The best eye cream for dark circles—our picks for a refreshed, even-toned look

Choosing the best eye cream for dark circles can be tricky, as anyone shopping for eye cream can attest to. Why? Because dark circles are the result of an infuriatingly wide range of causes, both environmental or lifestyle-related. 

A bit of research is required when narrowing down the best eye cream to suit your needs. Factors such as lack of sleep, smoking, dehydration, high-salt diets, caffeine, and alcohol can all contribute to this problem, especially when learning how to get rid of eye bags or puffy eyes. Allergies can be a factor too, as they can lead to congestion, sluggish circulation, and veins becoming more dilated and visible underneath thin under-eye skin. This is what often gives some dark circles their distinctive blue tone. If the circles under your eyes are more brown in color though, they could be the result of pigmentation, a common condition where the skin becomes darker due to excess or uneven melanin distribution. Causes include sun damage, hormones and aging, as well as genetics. 

As if that wasn’t enough in the way of potential contributing factors, as we age, skin naturally loses volume around the eye area due to dwindling fat and collagen stores. This results in eyes appearing more sunken, with veins and dark circles becoming more pronounced.

We know it’s a lot to take in, but it does help if you can pinpoint any particular things that may be contributing to your own dark circles. As you’ve probably guessed by now, though, as much as we’d like it to, an eye cream won’t provide a silver bullet. What we apply topically is just a piece of the puzzle, but it’s worth considering the options out there in the way of prevention and maintenance, beauty-wise. 

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How to pinpoint the best eye cream for dark circles for you

Managing expectations is key, as dark circles caused by loss of volume and genes can be particularly hard to address. No eye cream can get rid of them entirely however, they can tone them down. Look for ingredients that brighten and even skin tone (vitamin C and retinol), hydrate and temporarily plump (hyaluronic acid), decongest and constrict blood vessels (caffeine), support skin barrier function (niacinamide and ceramides), and boost collagen production (peptides, vitamin C and retinol). 

Do you really need a separate eye cream though? Some argue that you can just take the skincare that you’re using on the rest of your face up to the eye area (provided that it doesn’t say otherwise);  if it doesn’t cause any stinging or sensitivity, that might work well for you. However, due to how delicate the skin around the eye area is (up to four times thinner than the skin around the rest of the body) and its bevy of specific concerns, a specially formulated, thin-textured eye cream could be a more preferable option. This is especially true if you’re prone to puffy eyes (opens in new tab) that can be exacerbated by heavy and rich-textured products that you may be using elsewhere on the face. 

There’s a wide variety of eye creams out there that claim to reduce dark circles, but which ones stand out from the rest of the pack? With ingredients lists, textures and formulas in mind, these are the ones that could make it worth parting ways with your cash. We also recommend that you combine your chosen product with lifestyle tweaks, as well as wearing sunglasses and a gentle broad spectrum SPF 30/50 sunscreen to see optimal results.

The best eye cream for dark circles, as chosen by our experts

It’s this eye cream’s brightening and skin-firming vitamin C complex that sets it apart: pure L-ascorbic acid, a vitamin C derivative called tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate (or THD if you want less of a tongue-twister) and glutathione. This, in combination with de-puffing red algae, giant kelp extract and subtle light-reflecting micro minerals provide an effective team of fatigue fighters. It also has a lovely creamy consistency that absorbs well into skin.

If your dark circles are more blue-toned and often accompanied by a case of puffiness, this pleasantly affordable pick could be for you. Caffeine constricts the blood vessels underneath the skin, making the color around the eye less visible, and also eases congestion too (making it ideal for use first thing in the morning). It’s more than a one-trick pony though; this cream also contains peptide Matrixyl 3000, which encourages collagen production with the aim of helping to reduce fine lines. 

When it comes to brands that provide impressive results at a mid-range price point, you’d be hard-pressed to find one that does it better than La Roche-Posay. This eye cream is a great example of that. With a formula containing decongesting caffeine, as well as ingredients that help even out skin tone, it’s a good fit for softening down both blue- and brown-toned dark circles. Additionally, its formula also contains light-reflecting pigments and its tube comes with a cooling applicator to help gently massage away puffiness too. 

Containing eight peptides, five forms of vitamin C, ceramides, and cucumber extract, this restorative eye cream helps firm, even out skin tone, and soothe in one fell swoop. A great all-rounder that meets the unique needs of more mature delicate undereye skin in particular, glowing reviews online gush about its fast-absorbing hydrating texture and eye-brightening effects.

Retinol has become the favored ingredient among experts and beauty insiders over the past few years, and its benefits apply as much to the eye area as it does the rest of the face. This gentle-yet-effective nightly eye cream contains 0.1% of the stuff to help eyes look less sunken (by stimulating collagen production) and to even out skin tone (by increasing cell turnover and exfoliation). A dose of 0.2% caffeine also acts as a helpful vasoconstrictor and reduces congestion too. As with all retinol products, a slow-and-steady approach is best, so start by applying it two nights a week and see how it works out.

Elegantly refreshing, this eye serum provides an instant shot of hydration courtesy of water-holding sodium hyaluronate. Combined with draining and decongesting caffeine and a brightening and firming oligopeptide derived from algae, it leaves delicate undereye skin smoother, softer and more supple.

Much like your morning coffee order, there are some mornings when a run-of-the-mill milky latte won’t do. Think of this as the espresso of caffeine eye creams; it contains a hefty 5% dose to help dilute the blue tone of dark circles by constricting blood vessels, EGCG from green tea leaves to deflate puffiness, and hydrating hyaluronic acid to provide an instant (albeit temporary) plumping effect. Think of this as the ideal morning-after-a-heavy-night tonic for tired eyes.

A suits-all option enriched with ceramides to support the skin’s natural barrier, this replenishing eye cream’s cocktail of calming ingredients gives it far-reaching appeal; it caters for everyone, from the least sensitive of skins to the most, and has been given the seal of approval from the National Eczema Association (opens in new tab). Ceramides, which support and maintain skin’s natural barrier, lie at the core of this formula, while hydrating hyaluronic acid plumps, glycerin moisturizes, and fantastic all-rounder niacinamide brightens and soothes.