While your eyes have thinner and delicate skin compared to the other areas of your face, they often tend to show the first sign of aging. Hence, eye creams are specially formulated to be richer yet gentle, so your skin can absorb the skincare goodness better without any irritation.
Of course, you can still use a typical moisturiser to keep your under-eyes hydrated (as it has similar ingredients in eye creams), but as mentioned, facial moisturisers contain a stronger concentration of certain ingredients which possibly do more harm than good. Moreover, most (if not, all) eye creams are formulated to not irritate the eye area.
Now, eye creams are not exactly the cheapest skincare product. but there are many drugstore options that are just as good. To have an effective eye cream is to know what ingredients suit your problem. Here are the best, common ingredients to have in creams for your under-eyes.
For:
Puffy / swollen / Eye bags
Like the phone in rice trick, you’ve probably heard of using tea bags on your eyes as a home remedy to improve the appearance of swollen or puffy eyes. And yes, it really works.
Tannin and caffeine, which can be found in green tea, can boost microcirculation of blood in the eyes area and thus, helps to reduce puffiness as well as inflammation or bruising. Also, caffeine is known for being an antioxidant to protect your skin against photoaging. Hence, it’s perfect as a quick Fountain of Youth trick.
Dark circles
Having said that, dark circles are a side effect of poor blood circulation (which leads to fluid buildup underneath the eyes). Therefore, caffeine is also generally used to stimulate blood flow surrounding the eye areas and brighten the dark shadows.
Besides, vitamin C, K and arnica are no stranger in battling dark circles due to their potent antioxidant properties. They enhance skin cells renewal which also leads to de-puffing swollen eyes and thus, leave you with a radiant glow.
Saggy / Hollow Eyes
As you age, your collagen production gradually degrades and causes your skin to lose its elasticity. The effect is especially obvious around delicate areas like eyes.
That being said, eye creams are typically infused with retinol/ retinoid or coenzyme Q10 to support the reproduction of collagen and elastin, both that helps to plump and restore your skin’s firmness. If you have sensitive skin, look into alternative ingredients like neuropeptides which is a lot milder and gentle.
Wrinkles
In addition to the collagen-boosting retinol, hyaluronic acid is one of the most popular ingredients used to combat wrinkles. It incorporates vital moisture into the skin cells of your under-eyes and plumps your skin up with hydration, thereby smoothing the skin and making it supple-looking.
Pigmentation
When there’s an excess production of melanin (the pigment that gives your skin its colour) in your skin, hyperpigmentation occurs. This is potentially caused by sun damage or melasma (hormonal changes during pregnancy).
In such cases, kojic acid, hydroquinone and vitamin C are recommended to alleviate skin discolouration due to their properties in restricting melanin production.
Dry or dull eyes
Speaking of the water-bursting properties, nothing beats the hyaluronic acid and ceramides. Hyaluronic acid attracts hydration from the surrounding air, then to the skin surface. It works well together with ceramides to retain your skin’s natural moisture barrier for a youthful plumping effect. Its nature of use is a great alternative to form an oil-free formula.
Here are the best drugstore eye creams we highly recommend:
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In your early 20s and being torn between whether it’s too early to use an eye cream? Well, when it comes to skincare, it’s always better to start sooner than later as the best result comes from prevention.
This revolutionary eye cream carries a potent moisturising formula that contains Super Hyaluronic Acid. It possesses twice the moisture retention capacity than the regular Hyaluronic acid. For an added smoothening benefit, you can also find natural extract like jojoba oil in the formula.
Another star ingredient is Actiflow, which effectively works (like caffeine) to increase blood flow and unclog blood capillaries around the eyes. With that, the result is visible improvement in puffy eyes or dark circles.
Also tested by our beauty editor herself, this pick earns its fans as most users have crowned it to be one of the best for moisturizing the eyes. But because of the stronger ingredients used, we believe it’s best recommended for younger skin.
Waking up with tired, puffy eyes lately? Or have noticed nasty fine lines vaguely making their debuts at the corner of your eyes? It’s a signal to incorporate anti-aging products into your daily routine now! In fact, it’ll be even better if you start earlier.
A plumped, hydrated skin actually creates a healthy and youthful look. Taking this belief, the Eau Thermale Avene PhysioLift Eyes utilises the patented Ascofilline™ to encourage collagen production. Also, the eye cream contains Hyaluronic acid mono-oligomers which replenish your under-eye with the suppleness and firmness it deserves.
If your skin is too sensitive for actives like retinol, this one has been thoughtful enough to replace it with Retinaldehyde. It is as effective as retinol but being less irritating. The bonus: it also uses Dextran Sulfate Visibly to brighten dark eye circles.
