Speaking from experience, there's nothing worse than trying a new eye cream that you're excited about only to find out a few days later that it made your eye area look raw and inflamed. As someone with sensitive skin around my eyes, I've unfortunately had this happen to me one too many times—particularly if I try an eye cream with one too many actives, added fragrances, or other sneaky irritating ingredients.
After a particularly bad spell with a retinol-laced eye cream in the fall that left me with an irritated patch I couldn't get rid of, I nearly swore off eye creams altogether. Of course, I didn't want to do that—eye creams have tons of benefits if you choose the right formula. To continue being able to use eye creams, I decided to get derm input on the best picks for sensitive skin (including plenty of drugstore eye creams!).
How do I choose eye cream for sensitive skin?
There are a few major red flags to be on the lookout for in any ingredient list. If you're sensitive, avoid eye creams that contain retinoids, hydroxy acids, fragrances, and alcohols. "Alcohol will dry out the eyelid skin and fragrance has a high likelihood to cause allergic reactions in the very sensitive and delicate eyelid skin," says Nava Greenfield, MD, of Schweiger Dermatology Group in New York City.
Instead, opt for hydrating and moisturizing ingredients, according to Hadley King, MD, FAAD, a dermatologist based in New York City. These work to support the delicate skin around your eye area. "Hydrating ingredients like oils, hyaluronic acid, and ceramides are excellent for eyelid skin, as well as ingredients that promote and boost skin health such as peptides, antioxidants, and extracts," says Greenfield. Keep reading for some of the best eye creams out there for sensitive skin.
Best overall eye cream for sensitive skin:
If you were to plop me on a desert island and only let me have five skincare products (sad), this would without a doubt be one of my choices. It's incredibly gentle, and it both hydrates and de-puffs your eye area like magic. It also has a pudding-adjacent texture that melts into the skin seamlessly, making it a true pleasure to use.
Pros: Brightening, moisturizing, de-puffing
Cons: Some people might not like the melting texture
Customer reviews: "A non-greasy, moisturizing formula for everyone! I love how its texture is so creamy, which immediately feels like a 'burst of moisture' as you put it on. It's difficult to describe with words, but it literally feels like you are putting on concentrated water. Doesn't smudge my gel eye liner."
More eye creams we love for sensitive skin:
This new eye cream from Innbeauty Project is flying off the shelves and keeps selling out—but if you can get your hands on it, it's worth waiting for. "Innbeauty Project's Bright and Tight Eye Cream is a great choice for sensitive skin," says King. "It contains humectants, emollients, and occlusives to moisturize the skin, as well as peptides and bakuchiol to help to soften fine lines, caffeine to help decrease puffiness, and vitamin C and tranexamic acid to help brighten." Talk about a do-it-all product.
Pros: Brightening, moisturizing, tightening
Cons: Slight shimmer
Customer reviews: "This is a very nice, anti-aging eye cream with brightening benefits that leaves my undereye area feeling hydrated and comfortable throughout the day. It pairs well with other skincare and makeup."
"It contains retinol, antioxidants, anti-aging peptides, algae extract, rice and soy peptides, and moisturizing ingredients to address fine lines, crepiness, dark circles, and puffiness," says King. "Even though it contains retinol, the overall formulation is hydrating and moisturizing and should be suitable for sensitive skin.”
Pros: Helps dark circles, moisturizing
Cons: Pricey
Customer reviews: "The eye cream is soothing, smoothes out lines, and seriously erases dark circles over time. Under makeup it wears beautifully and worn overnight I wake up to brighter and smoother under eyes. I tend to have oily eyelids and used to avoid using eye cream on my upper lid but this one is really pure magic. It’s not greasy, it doesn’t make my lids oily at all, just makes my eyes look brighter and I love it."
This eye cream isn't just incredibly hydrating and nourishing; it's also good for brightening dark circles thanks to peptides and gold foil.
Pros: Brightening, moisturizing
Cons: Slight shimmer
Customer reviews: "Probably the best eye cream I've used in a while. Easy to apply, absorbs quickly and non sticky—works well even for humid weather."
One of my friends has severely dry skin around their eyes—it's something they've been dealing with their entire life. This is the only eye cream that helps curb their flaky eye skin. It makes sense, as it's infused with La Roche-Posay's signature thermal water, which has been clinically proven to intensely soothe skin.
Pros: Hydrating, soothing
Cons: Some might not like the thinner texture
Customer reviews: "Toleriane Ultra Eye seems to moisturize and nourish well, and my skin feels soft and more elastic with use. It is virtually scentless, so great for those with scent sensitivity. The formula sits nicely on the skin and while it feels a bit tacky to the touch once absorbed, it isn't greasy or heavy. It does well under concealer as well. Overall I like the product, especially for the price point."
