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Your eyes say a lot about you: How much you slept, how much booze you drank the night before, and how well you tend to your skin. While it’s tempting to use whatever you have on hand to target the undereye area, it’s worth taking a beat to understand the three primary reasons men need eye cream: fine lines, puffiness, and dark circles.
Fine lines show up as a result of the skin losing elasticity due to aging or UV damage. Puffiness can happen for a number of reasons related to lifestyle, such as allergies, hormones, diet, and sleep. Dark circles can be caused by either hyperpigmentation or vascular issues that expose the blood vessels behind the delicate, thin skin of the under-eye area, causing them to look darker.
To get the best results, it's important align your skin concern with the specific benefits of any given product. And for that, you need to look to ingredients. “Some ingredients in eye creams specifically target eye concerns such as undereye bags, puffiness, or hollowness and may not be found in a regular face moisturizer,” says board-certified NYC cosmetic dermatologist Michele Green, MD. “Additionally, some eye creams are formulated with specific delivery systems to increase the efficacy of the eye cream in the specific eye area.”
Once you understand your unique needs, check out our picks for the best eye creams below. We've tested plenty over the years and found the best creams that can help banish dark circles, reduce puffiness, and brighten up your under-eye area.
The Best Men's Eye Cream, According to GQ
- The Best Eye Cream Overall: Ursa Major Forest Alchemy Eye Cream, $56
- The Best Eye Cream for Puffiness: The INKEY List Caffeine Eye Cream, $11
- The Best Eye Cream for Dark Circles: Huron Brighten & Tighten Eye Serum, $18
- The Best Eye Cream for Wrinkles: Dr. Dennis Gross Advanced Retinol + Ferulic Triple Correction Eye Serum, $71
- The Best Overnight Eye Cream: Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado, $37
- The Best Eye Patches for Men: Dieux Skin Forever Eye Mask, $25
- The Best Eye Cream for Urban Dwellers: Aesop Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Eye Cream, $90
Jump to: What to Look For in an Eye Cream | How We Tested | Eye Cream FAQs
Best Eye Cream Overall: Ursa Major Forest Alchemy Eye Cream
Size: 0.5 oz. | Key ingredients: Wild birch extract fortifies skin with amino acids, antioxidants, proteins, and more; multiple mushroom extracts provide supreme moisture retention and reduce dark circles; algae extract boosts collagen production.
Ursa Major is known for its inimitable, plant-powered formulas, which pack a ton of unique active ingredients into potent formulas to hydrate, firm, brighten, and boost the skin’s barrier. Even if you don’t recognize these hero ingredients (look, Chaga extract isn’t exactly a household name), you can trust that the brand has vetted each of them extensively for performance.
And while many top-shelf eye creams may cause sticker shock, just know that this little container will last you months (even when applied both morning and night), so you get a great return on your dollar. I find this formula to be denser than most. I like it when my eye creams are thicker, like a moisturizer, because I find restricting how much I use easier since I only want a smidge.
Best Eye Cream for Puffiness: The INKEY List Caffeine Eye Cream
Size: 0.5 oz. | Key ingredients: Caffeine reduces vascular dark circles and puffiness while peptides firm fine lines.
One of the easiest sells on this roster, The INKEY List’s eye cream provides near-instant firming and depuffing results by way of its caffeine-spiked formula (doubly so if you store it in the fridge and benefit from cold application). With continued use, the peptides in this one will help skin produce more collagen to keep fine lines, sagging, and, by virtue, puffiness at bay—all for just $11.
Best Eye Cream for Dark Circles: Huron Brighten & Tighten Eye Serum
Size: 0.46 oz. | Key ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, moringa seed oil, and niacinamide unite to boost and bind moisture within the skin; aloe fights inflammation; mushroom extract reduces discoloration; and antioxidant-rich bark extract fortifies skin against environmental wear.
One tricky part about treating dark circles is that they could be caused by a few different things, from hyperpigmentation that persists all day to a hangover that expresses itself strongly through thin skin. This thoughtful serum packs a whole lotta good into its formula to target dark circles from each angle (in addition to puffiness and fine lines, for that matter). Try storing it in the fridge so that you can benefit from the cold and stimulating touch of its metal rollerball applicator as you apply the serum (a few quick swatches will suffice each morning and night).
The Best Eye Cream for Fine Lines: Dr. Dennis Gross Advanced Retinol + Ferulic Triple Correction Eye Serum
Size: 0.5 oz. | Key ingredients: Bakuchiol and retinol combine to improve cellular turnover and stimulate collagen production; rambutan extract targets dark spots to enhance radiance while also helping firm the skin; alpha-hydroxy acids (AHA) and beta-hydroxy acids (BHA) improve surface texture and ingredient absorption, while ferulic acid reduces the appearance of dark circles caused by poor circulation.
Dr. Dennis Gross's eye serum is a must for anyone who wishes they had started using an anti-wrinkle eye cream yesterday (or years ago). The retinol- and bakuchiol-rich formula can actively reverse existing signs of aging, targeting even the subtlest wisdom lines (often called “crepiness”). Apply this one at night, opposite your daytime SPF application, for the best possible defense against accelerated UV damage. If you feel like you’re too late to the game using eye cream and already have crepiness around the eyes, you’re not actually late; just use this one to make up much of the difference.
The Best Overnight Eye Cream: Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado
Size: 0.5 oz. / 0.95 oz. | Key ingredients: Avocado oil and shea butter provide cushioning and skin-softening benefits, while beta carotene builds up the skin’s antioxidant defenses.
