This affordable skincare brand is famed for its spectacular eye creams—these are the best

Look, we get it. It can be a total maze navigating eye creams. With so many formulas, ingredients and applicators to choose from, it’s tricky knowing where to start. One brand that’s got us covered? L'Oréal eye creams are considered some of the best. This legacy brand is one we can count on to give us an ingredient-packed formula for prices that won’t make your eyes water. 

While eye products aren’t strictly necessary (nothing in skincare truly is, apart from SPF), they can yield impressive results when incorporated into your AM and PM regimens, particularly when you apply them correctly. Read on for a quick eye cream refresher, and discover our favourite L'Oréal formulas. 

Do eye creams work? 

In short: yes, they do. However, they’re not miracle workers so realistic expectations are important to keep in mind. Since our under eyes are delicate, eye cream formulas contain concentrated ingredients—like caffeine, hyaluronic acid, retinoids, vitamin C and peptides—to target specific concerns such as fine lines and wrinkles, puffiness, and dark circles. 

“Those with ageing concerns, the gold standard is retinol. Those who need to boost hydration, look for products rich in hyaluronic acid. And to banish puffiness, caffeine-based products are a great choice,” explains Ridah Syed, senior medical aesthetician at Skinfluencer London. 

So why not just use your favourite face cream under the eyes? Well, technically you can and if that’s working for you then don’t let us stop you. Eye creams do, however, help to avoid something called milia. Milia are harmless (but often annoying) small bumps filled with keratin around the eye area and often occur due to heavy creams. 

What are the limitations of eye creams? 

Despite eye creams making a noticeable difference for many, there’s definitely only so much creams and serums can do. While eye creams can temporarily reduce things like puffiness and give dark circles the appearance of brightness, they won’t banish those concerns altogether. This is where you might want to seek professional advice. 

So, if you're not sure whether you want to spend a load on money on a new eye cream, fear not. L'Oréal eye cream come with big promises and relatively low price tags, in comparison to other brands. But can drugstore eye creams actually work as well as they promise to? As a beauty editor, I decided to test them all out. Read on to learn which L'Oréal formulas work to de-puff, brighten and smooth the best.

1. L'Oréal Paris Revitalift Laser Renew Anti Ageing Eye Cream

The L'Oréal Paris Revitalift Laser Renew Anti Ageing Eye Cream is ideal if you love an instant cooling feeling and hydrated finish that dries down semi-matte. The metal applicator feels incredibly refreshing and works to temporarily de-puff the area. It even stays cold without needing to keep it in the fridge—perfect for hot days. The formula has a very subtle pink pearlescence and has no scent. A little goes a long way with this one and applying too much can cause pilling. 

2. L'Oréal Paris Age Perfect Golden Age Rosy Glow Eye Cream for Dark Circles 

Dark circles your main concern? Try something like L'Oréal Paris’s Age Perfect Golden Age Rosy Glow Eye Cream, which has a distinct rosy shade to colour correct. It’s a very thick formula, which is something to bear in mind, but works to instantly smooth and blur fine lines. It dries down leaving a matte finish, so not one if you like to add lots of hydration to the area. As for the packaging, it’s definitely more on the basic end and doesn’t feel as luxe as the brand’s tube applicators. 

3. L'Oréal Paris 2.5% Hyaluronic Acid and Caffeine Eye Serum

One of the more unique of the bunch is the L'Oréal Paris 2.5% Hyaluronic Acid and Caffeine Eye Serum, which has a wand applicator featuring three stainless steel beads for an instant cooling effect. The formula contains hyaluronic acid for hydration and caffeine and niacinamide for brightening and de-puffing. As many hyaluronic acid formulas are, this one is a bit sticky, but it soon dissipates. Plus, the tacky nature often means it works well under concealer.

4. L'Oréal Paris Revitalift Pro Retinol Anti Wrinkle Eye Cream

If you’re looking to work on fine lines around the eye area, reach for L'Oréal Paris Revitalift Pro Retinol Anti Wrinkle Eye Cream. As part of your nighttime routine, this retinol-based product, “promotes smoother, tighter, and more even skin by increasing collagen production and speeding up cellular turnover,” says Syed. 

Retinol-based products should be used with caution, though. You’ll need to build up tolerance to it, starting only a few times a week.  “The skin around the eye is very delicate and has fewer sebaceous glands than facial skin, so it can become irritated,” explains Syed. “Avoid applying any type of retinol or retinoid to the eyelids or even close to the lash line, otherwise you may be at risk of damaging the meibomian glands (the oil glands near the lashes) ,” she adds. 

The extra effort of incorporating retinol is worth it though so don’t let cautions scare you off. 

5. L'Oréal Paris Age Perfect Cell Renew Eye Cream

Last but not least is the L'Oréal Paris Age Perfect Cell Renew Eye Cream. This leans more on the traditional eye cream scale (with the brand’s innovative chrome tip applicator). It’s creamy and fairly thick (without being heavy) and slightly scented. If you don’t have any specific concerns in mind but want something to keep your eye area feeling in tip top shade, this antioxidant-packed formula does just that. It’s got a very subtle shimmer, which gives an instant illuminating effect, which looks lovely both with and without makeup.