The 6 Best Eye Creams of 2026 | Reviews by Wirecutter

Best all-around eye cream: CeraVe Skin Renewing Eye Cream

 Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter

Top pick

A multitasker with short- and long-term effects, this deceptively mild cream delivered some of the most dramatic brightening and smoothing we saw. Not everyone experienced a change, but for those who did, it was demonstrable.

This covers-all-bases cream was the sleeper hit of our panel test. Packaged in a workaday squeeze tube that could just as easily house analgesic ointment, CeraVe Skin Renewing Eye Cream delivered some of the most dramatic brightening, depuffing, and smoothing results we saw.

Described by panelists as “not too thick or thin” and “fast-absorbing with no sticky residue,” the formula went over well, and even a sensitive-skinned tester experienced no irritation. By contrast, SkinCeuticals A.G.E. Advanced Eye caused mild reactions in a couple of our panelists.

Niacinamide, which is high up on the Skin Renewing Eye Cream’s ingredients list, “is a real multitasker with brightening, antioxidant, and humectant properties,” said cosmetic chemist Kelly Dobos. This vitamin B derivative can also soften fine lines over time, according to dermatologist Mona Gohara. Both experts thought the product’s success with testers could also have been related to a few other ingredients: hydrating glycerin, barrier-reinforcing ceramides, and collagen-supporting peptides. Caffeine, which can temporarily depuff skin, may have played a role as well.

When one tester (and three of her family members) noticed a brightening and wrinkle-softening effect within a week of starting the trial, Gohara offered a reasonable explanation: If you plump up skin and make it more reflective, “lines look softer fast.”

This CeraVe Skin Renewing Eye Cream panelist, shown here from the front and the side, reported that her upper lid looked less creased and puffy at the 30-day mark.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• Some testers were a bit underwhelmed by the look and feel of this eye cream. “I think I could've been won over if the consistency were amazing or novel, but this cream felt a little too blah,” one panelist said.
• Because it’s a multitasker, this cream does hydrate, but not as generously as others.

Key specs

Fragrance: fragrance-free
Price at the time of publication: 0.5-ounce tube for $14 to $25 (about $28 to $50 per ounce)

Upgrade all-around eye cream: Innbeauty Project Extreme Cream Eye

 Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter

Upgrade pick

Rich and bouncy, with an instant hit of radiance, this cream felt and looked sumptuous from the start. Testers also reported smoothing, brightening, and depuffing over time — a good thing, since the initial radiant effect tends to fade quickly.

A more decadent-feeling (and -looking) formulation, Innbeauty Project Extreme Cream Eye pairs a plush texture with a subtle radiance for a quick glow-up. But our testers also noticed less puffiness, softened lines, and generalized brightening over four weeks of testing.

The texture was a hit at first pump: “This is a lovely, thick cream that slides on easily, without being cakey,” one tester said. By contrast, some of the products that we tested specifically for their claims of lush hydration — such as Trader Joe’s Supreme Hydrating Eye Cream — felt oddly wan.

One factor that’s likely in play: Many creams are oil-in-water emulsions, and the Trader Joe’s cream looks to be an example, according to Dobos. But the Innbeauty Project Extreme Cream Eye is the reverse: water-in-oil, “a thick, rich emulsion with a higher concentration of emollients.” Given that, the cushiony feel was no surprise, Dobos said.

That same emulsion process gives a crystalline structure to some of the ingredients, making them more reflective, according to Dobos. So even though there’s no mica or other pearlescent additive in the formula, testers reported that they looked more awake with this stuff on. One noted that she’d even used the cream as a highlighter, while another, who hadn’t been sleeping well, said “it made me seem like I was getting a good night’s rest.” Probably amplifying that effect was the inclusion of acetyl tetrapeptide-5, “a classic anti-puffiness peptide that targets fluid buildup,” according to Gohara.

