult Beauty
Winner of the Marie Claire Skin Award for Best Eye Cream, this punchy formula took three years to develop. The judges of the Skin Awards gave it top marks for its smoothing and hydrating effects – fine lines appeared less pronounced and dark circles were brightened.
2. Best affordable eye cream: CeraVe Eye Repair Cream
CeraVe Eye Repair Cream, £12.50 | Lookfantastic
Ever since CeraVe hit UK shores, it has been a favourite among the beauty elite. It’s a brand developed by dermatologists at low prices. This eye cream is non-sticky, fast-absorbing and moisture-boosting, while also not aggravating sensitive skin.
3. Best retinol eye cream: Murad Resurgence Renewing Eye Cream
Murad Resurgence Renewing Eye Cream, £70 | Feelunique
When it comes to skincare ingredients that really count, retinol tops the list for its legitimate wrinkle-fighting powers. Alongside extracts of skin-firming kelp and swetia flower, this is still gentle enough to use on a daily basis.
4. Best for travel: Elizabeth Arden Advanced Ceramide Capsules Daily Youth Restoring Eye Serum
Elizabeth Arden Advanced Ceramide Capsules Daily Youth Restoring Eye Serum, £56 | Feelunique
Reworked to include nine new ingredients, including anti-inflammatory hops and skin-tightening Butcher’s Broom, these concentrated capsules replenish hydrating lipids and keep working long after the serum has been absorbed.
5. Best for dark circles: Sunday Riley Auto Correct Eye Contour Cream
Sunday Riley Auto Correct Eye Contour Cream, £60 | Harvey Nichols
If your dark circles are the result of lifestyle factors, like lack of sleep or a poor diet (rather than genes, pigmentation or skin structure), then the good news is you can do something about them. Sunday Riley’s first eye cream nourishes, thanks to cocoa butter, while caffeine and Brazilian ginseng root smooth the skin, making it easier for light to bounce off. Bright eyes, ahoy.
6. Best brightening eye cream: Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Eye Crème
Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Eye Crème, £35 | Boots
The magic happens as soon as this yellow eye cream touches your skin. Working on the same premise as ‘banana powder’, a yellow powder used by make-up artists to eradicate sallowness, dark circles are immediately conquered.
7. Best for tackling crows feet: iS Clinical Youth Eye Complex
iS Clinical Youth Eye Complex, £72.90 | Amazon
Proteins, peptides, antioxidants and key growth factors – iS Clinical doesn’t mess around with unnecessary filler ingredients. Just ones that give a really good result on lines. Yes, it’s a bit pricey, but a tiny bit goes a long way so you don’t need to use it a lot to see a difference in your skin texture. Industry expert Caroline Hirons gives her stamp of approval to the brilliant anti-wrinkle eye cream.
8. Best for depuffing: Darphin Intral De-Puffing Anti-Oxidant Eye Cream
Darphin Intral De-Puffing Anti-Oxidant Eye Cream, £40 | Harrods
This gel absorbs quickly and feels cool on the skin. It refreshes and debloats in a matter of minutes and it’s packed full of antioxidants to help to protect the super delicate eye area. If you keep it in the fridge and use it with a jade roller, or another beauty tool, then you’ll get an even better depuffing treatment.
9. Best for mature skin: Kate Somerville Line Release Under Eye Repair Cream
Kate Somerville Line Release Under Eye Repair Cream, £120 | John Lewis
Kate Somerville fans rejoiced when this cult product made a much-anticipated jump across the pond. Using two wrinkle-smoothing powerhouses – vitamin A and peptides – it lifts the entire eye area for a more youthful, wide-awake look.
10. Best for dry skin: Lancôme Renergie Yeux Multi-Lift Ultra
Lancôme Renergie Yeux Multi-Lift Ultra, £53 | Lookfantastic
This rich, cosseting eye cream will find favour with dry skin sufferers. A combo of hyaluronic acid and linseed extract has a filler-like effect on under-eye grooves and seals in moisture. Perfect if you’d rather swerve the needle and discomfort.
11. Best for wrinkles and fine lines: Medik8 r-Retinoate Day & Night Eye Serum
Medik8 r-Retinoate Day & Night Eye Serum, £95 | Space NK
The ultimate powerhouse for eyes, this serum contains souped-up age-defying ingredients including a vitamin A derivative to plump skin, visibly fade fine lines and help with dark circles. Bonus: it’s gentle enough to use day and night.
12. Best for sensitive skin: Curél Moisturising Repair Eye Cream
Curél Moisturising Repair Eye Cream, £25 | Feelunique
This eye cream is great for dry and sensitive skin. The lightweight formula reduces fine lines by helping to fill up the skin’s ceramide reservoir. It is fragrance-free, pH balanced and colourant free, too.
13. Best hydrating eye cream: Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Complex
Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Complex, RRP £48 | Lookfantastic
You are going to love this night eye cream. It not only bolsters skin after exposure to pollution, UV and lack of sleep, but it also has special repair technology to tackle the effects of blue light from your phone and computer screen.
14. Best smoothing eye cream: Clinique Smart Clinical Repair Wrinkle Correcting Eye Cream
Clinique Smart Clinical Repair Wrinkle Correcting Eye Cream, £45 | Lookfantastic
This lightweight, whipped eye cream is designed to smooth the appearance of fine lines and soothe the eye area. Hyaluronic acid delivers hydration while the expert peptide blend targets loss of firmness, fine lines and puffiness.
15. Best retinol-alternative eye cream: bareMinerals Ageless Phyto-Retinol Eye Cream
bareMinerals Ageless Phyto-Retinol Eye Cream, £40 | Lookfantastic
If you’re sensitive to retinol or pregnant, then this alternative to vitamin A works wonders at tackling the early signs of ageing. Not as good as retinol (nothing ever will be), but a brilliant understudy for those who can’t use the real deal.
What to look for in an eye cream
Sadly, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to tackle puffiness, fine lines and under-eye shadows, so consider applying two different creams to this unique area daily.
‘In the morning, your main issue is puffiness caused by water retention from laying flat all night,’ explains Etheridge. Look for a gel with a slight nip to it as the chilly sensation will instantly de-puff. Combine it with a tool like a jade roller and the extra cooling sensation will only help matters.
‘It should also be high in antioxidants to fight free radical damage from pollution,’ Etheridge adds.
At night time your skin is in recovery mode, so switch to a richer cream to really nourish and lock in moisture. ‘One with a high concentration of peptides and skin-smoothing eyebright extract will help to soften the appearance of expression lines,’ she adds.
If you’ve spent your day sitting under air-conditioning or central heating, tackle crêpiness around the eyes with a humectant like hyaluronic acid, which draws water into the skin and helps keep it there. Just avoid overly oily formulas at all costs – especially those containing mineral oils and petroleum, which can swamp the skin and easily travel up into the eye.
How to apply eye cream properly
As the under-eye area is so delicate, you also want to avoid any vigorous rubbing. ‘Put a small amount of product on your ring finger (your weakest in terms of exerting pressure) and smooth below the eye, over the crow’s feet area and pat onto the brow bone just below your eyebrows,’ says consultant dermatologist Dr Justine Kluk.
