Dark circles can occur without warning, whether you’re running on four hours of sleep, have seasonal allergies, or it’s just heredity. We all think about covering the area with concealer, but perhaps it’s time to try some eye cream. Here are some experts’ recommendations for the top 25 eye creams for dark circles, along with practical advice on how to include one into your daily skincare regimen.
Meet the Experts
- Kelli J. Barlett is a makeup artist and vice president of education and experience for Ever/Body. She has more than 20 years of experience in the beauty and wellness space. She was previously the artistic director of Glamsquad, where she led the direction of the makeup services and education programs. Her work has been featured in publications such as Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle and Vanity Fair.
- Lisa Aharon is a celebrity makeup artist based in New York. She has a decade of experience, working with publications such as The New York Times, Elle and Cosmopolitan, as well as fashion brands like Ralph Lauren and David Yurman. Her previous clients include Gwyneth Paltrow, Rachel Brosnahan and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
- Dr. Sheel Desai Solomon is a board-certified dermatologist and founder of Preston Dermatology in North Carolina. She has a decade of experience, completing her residency in New York and training in United Kingdom. She’s also a member of the American Board of Dermatology and the American Society for Laser Medicine & Surgery.
- Dr. Melissa K. Levin is a board-certified dermatologist, founder of Entiére Dermatology and a clinical assistant professor at Mount Sinai in New York. She has a decade of experience, specializing in medical, surgical and cosmetic dermatology. She’s currently a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Society for Laser Medicine & Surgery.
How I Chose the Best Eye Creams for Dark Circles
I contacted editors, doctors, and makeup artists to recommend the finest eye creams for dark circles under the eyes. I then investigated each of their salient characteristics and essential components. In order to locate eye treatments that actually brighten, firm, and moisturize the sensitive area, I also searched through well-known stores like Amazon, Sephora, Ulta, and Dermstore and read a ton of reviews.
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My best pick for treating dark circles under the eyes is this eye cream. It is designed to brighten and increase suppleness around the sensitive eye area using a triple vitamin C combination. Orange extract, which is said to lessen the appearance of dark shadows, and bioflavonoids, a citrus antioxidant that guards against environmental aggressors, are also included in the formula. I like the lightweight texture and the subtle way it gradually lightens my dark circles, whether I’m wearing it alone or under makeup.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: vitamin C, bioflanoids, orange extract
- Size: 0.5 ounces
- Best for: fine lines, dryness, dullness
2. SkinCeuticals A.G.E Advanced Eye
When it comes to treating her customers’ dark circles, Bartlett uses this SkinCeuticals product religiously. “This eye cream has amazing science behind it. Its blend of peptides and flavonoids does, in fact, lessen the red and blue appearance of dark circles caused by stress and fatigue, she says. This eye treatment, which also contains caffeine, claims to brighten skin and lessen puffiness. To soften the skin beneath your eyes, Bartlett suggests incorporating a tiny bit of it into your concealer.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: proxylaneTM, matrixyl 3000, glycyrrzhetinic acid, caffeine
- Best For: dullness, puffiness, crow’s feet
- Size: 0.5 ounces
3. Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Gel-Cream
This Estée Lauder best-selling product is another favorite of Bartlett’s. Bartlett confirms, “It really does the job if you use it consistently,” to the brand’s promise that dark circles can be brightened after just three weeks of use. By combining hyaluronic acid and vitamin E, the eye cream seeks to minimize dryness, puffiness, and fine wrinkles. To get the most advantages, Bartlett advises applying it to the entire eye area, including the lids.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: hyaluronic acid, vitamin E
- Best For: fine lines, wrinkles, dryness
- Size: 0.5 ounces
4. Omorovicza Reviving Eye Cream
Gwyneth Paltrow and Phoebe Waller-Bridge are among the celebrities that Aharon like to apply this lotion on. She says, “There are a few things that I look for when choosing an eye cream to put in my kit: hydration, smoothing, brightening, and de-puffing, but I also need something that won’t pill under concealer or be too greasy.” The makeup artist claims that this one from Omorovicza is perfect. This eye cream, which is made with vitamin K, arnica, and cucumber extract, effectively minimizes the look of dark circles while also addressing other typical under-eye issues including puffiness and dryness.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: vitamin K, arnica, cucumber extract
- Best For: fine lines, puffiness, dullness
- Size: 0.5 ounces
5. Cetaphil Hydrating Eye Gel-Cream
This eye gel-cream has received more than 12,000 5-star reviews, making it a popular choice. The lotion, which is made with hyaluronic acid, immediately seals in moisture around the eyes. Customers claim that it penetrates into the skin rapidly, and many of them recommend it for sensitive skin. “My skin is quite sensitive, and I’m 37 years old. Every other retinol, hyaluronic acid, or anti-wrinkle lotion I’ve used [causes swelling] and [gives] me a rash around my eyes. The only product that doesn’t cause irritation to my skin is this one. One reviewer writes, “I feel better knowing I took an extra step to protect the fragile skin around the eyes, but who knows if this will end up helping.” “Wrinkles are coming.”