The Innbeauty Project Extreme Cream Eye has an instant brightening effect, as seen in this photo taken a minute after a tester applied it. (Most panelists in our first round of testing also saw long-term improvements; we’re currently documenting those with a group of testers who’ll be photographed in a clinical setting.) Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• Despite the fact that this eye cream is fragrance-free, testers noted the faintest chemical smell upon application.
• The instant radiance tended to recede quickly, especially on testers with medium to dark skin tones.
• This cream is pricey, but the bottle is refillable, and refills cost less per ounce.

Key specs

Fragrance: fragrance-free

Price at the time of publication: 0.5-ounce refillable bottle for $52 ($104 per ounce), 0.5-ounce refill for $46 ($92 per ounce), 0.2-ounce mini for $34 ($170 per ounce)

Best for dark circles: Alastin Restorative Eye Complex

 Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter

Best for...

With an instant brightness that diminished dark circles in the short term, this cream also lightened them over time and improved skin texture — more visibly for some testers than for others.

The majority of panelists who complained of dark circles reported improvement after using Alastin Restorative Eye Complex for 30 days. But one of the most fascinating moments of the trial happened a lot sooner: “You guys,” one tester said, “I am on day 11, and I looked in the mirror this morning and there is a notable difference.”

Although no cream could achieve long-term effects so quickly, certain ingredients in the Alastin cream appeared to be tiding this tester over. Silica, for example, contributes to a light-scattering effect that “helps diminish the appearance of fine lines and uneven skin tone,” Dobos said. Then, she added, there’s an antioxidant trio that “calms, drains, and protects the skin around the eyes.” And because puffiness tends to cast shadows, draining it can help lighten things up.

A month in, most testers reported subtle textural improvements, and all of them saw varying degrees of brightening, perhaps thanks to two additional factors: peptides, which can thicken skin, and niacinamide, which can lighten it. By contrast, no testers saw diminished darkness after using the CeraVe Eye Repair Cream.

This Alastin Restorative Eye Complex tester had some puffiness, just beneath her lower lashline, that was casting a shadow (left); after 30 days, she noticed that the puffiness and shadow were both diminished (right).

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• This eye cream might be slow to absorb and/or leave a bit of residue for some people. One tester who’d initially experienced this issue said it stopped after she used the cream for a week, when her skin was more hydrated.
• This cream is among our most expensive picks, but no other product we tested improved testers’ dark circles as well.

Key specs

Fragrance: fragrance-free

Price at the time of publication: 0.6-ounce bottle for $128 ($213 per ounce)

Best for wrinkles: Skinbetter Science EyeMax AlphaRet Overnight Cream

 Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter

Best for...

Gentle and moisturizing, this retinoid-infused cream was a surprisingly effective alternative to the prescription retinoids that some of our panelists had found too harsh in the past. Although most testers experienced visible wrinkle reduction over a month, one did not.

The silky, peach-colored Skinbetter Science EyeMax AlphaRet Overnight Cream softened lines on most who tried it. The results were generally subtle — the kind you’d need to scrutinize at close range to see. However, one panelist reported that various family members (who had no idea she was testing for us) started remarking on her mysteriously refreshed appearance three weeks into the trial.

The improvements were no mystery to our experts, though: “The retinoid derivative is doing the heavy lifting,” Gohara said. But unlike prescription retinoids (which some of our testers had tried and found too drying and irritating), Skinbetter Science EyeMax AlphaRet Overnight Cream uses a slow-release retinoid: “Ethyl lactyl retinoate gradually turns into retinoic acid in the skin,” Dobos explained. What makes the molecule especially interesting, she added, is that its “transformation in the skin also releases lactic acid, an alpha hydroxy acid.” The likely result: “smoother texture, firmer‑looking skin, and softer lines over time, without the sharp irritation that traditional retinoids can cause around the eyes.”

Most testers reported the first signs of wrinkle-softening between the three- and four-week marks. By contrast, some of the other line-targeting eye creams we tested, such as the Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Smoothing Eye Cream, scored well for moisturizing or brightening, but not for noticeable wrinkle reduction within the test period.

