When it comes to eye products, you’ve probably heard people tell you that it’s not enough to just use the same moisturizer that you put on your face around your eyes.
But are dedicated eye creams, serums and essences really necessary?
The truth is that it really depends. Lots of factors are at play here, including your age, your budget, your skin concerns, and the particular skincare products you are considering.
For example, some skincare lines have very similar ingredients (or formulations) between their facial and eye moisturizer range, but the price of the eye product may be significantly more expensive, making it less “worth it” to splurge on the eye product.
Other eye creams, like the Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Eye Cream EX, is a much more concentrated formulation compared with its facial moisturizer counterparts, such as the Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream EX Light (which we use all the tim), and the Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream EX (Jolse). This eye cream version contains more moisturizing emollients like shea butter, and omits some ingredients which may be too strong or irritating if it gets into the eyes, such as retinol and salicyclic acid. As a result, we find it really effective in reducing the appearance of puffy eyes, dark circles, and other signs of aging.
Your age also plays a big part in the decision making process. Our post on anti-aging skincare really breaks this down for you, but essentially, you can get away with not wearing eye cream when you’re in your teens and early 20s. However, if you have issues with dark undereye circles, you can still try a natural eye cream containing vitamin C, like the Moogoo Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate Vitamin C, which we find has helped a lot with correcting dark undereye circles.
By the time you are in your late 20s, and certainly in by age 30, 40, 50, 60 and beyond, it becomes more and more crucial to hydrate and nourish the area around your eyes in order to slow down signs of aging.
Of course, price plays a big part in all of this too, as eye products tend to be more expensive than face creams.
If price is your major barrier to entry to the world of eye creams and moisturizers, you can start with drugstore and less expensive options, such as the Mizon Collagen Power Firming Eye Cream (Jolse), Innisfree Perfect 9 Repair Eye Cream (Style Korean)(Beautynet Korean), Innisfree Jeju Orchid Eye Cream (Style Korean)(Beautynet Korean)(Jolse), Benton Fermentation Eye Cream (Style Korean)(Althea)(Jolse), Antipodes Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream and the 100% Pure Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream (100% pure). We find that you may not see a big difference in terms of anti-aging with these, but they do still contain potent antioxidants such as caffeine that have reduced the appearance of puffiness around our eyes.
By the way…some of the skincare we recommend are available on iHerb, which we use to buy a lot of our organic skincare. You can use our code AEJ0519 at checkout to get 5% off.
When you are ready to move on to more luxurious eye products, but don’t think your skin is ready for something too thick or creamy, or you get milia around the eyes, try some water-based formulations like the Amore Pacific Intensive Vitalizing Eye Essence, the Tatcha Luminous Deep Hydration Firming Eye Serum and the Drunk Elephant Shaba Complex Eye Serum. These are very lightweight formulations that haven’t caused us irritation or milia, but help to keep the eye area feeling hydrated and radiant.
For something really luxurious but lightweight, check out the Sulwhasoo Snowise Brightening Eye Serum, which is great for helping to reduce the appearance of swelling and lightening dark circles, or the Sulwhasoo Essential Rejuvenating Eye Cream EX, which is a very light emulsion-like cream with a faint aroma of white ginseng. We find it’s great for nourishing the undereye area and keeping wrinkles at bay.
Once you are ready for creamier formulations, reach for the Origins GinZing Eye Cream and The History of Whoo Cheongidan Hwa Hyun Eye Cream, which contain a myriad of different botanical and fruit antioxidant extracts. These have helped reduce the appearance of our fine lines. The Elensilia Cpp Collagen 80 Intensive Eye Cream is worth trying to get the benefit of its collagen extract, which we found has been super moisturizing for the eye area while not causing any milia.
The Sulwhasoo Timetreasure Renovating Eye Serum and the Sulwhasoo Timetreasure Renovating Eye Cream are part of Sulwhasoo’s Timetreasure series, which is designed with a focus on anti-aging. We find that used together, they help to correct dark circles and improve the appearance of sagging skin and loss in elasticity around the eye area. The eye creams feels thick but surprisingly not pore-clogging, thanks to the way that these products have been formulated.
If you are looking for a compact product that you can throw into your travel bag, check out the Erborian Sève De Bamboo Eye Matte, which comes in a slim stick packaging. It has limited anti-aging properties, but feels very cooling and soothing when applied.
So after all of that, what’s your verdict on skincare products for the eyes? Are they just marketing P.R.?
Our verdict is, if you can afford it, it’s better to use a dedicated eye cream that contains a richer and more nourishing formulation around your eyes compared with the rest of your face. However, if that’s too pricey for the time being, moisturizing around your eyes with a safe facial moisturizer can also be ok, as long as you check the ingredients.
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P.S…this is probably obvious, but the information presented doesn’t constitute medical advice - always check with your own doctor!
