Tried and True: The Best Eye Creams

Tried and True Eye Cream

Eye cream is an integral step in any beauty routine, but it can be overwhelming to find the right style for you. The skin around the eye is extra delicate. It’s important to find a high quality product to support skin hydration and health. I’ve tried a number of different types of eye creams, some winners and some that didn’t work so well for me. At least for my skin, the best eye creams are lighter weight, typically with some kind of brightening agent in it, like caffeine. I’ve narrowed down the best eye creams to three that I use regularly. Each serves a purpose in my routine, and I’ll definitely rebuy them when I run out.

Tried and True: The Best Eye Creams, photo by Christine Csencsitz

The Best Eye Creams

Indie Lee’s I-Waken Eye Serum

The Indie Lee I-Waken Eye Serum is great if your main concerns are dark circles and puffiness. This is my go-to eye cream for under makeup. This formula is chock full of awesome natural ingredients, like witch hazel — my favorite toner — camomile, and spirulina, which work together to refresh and protect the skin around the eye. I’ve been using this eye cream for a few months now and love how easily it spreads. The 15 mL tube is $48, which seems pricy, but the product really lasts for forever. I use a tiny bit at a time — probably a quarter of a pea-sized dollop. I like this eye cream for the mornings, before I put makeup on. It dries pretty quickly and smoothly, making it great for layering.

The Indie Lee I-Waken Eye Serum is available from Nordstrom and Amazon.

Sunday Riley’s Autocorrect Brightening and Depuffing Eye Contour Cream

Sunday Riley’s Autocorrect Eye Cream is another great option for brightening. This option is particularly good at reducing the appearance of fine lines, since it’s thicker and has a bit of a shimmer to it (nothing crazy, though). Because of the shimmer, I like to use this eye cream during the day, either with or without makeup. Caffeine reduces dark circles and puffiness, while black cumin seed oil works to purify the skin and camellia oleracea extract smooths expression lines around the eyes. This product is a bit pricier, at $65 for a 0.5 fl oz bottle. I only need a small amount of this product at a time, so the bottle has lasted me a long time.

Sunday Riley’s eye cream can be found easily at
Sephora, Dermstore, Ulta, and Amazon.

Belif Moisturizing Eye Bomb

I’m a big fan of Belif’s moisturizers, so I decided to try out the Eye Bomb product. This eye cream is awesome — thicker than the two I previously described, making it ideal for right before bed. You can definitely use it under makeup. However, I love putting a little extra on at night and really letting the moisture bomb settle in. I love how rich this product is while still being lightweight and breathable. The moisturizing effects are supposed to last for 26 hours, so you’re getting a lot of benefit for a single application.

My one issue with this product is that it comes in a little pot, as opposed to a tube you squeeze or something with a pump. Because of this, I find it difficult to ration. It comes with a little spoon, which works well enough, but I would prefer if it were in a tube. On the other hand, though, the 0.84 fl oz pot has lasted a really long time, even with the dosing issues.

Belif Moisturizing Eye Bomb, photo by Christine Csencsitz

Pick up the Belif Moisturizing Eye Bomb at Amazon, Macy’s, or Sephora.

Bonus Favorite: Wander Beauty’s Baggage Claim Eye Masks

So these aren’t technically eye cream, but they’re still pretty great, so I’m including them anyway. I received the Baggage Claim Eye Masks in my last Fab Fit Fun box and have been loving them. The box came with the gold shade. They also come in a rose gold option which are, in my opinion, even more fun. A package of 6 eye masks is pretty affordable at $25, and I definitely plan to purchase them for myself when I finish up the ones I have. The masks are formulated with hyaluronic acid for hydration and aloe leaf extract for cooling and de-puffing. I’ve been really impressed with how well the masks stay put when you wear them; you can really go about your business and live your life, not just tilt your head back and wait for the timer you set to go off.

Bonus Favorite: Wander Beauty's Baggage Claim Eye Masks, Gold, photo by Christine Csencsitz

Pick up some of the Wander Beauty Baggage Claim Eye Masks
from the brand’s website, Nordstrom, Macy’s, or Sephora.


Do you have a favorite eye cream? What do you love about it?

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*This post was originally published in June 2021. It was most recently updated on September 5, 2023.

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