This Skinbetter Science EyeMax AlphaRet tester reported that her under-eye wrinkles appeared softer and her crow’s feet were starting to show faint signs of improvement after 30 days.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• Per ounce, this cream is our most expensive pick by far. You have to really want to diminish wrinkles — and commit to consistent application — to make the purchase make sense.
• The pump dispenser twists up for use, but the mechanism isn’t always smooth and easy.

Key specs

Fragrance: fragrance-free

Price at the time of publication: 0.5-ounce pump bottle for $135 ($270 per ounce)

Best for stubbornly dry skin: Belif Moisturizing Eye Bomb

 Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter

Best for...

So thick that there’s some resistance when you dip a finger in, this cream verges on salve territory. And it soothed extra-dry skin around the eyes better than any other cream we tested. But the essential oils in the mix may irritate sensitive skin.

When nothing in our first round of testing provided quite enough moisture for our persistently dry-skinned panelists, we had them try Belif Moisturizing Eye Bomb. We admit: The long ingredients list, dotted with potentially irritating essential oils, originally gave us pause. But once our panelists tested this thick, soothing cream, the only reaction it provoked was instant fandom.

“This is what I want to feel in a hydrating eye cream,” said one, who noted that “it had a comforting heft that sank in quickly, but then left a cushiony layer of hydration so the skin around my eyes felt a bit more protected from the elements.”

For starters, this cream is stacked with humectants. There are also emollient and barrier-improving ingredients, such as squalane and ceramides, to smooth skin and seal in moisture, Gohara said. The result is an almost primer-like cream that testers said made a good base for concealer, as long as they allowed for a few minutes of absorption time between the two.

And though the aforementioned essential oils had us watching for irritation, none of our testers experienced any. By contrast, the Laneige Water Bank Eye Cream — our runner-up in this category — did cause some stinging for one panelist, and it didn’t provide quite enough moisture for others.

 Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• The ingredients list is longer than many experts like to see for a product that’s applied to the potentially sensitive skin around the eyes. (A common guideline: The fewer ingredients a product has, the less likely it is to irritate sensitive skin, and the more likely you are to identify a problematic ingredient if you do experience irritation.) That said, none of our testers, including one with sensitive skin, experienced irritation.
• One tester noticed that the cream pilled when she applied makeup.

Key specs

Fragrance: contains essential oils

Price at the time of publication: 0.84-ounce jar for $48 ($57 per ounce)

Best for soothing and depuffing: Cocokind Revitalizing Eye Cream

 Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter

Best for...

A tiny spa moment in a tube, this rich cream comes with a cooling metal applicator that delivers self-care as much as it does skin care. While most testers reported some depuffing, it was subtle.

During my initial reporting, when I polled Wirecutter staffers about any eye creams they’d tried and liked, this was one of the few that came up. My coworkers praised its refreshing metal applicator, soothing formulation, and affordable price. Then, when I had panelists test the Cocokind Revitalizing Eye Cream, they added its depuffing abilities to that list.

Granted, any deflation was subtle and mostly temporary, but it was more than testers got from another massager-tipped tube in the mix: Ilia Bright Start, which costs more than twice as much.

Everyone loved Cocokind’s applicator, and Gohara wasn’t surprised. The coolness “causes vasoconstriction, which temporarily reduces swelling and can make under-eye vessels less visible,” she said. “The metal tip also mimics gentle lymphatic drainage, helping move fluid out of the area.”

The Cocokind Revitalizing Eye Cream’s metal applicator. Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter

Of course, the ingredients are also important. They include shea butter, a skin-softener with anti-inflammatory properties, and darutoside, a plant-derived ingredient that can also “help calm inflammation in this delicate area where puffiness and sensitivity show up easily,” Dobos said. In fact, one tester noted how kind the cream was not only to her skin but also to her sensitive eyes. “I’ve used under-eye cream that makes my eyes sting and water horribly, but this was issue-free.”

This Cocokind Revitalizing Eye Cream tester had some puffiness just beneath his lower lashlines (left), and he reported the area looked flatter after 30 days (right). He also noted improvements to skin texture.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• The depuffing was subtle and, for some testers, only temporary.
• If you don’t use or wipe off all of the cream you dispense, the metal applicator can get a bit gunky.