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: hyaluronic acid
- Best For: dryness
- Size: 0.5 ounces
6. Augustinus Bader The Eye Cream
Above all, Nicole Briese, our former director of commerce, loves this eye cream’s stylish blue container. In addition to being aesthetically pleasing, this high-end purchase addresses her most urgent under-eye issues. With the help of the brand’s unique combination of peptides, vitamins, and amino acids, the recipe seeks to improve the look of fine lines, get rid of dark circles, and lessen puffiness. Although she says it might not be the best option for people with sensitive eyes because it occasionally made her eyes water, the creamy texture absorbs well and revitalizes the sensitive eye area.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: pennywort extract, centella extract, seaweed extract, arjun tree extract, vitamin C, niacinamide, vitamin b5, jojoba oil
- Best For: fine lines, puffiness, dryness
- Size: 0.5 ounces
7. Hero Cosmetics Bright Eyes Illuminating Eye Cream
Hero Cosmetics’ eye cream is the best thing ever for treating dark circles around the eyes. Assistant Editor Delia Curtis likes its strong caffeine and niacinamide combination as well as its light texture. “I’ve been using it for a few weeks now, and I really love it. The sensitive skin beneath my eyes benefits greatly from it,” they say. Additionally, the stainless steel applicator provides an immediate tint to enhance the appearance of black circles and makes it easier to glide beneath the eyes. Additionally, it provides a cooling action that helps to further moisturize the eye area and reduce puffiness.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: niacinamide, caffeine
- Best For: puffiness, dryness
- Size: 0.5 ounces
8. Peter Thomas Roth Potent-C Power Eye Cream
Solomon claims that age, not weariness, can occasionally be the cause of dark circles. Fortunately, this eye cream addresses both problems, so you’re protected in either case. “It has a strong amount of vitamin C to support the body’s natural production of collagen and hydrate the skin’s outer layers,” she says. Additionally, you’ll find vitamin E to assist the other ingredients and caffeine to lessen the appearance of puffiness around the eyes.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: caffeine, vitamin E, vitamin C, ferulic acid
- Best For: brightening, puffiness, crow’s feet
- Size: 0.5 ounces
9. CeraVe Eye Repair Cream
Are you trying to find an inexpensive way to make your dark circles look less noticeable? Solomon recommends this $12 product from CeraVe, which, incidentally, is the top-selling eye cream on Amazon. According to her, our skin may become “vulnerable to sun damage, aging, and dehydration” if ceramides are lost. This hydrating cream is designed to reduce dryness, puffiness, and dullness by combining hyaluronic acid with three different types of ceramides.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: ceramides, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid
- Best For: dullness, dryness
- Size: 0.5 ounces
10. Revision Skincare Teamine Eye Complex
For long years, dermatologists have favored Revision’s Teamine Eye Complex. In addition to skin-brightening ingredients like mica, silica, and titanium dioxide, it contains three distinct antioxidants: vitamin C, green tea extract, and grape seed oil, according to Dr. Levin. Well enough, doctor. We’ve been sold. Additionally, a lot of customers claim that it is revolutionary for dark circles, particularly when taken regularly.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: grapeseed oil, green tea extract, vitamin C, mica, silica, titanium dioxide
- Best For: fine lines, wrinkles, dryness, dullness
- Size: 0.5 ounces
11. Clarins Total Eye Lift
The sister of our Fashion Editor Abby Hepworth has been pleading for a refill of this eye cream because she loves it so much. Hepworth tried it herself and found that it was smooth to apply, lightweight, and quickly absorbed. You will undoubtedly get your money’s worth from this $92 bottle because a little goes a long way. She reports that over time, the formulation, which contained albaizia extract, cassie flower wax, and harungana extract (a substitute for retinol), significantly lessened the severity of her dark circles.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: harungana extract, cassie flower wax, albaizia extract, horse chestnut-dervived escin
- Best For: firmness, elasticity, dullness
- Size: 0.5 ounces
12. Neocutis Lumière Firm Eye Cream
After sampling this Neocutis selection, Senior Editor Dana Dickey was astounded to detect a discernible change. Peptides increase the formation of collagen and improve elasticity around the eyes, while the active ingredients—caffeine and vitamin C—quickly brighten her dull skin and minimize puffiness. “When I first tried this, I was astounded by the immediate difference it made. Long-term benefit: I truly valued the collagen-boosting components that appear to be lessening the small lines around my eyes,” she adds.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: peptides, vitamin C, caffeine
- Best For: firmness, puffiness, dullness
- Size: 0.5 ounces
13. Murad Vita-C Eyes Dark Circle Corrector
Briese uses this eye cream every day to address her dark circles, and she suggests it. “I can’t tell with certainty that it lightened my dark circles, but I can say that as soon as I swipe it on, I seem more awake. I see a significant difference when I don’t wear it, and its gold glitter virtually acts as a concealer to instantly eliminate dark shadows. That’s why I always have two in my pantry.”
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: vitamin C, algae extracts, cucumber extract
- Best For: dullness, inflammation, hyperpigmentation
- Size: 0.5 ounces
14. No.1 De Chanel Revitalizing Eye Cream
The richly creamy composition of this Chanel eye ointment is highly praised. It penetrates well into the skin without feeling oily, even though it is really rich. Red camellia flower extract is included in the gel-cream’s formulation to revitalize and depuff the eyes, making them appear brighter. A customer writes, “I use this as my nightly eye cream, and it takes away any dark bags and [it] makes my under-eye look hydrated and full!”
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: red camellia flower extract
- Best For: dullness, inflammation
- Size: 0.5 ounces
15. Neutrogena Hydro Boost Eye Gel-Cream
Do you need an excuse to buy this inexpensive find? This is a fantastic review from one of our professionals: “Neutrogena Hydro Boost Eye Gel-Cream has chemicals that seal in moisture as well as hyaluronic acid, dimethicone, and glycerin to plump and moisturize the skin. Antioxidants such as vitamin A (the source of retinol), vitamin E, and vitamin C for brightness are also present. Additionally, it is free of oil, parabens, and smell, making it an excellent option for sensitive skin, says Dr. Murphy-Rose.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: hyaluronic acid
- Best For: dullness, dryness
- Size: 0.5 ounces