At just $10, this eye cream feels much more expensive than it actually is. Hyaluronic acid and peptides work together to create a supremely moisturizing formula that plumps and hydrates.
Pros: Moisturizing, plumping
Cons: Some find the consistency too light
Customer reviews: "I've only been using this for a few days but I must say, I see a difference. I use it day and night as instructed and have noticed that even when I am lacking sleep and have to run out the house without my concealer I still look rested and awake."
Meet my new favorite eye cream. This gel formula not only moisturizes the skin around my eyes like crazy, but it also manages to make every line around my eye area vanish. That's thanks to hero ingredients like glycerin which holds onto water and two different algae-derived complexes that help smooth skin and reduce the appearance of fine lines.
Pros: Moisturizing, plumping, smoothing
Cons: Some might find the texture too light
Customer reviews: "I am 32 and have been searching years for eye creams that actually work. I have spent hundreds on different brands of expensive products and have never noticed the slightest difference. The first time I tried this with the eye patches, I noticed an immediate difference. I have been using this gel in the morning and night with the eye patches and I feel so plump and fresh faced, and have noticed a decrease in my fine lines. This is the only time I can genuinely say an eye cream has worked for me."
This eye cream isn't called a "moisturizing eye bomb" for nothing. Packed with tons of hydrating ingredients, it's truly equivalent to dousing your eye area with moisture. Its star ingredient is something called comfrey leaf, an ultra-hydrating botanical that has been long-used by Scottish farmers tending to their calloused hands. It also has tiger grass to soothe while it moisturizes.
Pros: Soothing, moisturizing
Cons: Some find the packaging too bulky
Customer reviews: "This is a very nice, anti-aging eye cream with brightening benefits that leaves my undereye area feeling hydrated and comfortable throughout the day. It pairs well with other skincare and makeup."
With both chamomile and thermal spring water, this eye cream works wonders against both puffiness and irritation. Hyaluronic acid helps plump and moisturize the under-eyes, while pre-tocopheryl (something that goes into vitamin E) works as an antioxidant to defend the skin from environmental aggressors.
Pros: Moisturizing, helps de-puff
Cons: May pill under makeup
Customer reviews: "This eye cream is very light but hydrating. I have eczema on my eye lid and this helped soothe that area very well. It is worth it."
This eye cream blends together five different ceramides for intensive moisture. It also has niacinamide, which helps support ceramide production.
Pros: Moisturizing, smoothing
Cons: Some find there to be a small amount of product in the jar
Customer reviews: "One of my favorite eye creams. The texture is super soft and almost feels velvety. It deeply moisturizes all around my eyes without looking oily or going on thick."
A blend of peptides, algae extract, and olive oil (yes, olive oil!) make this hydrating eye cream tough to beat. This eye cream does contain a bit of sparkle to help brighten, so keep that in mind before pressing "add to cart."
Pros: brightening, moisturizing, helps de-puff
Cons: Slight shimmer
Customer reviews: "I really love this eye cream. It seems to really be helping with puffiness and some with dark circles."
Squalane works to hold moisture in so this eye cream is able to be as moisturizing as possible. In a clinical study, the brand found that 97% of people showed improvement in the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles after just one week.
Pros: Brightening, moisturizing, firming
Cons: Pricey for the amount of product
Customer reviews: "After 7 months of being a new mom, I learned that nothing will help if you don't get the right sleep. However, this gorgeous cream keeps my eye contour area extremely hydrated. It's a soft without a heavy texture and my skin loves it."
This eye cream has just about every ingredient that sensitive skin would want. Colloidal oatmeal and hyaluronic acid render it both hydrating and soothing.
Pros: Hydrating, smoothing, helps de-puff
Cons: Some don't like the way it smells
Customer reviews: "Once you reach a certain age, eye cream is essential and this one doesn't disappoint. Especially in the winter when my skin gets dry everywhere, this hydrates and reduces puffiness"
You can always count on Cetaphil to make formulas that are both affordable and efficacious. This eye gel is infused with hyaluronic acid and vitamins to nourish skin gently.
Pros: Brightening, moisturizing
Cons: Some find the texture too light
Customer reviews: "I've used this product for a few weeks now, but noticed results the first week. I've tried a number of other creams and highly recommend this for anyone with fine lines and dark circles. Won't use any other product."
This is another pick that feels like it should cost more money than it does. Rice extracts and aloe work in tandem with each other to calm and hydrate the skin.
Pros: Hydrating, soothing
Cons: Doesn't target fine lines
Customer reviews: "I have extremely sensitive eyes. This product doesn’t have a scent or if it does, it’s so light that I don’t smell it. You only need a very small amount. I’m 33, and it helps hydrate around my eyes. I don’t believe it claims to minimize wrinkles around the eyes, which I’m blessed to not have yet. It does however hydrate around the eye well."
This article was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated.
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