Key specs

Fragrance: fragrance-free

Price at the time of publication: 0.5-ounce tube for $19 ($38 per ounce)

What eye creams can (and can’t) do

Eye creams can soften wrinkles, hydrate parched skin, and decrease darkness and puffiness — to an extent. “Topical skin care has real value, but it operates within biologic limits,” said dermatologist Anne Chapas. Here’s what to know about those limits, if you’re hoping to address any of the following issues:

Puffiness: We all have fat pads beneath our eyes, but genetics, weight changes, and other factors can make these “bags” look more or less pronounced. Although no topical can reposition or minimize under-eye fat, Chapas said, some eye creams can reduce fluid-induced puffiness (think: the morning after a salty dinner). The specific mechanisms vary, but many use vasoconstrictors like caffeine and have cooling applicators — whether metal or ceramic — to ease swelling. (Those were the types of effects reported by testers who tried the Cocokind Revitalizing Eye Cream.)

Dark circles: You need to know what type you’re dealing with in order to predict whether an eye cream might help. If your circles are the result of visible vasculature — when the extremely thin skin around your eyes offers a peek at the underlying blood vessels — a cream may be minimally useful. “These dark circles read as blue, purple, or even reddish,” Chapas said. If you’ve got them, you may see some benefit from retinoids and other ingredients that increase dermal thickness over time. “But this is going to be very subtle,” Chapas cautioned.

Then there’s hyperpigmentation, a product of genetics (darker skin tones are more prone to it), UV exposure, mechanical friction, inflammation, and other factors. Eye creams with “ingredients like retinoids, mild exfoliants, and pigment modulators” may lighten dark circles over time, Chapas said. Of the eye creams we tested, the Alastin Restorative Eye Complex was the most effective at improving dark circles.

Finally, there’s the shadowing that can appear in the hollows around your eyes (think: tear troughs or the aforementioned fat pads). “This is about light and anatomy,” Chapas said. “The shadows appear as darkness, even when the skin tone itself is normal.” In this case, topicals don’t do anything meaningful. While you might get a temporary effect from reflective particles or plumping ingredients, you won’t see a lasting change. (But allow us to introduce you to our concealer guide.)

Wrinkles: Crow’s feet would be tough to erase altogether, and you probably wouldn’t want to. Smiling (and otherwise emoting) is the main force that keeps etching them in. They can, however, be softened, as can the other wrinkles around the eyes. Retinoids remain the gold standard: “With retinoids, you’re influencing cellular turnover and collagen production,” Chapas explained. But experts caution that retinoids can irritate the exceptionally thin skin around the eyes. If that’s a concern, certain types of peptides may also offer improvements. In our testing, Skinbetter Science EyeMax AlphaRet Overnight Cream (which contains a gentle retinoid and peptide) was the most effective wrinkle-softener.

How we picked

If you’re searching for an eye cream on Amazon, clear your schedule and settle in: You’re looking at 30,000 results, minimum. Pressed for time? Maybe try Walmart, where you’ll have a mere 1,000 or so results to sift through.

This is, to put it mildly, a big category to narrow down — and one with a bad rap, as I was reminded at the beginning of my research, when I put out a call for staff favorites. The first response (which arrived within 60 seconds and foreshadowed almost everyone else’s) was this: “Still waiting to be convinced (by a really good one) that I need an eye cream. I’ve never found one that makes a difference.”

Between then and now, I’ve interviewed four dermatologists, two cosmetic chemists, an ophthalmologist, and a dermatologic clinical research coordinator. I’ve eavesdropped on almost all of the eye-cream conversations I could find online — whether they were on Reddit, TikTok, or even Netflix. I’ve read hundreds of reviews and several medical journal articles. And I’ve heard from dozens of people across generations and genders about eye-area concerns that would be great to address with a cream … if only it had a shot at working.

