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Sleep deprivation, sun exposure, alcohol, dehydration, aging in general… these are just a smattering of things that compromise your steely gaze. But with the best eye cream, it’s like a daily shield against all of those antagonists. Suddenly you’ve got a million-dollar stare, no fillers or botox needed.
You might ask: If I’ve already got a moisturizer, then why do I need an eye cream? Isn’t an eye cream just an overpriced, pint-sized moisturizer anyway? Well, it is a moisturizer, but the price is relative to what you might need in an eye cream. And that tiny eye cream is way more dense with nutrients and active ingredients—particularly those that benefit the very thin, delicate, and susceptible skin around your eyes.
It’s wise to consider an eye cream as a treatment—the same way you might target an acne breakout with salicylic acid or use retinol to counter signs of aging, you would use an eye cream to prevent things like dark circles, puffiness, fine lines and wrinkles, dryness, and so forth. They pack ingredients like peptides (for firmness) to Vitamin C (for brightness), caffeine (for circulation and alertness), hyaluronic acid (for hydration)—and some even contain SPF to help deflect UV rays and prevent environmental damage.
Some eye creams aim to offer every possible benefit. Typically these are your daily- or nightly-use options. Others might target specific concerns, like dark circles or puffiness. These are great to have ad hoc, whenever a poor night’s rest calls for added alertness (or at least the suggestion of alertness). Others might experience these things more chronically, and might want to use them daily or nightly as well.
Our list of the best eye cream for men should have something for you—or more than one product, depending on what it is you want to treat or prevent. Here are our ten favorite eye creams (and eye gels, and eye serums, if we’re being technical).
The Best Eye Cream for Everyday Upkeep
Our favorite eye cream for regular, everyday use is also one of our ten favorite products from Kiehl’s roster. This “Super Multi-Corrective” eye cream nourishes and firms, from eyelid to brow bone to undereye. It’s fueled by brightening niacinamide and collagen peptides for firmness, and continued daily use will ensure that your eyes stay steely for many more years.
The Best Eye Cream for Dark Circles
With Vitamin C as its key ingredient, Murad’s eye serum counters long-term dark circles but also counters daily dullness and discoloration (from red, blue, and brown undertones). It partners with algae extract to de-puff and nourish the area, for an overall firming effect, too.
The Best Eye Cream for Puffy Undereyes
Store this cooling eye gel roll-on in your fridge, and pair it with a cup of coffee each morning. Your tired eye bags will disappear back into your skull just as you come to your senses for the day. This recipe hydrates, soothes, brightens, and firms skin with ingredients like panthenol, sodium hyaluronate, chamomile, and Vitamins A, C, and E.
The Best Eye Cream for Crow’s Feet
StriVectin’s eye cream targets all of the usual suspects—puffiness and dark circles chief among them—but it’s biggest enemy is the crow’s feet that threaten to take residence at the sides of your eyes. It delivers chestnut flower extract, marine ferment, and algae extract to the area, for a collagen-boosting, cell hydrating, blue-light-blocking, skin-firming result.
The Best Eye Cream for Hangovers
Check last night’s baggage with this coffee-fueled eye cream from Origins. Not only does the caffeine stimulate blood flow, but ginseng and magnolia extract work together to brighten the skin. You’ll look refreshed and better rested in minutes, which will spare you any questions at work about how poorly rested you seem. It’s not just a hangover remedy, either; this daily cream plays a long game to keep skin firm and nourished, slowing the progression of aging in the process.
The Best Nighttime Eye Cream
The products you use at bedtime should have even more active ingredients than the daytime options, since those ingredients pair nicely with the body’s regeneration cycle. Basically, you multiply the benefits, so choose eye cream like ALASTIN’s for bedtime. This one’s got a proprietary peptide complex for firmness, as well as niacinamide and green tea for dark circles, and a cross-polymer for light diffusion.
The Best Anti-Aging Eye Cream
It’s hard to overstate the age-reversing benefits of retinol. Dr. Dennis Gross’s eye serum isn’t a quick-fix de-puffer. Instead, it’s intended for long-term use, with gradual (yet impressive) results. When applied before bed, this retinol + bakuchiol + ferulic acid serum works in tandem with your body’s natural regeneration to rid your under-eyes of wrinkles and dark spots, and of course, prevent them from returning. It does have short-term perks, too: Smoother, firmer skin around the eyes upon waking.
The Best Eye Cream for Dryness
Ceramides are one of the best foods for dry skin, since they reinforce the skin’s barrier functions (as in, preventing moisture from getting out). And ceramides are what CeraVe packs into each of its products, so you know this eye repair cream (one of our favorite products from CeraVe) will keep skin nourished, soft, and firm. And when used daily, that means fewer fine lines and wrinkles—plus fewer dark circles and less puffiness, at that.
The Best Eye Cream with SPF
This eye cream packs a physical UV shield that deflects skin-compromising rays, and simultaneously hydrates and firms the area with South African resurrection plant extract, and boost circulation and alertness with caffeine and mica (thus mitigating puffiness and dark circles). It even bounces skin-dulling blue light (from devices) with butterfly ginger flower extract.
The Best Luxury Eye Cream
You expect jaw-dropping results from a $400+ eye cream, and that’s exactly what you get with La Prairie’s caviar-powered remedy. The caviar works like a retinol on steroids to lift and firm skin, and gives both immediate firmness + softness alongside extended smoothness + brightness. It’s a splurge indeed, but a Swiss-sourced one at that… and word has it, the Swiss know a thing or two about making good investments.