Guide
Eye Creams & Eye Care
Do you need an eye cream?
The skin around your eyes is more delicate and more vulnerable to dehydration than the rest of your face, which is why it often shows tiredness, dark circles and fine lines first. A worthwhile eye product needs to do much more than simply contain a trending ingredient. It’s about the overall formulation, whether the actives make sense for the eye area, how they’re delivered, how the product performs and, ideally, whether there’s credible testing behind the claims.
Freddie’s take
Having tested thousands of products as a Beauty Trends Editor, I’ve become much more interested in what’s actually happening inside a formula than how impressive the claims on the box sound.
No single eye cream can address every single eye concern, and the most impressive formulas often take very different approaches. The right choice ultimately comes down to what your eye area actually needs.
Match the formula to your concern
Tired-looking eyes and dark circles
Look for a skincare-makeup hybrid with encapsulated pigments, which blend into the skin to subtly correct the look of dark circles. The coverage is lighter than concealer, which is exactly the point: a natural, more even appearance.
Dullness and dehydration
Brightening actives like and , paired with a nourishing base, help a dull or dehydrated eye area look brighter and more hydrated.
Fine lines and early signs of ageing
Retinal can be a brilliant eye treatment, but only when the rest of the formula supports it. Look for supporting ingredients such as and niacinamide that hydrate and protect the .
Puffiness and loss of firmness
Peptide-led formulas target firmness and the look of fine lines without a . A cooling applicator can also give an immediate de-puffing effect.
How to choose a good one
Judge the formula, not the hero ingredient. The supporting ingredients are just as important as the headline active.
Check it’s designed for the eye area. A formula made specifically for the eyes is very different from a face product repurposed for under the eyes.
Look for credible testing. Dermatological and ophthalmological testing, and clinical results, matter more for such a sensitive area.
Expensive isn’t automatically better. Some of the most treatment-focused eye creams sit at an accessible price point.
Curated skincare
Erborian
££CC Eye Cream
Colour-correcting eye cream with SPF 20
Tatcha
££££The Brightening Eye Cream
Multi-active vitamin C eye cream for brightness
Beauty of Joseon
£Revive Eye Serum: Ginseng + Retinal
Retinal eye serum with ginseng and ceramides
Peptide firming eye carePaula's Choice
£££Pro-Collagen Peptide Firming Eye Serum
Peptide eye serum for firmness
The INKEY List
£Bio-Active Ceramide Eye Cream
Ceramide and peptide eye cream at an accessible price
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