When I began compiling a starter list, products marketed as “clean,” “natural,” or “green” were certainly in play. But because brands and retailers are left to define these terms in the absence of an industry standard or government regulations, I didn’t rely on such labeling. Instead, I asked the experts I interviewed to flag any health or safety concerns about common eye-cream ingredients.

None of the experts flagged specific ingredients as problematic, but the dermatologists noted that whenever you start using any new product, it has the potential to cause a reaction — especially around the eyes, where the skin is exceptionally thin and delicate. Synthetic fragrances, essential oils, exfoliating acids, and retinoids are just a few of the potential culprits. And the ophthalmologist I spoke with advised refraining from applying products around the eyes until you’ve spot-tested on other thin-skinned areas, such as your neck.

How we tested

Using my initial reporting, I arrived at a set of 56 well-rated eye creams across a wide range of price points. At one end there were drugstore favorites, and at the other end, the kind sold in dermatologists’ offices and specialty emporiums. I evaluated that list with my beauty colleagues and then narrowed it down to 21 products for panel testing.

The 65 panelists — women and men from ages 23 to 84 — were grouped according to their primary concern: stubbornly dry skin around their eyes, wrinkles, puffiness, and dark circles. Everyone received a single cream to use on one eye only, for comparison’s sake, over 30 days — “a reasonable starting point” for some early results to kick in, said dermatologist Anne Chapas. (We also wanted to pick a time frame that didn’t feel daunting to testers.) Our dry-skinned panelists received a second-round cream to test, since none of the first-round candidates proved hydrating enough.

Testers evaluated the eye creams according to the following criteria:

• Texture and application: how each one felt going on
• Absorption: how each cream sank in and dried down
• Integration into routine: how each product played (or pilled) with other products
• Efficacy: how each one addressed the tester’s main concern in the short term and by the 30-day mark
• Additional benefits and/or drawbacks: how the product smelled, whether it was irritating, how it was packaged and dispensed, and anything else the testers deemed worthy of noting

We also asked testers to take photos of their eyes before they applied the cream for the first time and then again on day 30. In some cases, if the product claimed to have instant effects, we also asked for photos immediately post-application.

A Wirecutter photographer took those photos for a number of testers in the New York City area. But even so, we knew that all of our before and after images would vary — and they might not capture small changes. Still, the imagery served as an essential reality check: Testers used it to help inform their evaluations, and we used it to help inform our understanding of the results.

Because some eye creams may deliver more-noticeable results over time, we’ve asked panelists who were testing the six that became our picks to continue doing so and to take additional photos. We also have a new set of panelists testing each of our picks, and we’ll be documenting that process with a clinical imaging system. Our hope is to quantify the results in a way that selfies and studio photography simply can’t — with fixed positioning, repeatable lighting, and a camera that captures details from the same angles every time.

We plan to update this guide with new results and more-detailed photos once we have them. For now, we’re publishing photos from testers who gave us permission to do so. We’ve cropped these to show detail — and to protect the innocent: Nearly everyone who sent us photos used some version of the subject line “Scariest pics ever. Burn after reading.”

Why you should trust us

I came up professionally as a beauty editor at a succession of women’s magazines (back when there were enough of them to form a succession). In the line of duty since the early ’90s, I’ve attended untold skin-care presentations by dermatologists, R&D scientists, aestheticians — and even the occasional astronaut.

During my very first week on the job, I found myself deep in the skin cancer stacks of a reference library — and to this day, I’ve worked on nothing more redeeming than an article that helped one reader catch a melanoma. (She otherwise would have ignored the spot, per the letter she sent to the magazine after her successful treatment.)

But sometimes my professional interest in dermatology turns personal. Given the aforementioned and ever-deepening crow’s feet, I’ve flirted with eye creams for decades. Prescription-strength versions have typically proved to be too harsh for me. And over-the-counter alternatives have been too meh — so far. For the purposes of this guide, in other words, I was my own most motivated volunteer. (PS: I’m now using Skinbetter Science EyeMax AlphaRet daily and continuing to document my progress.)

Like all Wirecutter journalists, I review and test products with complete editorial independence. I’m never made aware of any business implications of my editorial recommendations. You can read more about our editorial standards here.

