Whether it’s work stress, jet lag, or the result of a busy social life, tired eyes can be the ultimate giveaway that you haven’t had quite enough sleep.
There’s been a 70 per cent increase in Google searches for “why do my eyes look tired’ in the last year alone, and some of us (our beauty editor included) have a tendency for dark circles even if we’ve had our full eight hours – that’s due to our genetics. This is where a really good eye cream comes in.
From brightening dark circles to smoothing away crinkles and lines, these are the CF team’s tried-and-tested recommendations for the best eye creams for tired eyes, including best-selling favourites from Bioeffect and Medik8.
Did you know that dull skin is often dehydrated skin? The team at Cerave do. This brightening eye cream uses three essential ceramides and hyaluronic acid to deeply moisturise your under eyes, plus a firming peptide complex, caffeine and niacinamide to help the area reflect more light. Together, they help you look instantly more awake.
Tired, aged-looking eyes are often the consequence of multiple factors – dehydration, dark circles and wrinkling. This eye cream goes about treating all of them at once, so it's quite the multitasker. The formula is impressive with revitalising ingredients such as caffeine and niacinamide; hydrators like ceramides; as well as fine line-fighting actives such as bakuchiol and epidermal growth factors.
Designed especially for sensitive eyes – which can also annoyingly be the most prone to dryness and dullness, La Roche-Posay’s dark circle corrector contains two dullness-busting hero ingredients: niacinamide and caffeine. It also comes complete with a cooling applicator for depuffing, which makes it great for using when you fly.
In our beauty editor’s opinion, Medik8 are the queen of non-prescription-strength retinoids (she’d recommend the full face serums too). This formula utilises not only the anti-ageing hero ingredient; in the mix are also moisturising ceramides to lock in hydration while smoothing away crepey skin around your delicate eye area.
Aiming to reduce under-eye dullness in just a week (which is seriously impressive) this sensitive-skin friendly formula sets about that mission in two key ways. First, it focuses on hydration – using glycogen to instantly perk up your sleepy eye area. And secondly, it protects your skin against pollution throughout the day, due to the inclusion of antioxidant-rich elderberry flower extract. That's a win-win.
Soho Skin's understated brightening eye cream made the CF office (and our now very happy eyes) sit up and take note with this formula. The main highlight: it’s so very hydrating – with hyaluronic acid and squalene – but doesn’t feel heavy or sticky on your skin, so it works really well under makeup. That makes it a work makeup bag essential.
Drunk Elephant is known for its potent formulas and this brightening eye cream is no different. A treat for tired eyes, it contains a whole array of active ingredients, including eight different peptides (for hydration and fine-line smoothing), as well as complex of vitamin C for concentrated brightening too. Consider the statement tube your 'early-morning wake up call' in skincare form.
If applying eye cream has always felt like a bit of a faff, may we introduce you to the product we think will change your mind. The beautifully silky-smooth texture of this Caudalie cream makes you actually want to apply it and that's even before you see the results. The combination of niacinamide, caffeine and vine sap to tackle discolouration will add radiance back to tired eyes before you know it.
As nourishing as it is brightening and tightening, this creamy formula tackles both puffiness and crepey, dull skin and is a beauty editor favourite. With an instantly glowy skin finish, perfect for when you are running late in the morning, it includes caffeine and ginseng root to depuff, while watermelon extract and various butters lock in moisture, helping soothe sleepy, fatigued eyes.
It's not surprising that this eye cream has gone fairly viral on social media. Despite being available for less than ten pounds, this hard-working cream is packed with brightening vitamin C, energising green coffee bean extract and nourishing carrot oil, meaning it quickly soothes, hydrates and boosts radiance. Plus, we love how much easier your concealer glides on over the top of it.
Lead image credit: Medik8
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