RoC beat out all the eye creams we tested for brightening dark circles. (Jennifer Romolini/Yahoo)
I've never met a person who likes their dark circles. Even with the best concealers, they're a huge pain to hide, but when left bare, they can make you look more tired than you might feel. As a journalist, writing about the best eye creams always feels a bit tricky, especially when attempting to answer the question: do eye creams actually work? The truth is, there's no one product that will disappear your under-eye pigmentation and wrinkles for good, no matter if said eye cream is literally made of caviar (I've seen it!) and costs more than your monthly grocery bill.
However, while no serum or lotion (or witchy potion) will ever completely banish the shadows, lines and bags under your eyes, there are formulas — specifically those containing peptides, retinol, caffeine or vitamin C and, to a lesser extent, niacinamide, ceramides and vitamin E — that have been clinically proven to constrict blood vessels while brightening pigment, reducing eye puffiness and/or softening fine lines, all of which makes the area look more youthful and awake.
With that in mind, over the past year, I tested 12 of the most popular under-eye treatments for dark circles and more. While several of the top eye cream brands — like SkinCeuticals A.G.E Advanced Eye Cream and La Mer's Eye Concentrate — are so fancy and expensive they should come with a monocle, I found them to be only moderately more effective at addressing skin concerns than the best drugstore options. Some pricier picks include ingredients that sound impressive (looking at you, U beauty and your "diamond dust"), but — truly — you don’t need them. When it comes to skin care, it's easy to equate luxury with quality, but more often than not, what you're paying for is hope. I won’t interfere in the relationship between you and your budget god, but for my money, these are the most effective eye creams out there.
I reached out to dermatologists, scrolled through dozens of Reddit threads and, after selecting a dozen contenders, tested them on my own 52-year-old under-eye circles for 14 days each. I tested for ingredient quality, absorbency, comfort and/or irritation, value, if I could apply the product under makeup and, perhaps most importantly, if the product brightened the area overall.
Dr. Loretta Tightening Eye Gel: I'd heard such good things about Dr. Loretta's eye gel, but when I tried it myself I found the formula to be unremarkable, with little effect on my skin.
Musely The Eye Serum: Similarly, while skin care subscription service/beauty cult Musely is beloved for using high-quality, medical-grade ingredients, I found its retinol eye cream was grainy and hard to spread.
Kiehl's Powerful Strength Dark Circle-Reducing Vitamin C Eye Serum: This vitamin C eye serum burned my skin a bit and wasn't as effective as a similar version from Paula's Choice.
The purple-blue-red bruised appearance of the undereye is a complex problem to solve, in part because its causes are far-ranging. Dark circles may be the result of allergies or genetics (thanks, Mom!), literal exhaustion, poor diet, hyperpigmentation and — often — simply the loss of collagen and skin thinning that happens to most of us as we age. "We have to be mindful of the fact that after age 40, you're losing 1% of your collagen production per year," says Los Angeles facial plastic surgeon Dr. Kay Durairaj. "And by menopause, women could be losing 25 percent of the collagen they make — the factory shuts down production by 25 percent!"
For the eye area, Dr. Durairaj first and foremost recommends high-quality products containing retinol or Retin A: "Eyes are unique in that the skin is so thin there so many people do not use retinol or Retin A products on their eyes and eyelids because they think their skin can't tolerate it. That's the number-one fallacy [in finding a quality eye cream]."
Most experts I spoke with agreed with Dr. Durairaj's assessment, though some did so with stipulations. "Yes, you need retinol in an eye cream, but also enzymes, peptides and antioxidants," says Kimberly Austin, an esthetician at the popular 7QSpa.
"The [under-eye] skin is so delicate," Dr. Durairaj says. To further protect under eye skin, she suggests avoiding the abrasive use of makeup or makeup removers. "We really like scrubbing and tugging and stretching the skin to draw cat eyes and things like that. But when we do that kind of thing, it truly worsens the skin quality."
Use your ring finger to apply a pea-sized amount to the area, starting from the corner and gently patting along until you reach the far corner of the eye. Remember to go slow and be careful not to pull or drag the skin, while still moving the product around: "You want to improve circulation and oxygenation in this area the best you can," explains cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Ava Shamban.
Cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Ava Shamban
Facial plastic surgeon Dr. Kay Durairaj
Esthetician Kimberly Austin of Austin's 7QSpa
Update, February 18, 2025: We’ve confirmed current pricing and availability for all products. Our No. 1 pick remains unchanged.