The competition

Many eye creams are formulated to improve more than one issue. We interviewed experts and scoured ingredients lists and reviews to identify which products were the likeliest to help testers who complained of wrinkles, dryness, puffiness, and/or dark circles. Below are the notes on the finalists in each group.

Wrinkles

Though Beauty of Joseon Revive Eye Serum is beloved by staffers and was recommended for its ability to play well with concealer, our testers didn’t see any wrinkle reduction within the 30-day test period — and one had a reaction that made her stop early. The panelists found other highly rated wrinkle fighters pleasant to use, but (with isolated exceptions) they did not see wrinkle improvement within a month. These products include Medik8 Crystal Retinal Ceramide Eye (which nonetheless seemed to depuff one tester a bit), Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Retinol Eye Cream (praised for lightweight smoothness), Olay Renewing Eyes Retinol 24 MAX Eye Cream (which may have temporarily plumped lines for one tester), and Roc Retinol Correxion Line Smoothing Eye Cream and Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Smoothing Eye Cream (both lauded for their comfortable creaminess).

Dryness

Our testing period spanned some of the driest days of winter and the most allergy-provoking days of early spring, when our testers’ skin was — for purposes of this article — perfectly parched and raw from runny eyes. (Really, we wish everyone well.) So even some highly rated hydrators didn’t pack quite the punch that panelists had wanted. These creams included E.L.F. Cosmetics Holy Hydration! Eye Cream (which also pilled on one tester), Laneige Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Eye Cream (which caused some stinging for another tester), and Trader Joe’s Supreme Hydrating Eye Cream (a staff pick that simply wasn’t hefty enough for this panel).

Dark circles and/or puffiness

Considering that one CeraVe eye cream became a top pick, we were surprised that another one — CeraVe Eye Repair Cream — didn’t meaningfully diminish dark circles and/or puffiness for our panelists. Though one tester did comment that she loved the feel of this eye cream: “very silky, creamy and smooth.” Clinique All About Eyes Eye Cream and Ilia Bright Start Retinol Alternative were similarly enjoyable and soothing but aesthetically fruitless during our 30-day trial — other than some lovely transient brightening from Ilia. Meanwhile, Isdin Isdinceutics K-Ox Eyes, La Roche-Posay Pigmentclar Eye Cream for Dark Circles, and SkinCeuticals A.G.E. Advanced Eye — three heavyweights in this arena — produced isolated and extremely subtle results, with the exception of the minor reactions that two testers experienced with the A.G.E. Advanced Eye.

We also ruled out a number of additional creams from Alpyn Beauty, Byoma, Biossance, Caudalie, Clarins, Clinique, Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare, Dr. Loretta, Dermalogica, Dieux, Eight Saints, Estée Lauder, Fenty Beauty, Fresh, Hero Cosmetics, The Inkey List, Jones Road, Kiehl’s, La Mer, Lancôme, L’Oréal Paris, Mario Badescu, Medicube, Murad, No. 7, Ole Henriksen, Paula’s Choice, Peter Thomas Roth, Revision Skincare, Sahajan, Sunday Riley, Tatcha, and Versed. We chose not to send them to panel testing for a variety of reasons, which included insufficient reviews, limited availability, concerns about value, and formulas that didn’t feel great out of the box.

This article was edited by Jennifer G. Sullivan and Leta Shy.

Sources

1. Michelle Andreoli, MD, ophthalmologist and a clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, phone interview, December 15, 2025

2. Anne Chapas, MD, dermatologist, email interview, April 21, 2026

3. Kelly Dobos, cosmetic chemist, email interviews, December 15, 2025, April 9–12, 2026

4. Jeanine Downie, MD, dermatologist, phone interview, December 11, 2025

5. Mona Gohara, MD, dermatologist, email interview, April 9-10, 2026

6. Perry Romanowski, cosmetic chemist, email interviews, November 17, 2025

7. Papri Sarkar, MD, dermatologist, phone interview, December 18, 2025