Many users, especially those with sensitive skin have been loving its rich and soothing texture around their eye contours. This one keeps the delicate skin hydrated and is recommended for anyone who is tempting to try anti-aging products.
Caffeine and retinol, both known as anti-aging power ingredients, are often found to be a skincare investment to splurge on. Nonetheless, the L’Oreal Paris Revitalift Anti-Wrinkle + Firming Eye Cream offers the exact prestigious result at a decent price.
If you prefer using caffeine to cancel dark circles or swelling caused by blood clots, this top-rated cream is approved by dermatologists to promise you a safe and visible result.
Also, it is one of the only drugstore eye cream that’s infused with Centella Asiatica, a well-known Asian herb that improves elasticity, heals and strengthen the under-eye skin. Thanks to its powerful skin-benefiting property, this pick works a charm in dealing with early signs of aging. Not to forget, it also contains glycerin and other essential ingredients for moisturisation.
On top of the non-greasy formula, users find this a bargain as their skin appears to be firmer and smooth after applying the product. Although some claim to see no dramatic improvement, they are still happy for its moisturising effect along with the faint, pleasant fragrance. If anything, this is a very versatile product.
As the saying goes, eyes are the window to your soul. While we all want to wake up looking like we had a good night’s sleep, it doesn’t really work if we pay back sleep-loss by sleeping the day away, does it? Never mind, it’s all simplified into the La Roche-Posay Pigmentclar Eye.
With the combination of caffeine + the cooling metal applicator, this one tenderly spreads the cream around your eye contour for easy absorption. The cooling combo also ultimately, help to decongest clogged blood capillaries. To aid the brightening effect, the formula contains light-reflective pearl pigments which helps to alleviate dark bluish under-eye.
If your eyes are swollen from lack of sleep, the metal applicator is formulated with spring water to soothe dull and sensitive eyes. Here is where most users relate to and outpour their love for the product, claiming that they had a nice refreshing experience in lightening dark circles and eye bags.
Although users don’t find it a miracle in a bottle, but it does help to lighten the eyes, slowly but sure.
After a long day staring at the screen, you may want to pamper your strained eyes with some TLC. Discover the Olay Regenerist Retinol24 Night Eye Cream, which is so highly rated and seem to be the most go-to drugstore eye cream for anyone who needs a deep treatment for their eyes.
Powered with Vitamin B3 and Retinoid complex, this solution battles common aging signs and brightens dark circles to eventually improves your overall complexion. It glides smoothly over your thin skin, penetrates deep into your skin’s layer to deliver 24-hours hydration.
Users (whom ranges from having issues like milia and wrinkles) love the non-greasy, fragrance-free formula, making it much more comfortable to fall asleep with. And because the smooth cream is thick (yet, not too thick), some do recommend spreading on no more than a pea-sized amount of cream; a little goes a long way.
Many also pointed out that results were evident within 3-7 days of use.
It is a pain to hold back your laughter or smile, reminding of how it will only accentuate the undesired crow’s feet and wrinkles around your eyes. Hang in there, because La Roche Redermic C Eyes is tailored to let you smile with confidence.
Vitamin C, an antioxidant-rich ingredient, is widely known to help with evening out skin tone as well as prevent premature aging (from the sun) as a sun-protecting agent. Thus, the pure Vitamin C found in this eye cream makes it a hero in transforming the sunken skin into a plump-looking one.
Also, the moisturising formula contains Fragmented Hyaluronic Acid and Mannose to support your skin’s barrier with the much-needed hydration, significantly reducing any appearance of wrinkles.
Users review that they love the light consistency of the product, being quite comfortable around the eye area and most excitingly, the effective anti-aging result. Users attest that not only does it suit sensitive eyes, but it is also recommended for anyone suffering from pigmentation, sunspots, fine lines or crows feet.
If you’re lost at the junction of choosing the right eye cream to upgrade your arsenal, consider the Olay Eyes Ultimate Eye Cream. It may not as effective as other expensive creams, but it generally performs above average for most instances.
The product is unique because it’s made with colour-corrective technology. Unlike your typical eye cream, this one contains skin-toned pigments like iron oxides to conceal your dark under-eyes. Don’t worry about any mask-like effect as the pigment sinks right in without even upsetting your makeup.
In this exclusive formula, you can find a slew of skin-loving vitamins and peptides. One of it is Vitamin B3 (niacinamide), which helps to hydrate your eye area while the amino peptide leaves your skin feeling smoother and tighter. Gently massage it into your skin helps to reduce puffiness too.
Users praised the product best for its brightening effects and lightweight application. However, some pointed out that they are not a fan of the tinted concealing effect.