This is the first eye product I truly fell in love with over a decade ago. It feels like creamy butter on the skin, and that density is what ensures you wake up with exactly as much moisture in your skin. It always leaves me looking well-rested (even when the alarm clock is a couple of hours sooner than I’d like). If you dedicate an eye product to overnight use, then consider this one—though it’s perfectly fine for morning use, too.
The Best Eye Patches for Men: Dieux Skin Forever Eye Mask
If under-eye masks work better for your routine, we recommend these resusable ones from Dieux Skin. These patches are best used as a plus-up to your everyday eye cream. Apply a sliver of your chosen product to the skin around your eyes. Then, affix these patches with the narrower end pointed to the inside corners of your eyes (the wider end should cover your expression lines at the outside corners of your eyes). The reusable gels go on top of your eye cream or serum for 15 to 20 minutes to help boost ingredient absorption by creating an occlusive barrier and giving you that cold zing (if you store them in the fridge) to reduce puffiness and dark circles.
Once finished, clean the patches by patting hand soap on each one, rinsing, and drying them with a clean hand towel. These patches cost about the same as any single-use patches; granted, you’ve got to buy the actual eye cream or serum separately—though I’ll absolutely go to bat for the brand’s fortifying, hydrating Auracle Eye Serum, which is enriched with peptides and antioxidants to firm and protect.
The Best Eye Cream for Urban Dwellers: Aesop Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Eye Cream
Size: 0.3 oz. | Key ingredients: Vitamin C brightens skin and acts as an antioxidant shield, while vitamin E and sodium lactate help draw in moisture and provide deep nourishment.
If you live in a city, you want to look for an eye cream packed with antioxidants to help fend off free radicals caused by pollution. Free radicals are unbound electrons that can cause collagen degradation, hyperpigmentation, and a long list of other skin concerns. Adding a vitamin C-rich product to the mix protects the skin from free radical damage that can cause cellular deterioration.
This eye cream is great to use morning and night, thanks to its additional emollient properties that blanket skin and prevent moisture loss while you’re sleeping. You’ll wake looking rested each day, and in the long term, will thwart those common eye-area concerns. Bonus points: Of all the eye creams I recommend, this one gets the most positive feedback from readers and friends alike.
What to Look for in an Eye Cream
By now, you’re a pro on the issues that you might want to target with an eye cream. You want to firm? Look for retinol. You want to brighten? Look for antioxidants. You need to depuff? Look for caffeine. Beyond the active ingredients, it’s important to find a product that concentrates potent ingredients to provide short- and long-term benefits to your skin.
“The eye area contains much thinner skin than the rest of the face, so eye creams are specifically formulated to be gentler, more moisturizing, and less irritating than regular moisturizers,” she says. She adds that this might mean lowering certain active ingredients to avoid irritation.
If your skin care regimen lacks ingredients like caffeine for a circulation boost and peptides to improve elasticity via collagen production, then you might need an eye cream to experience these benefits.
Here are some of the best ingredients you should look for in eye creams, according to Dr. Green.
- Hyaluronic acid: “Hyaluronic acid attracts moisture to hydrate and plump the skin and improve skin texture,” she says. In the short term, this gives your skin more firmness and alertness, and in the long term, its continued use will slow the onset of fine lines.
- Vitamin C: “This antioxidant fights free radicals, protects the skin from sun damage, corrects signs of aging, reduces inflammation, brightens the skin, and aids in cellular repair,” says Dr. Green. However, Vitamin C can disagree with sensitive skin types—if this is the case for you, be sure to swap in other brightening and antioxidant-rich ingredients.
- Caffeine: “Caffeine in eye creams works to reduce discoloration, puffiness, and creases in the eye area,” Green says. It’s one of the best ingredients to look for if you need those near-instant alertness-boosting benefits.
- Peptides: Peptides can help drum up your collagen production to keep skin firm and resilient. They also improve the skin’s barrier functions of the skin, reduce dehydration, and help defend against skin-aging toxins.
- Retinol: This skin-smoothing, cell-regulating ingredient is one of the best skin care products you can incorporate into your facial regimen. And while prescription retinoids are common for your forehead, cheeks, and such, the eye area may demand something less intense: “Over-the-counter retinol is typically sufficient for eye rejuvenation,” says Dr. Green, adding the caution that retinol "makes the skin sensitive to UV exposure, and it is essential only to use a retinol-based eye cream at night and practice proper sun protection every morning.”
- SPF: Wanna know the best way to prevent the onset of all eye-area concerns? Use SPF every day. “Using SPF around the eyes consistently can decrease the need for corrective skin care products later on,” says Green. At the very least, you could deploy an SPF moisturizer over top of your eye cream or serum.
How We Tested
I’ve been a grooming writer and editor for over a decade—and with GQ since 2016—so I’ve tested many good eye creams in my time (and plenty of duds, too). In those years, I’ve had my fair share of constant traveling, all-night clubbing, many binge-drinking sessions, excess sun exposure, etc. Yes, sometimes even I fail to follow the best grooming advice, but I like to think it makes me relatable.
Through all of this, I’ve tried a hundred different eye creams, and the ones on this roster remain my all-time favorites (including a couple of relatively new products in the market), which quickly climbed my ranks. I always cross-check my opinions and results with the masses because I know that sometimes, one person’s experience is an anomaly. Thus, the products on this list aren’t just favorites of mine but industry-wide picks.
Your Eye Cream FAQs, Answered
You don’t need to store eye creams and serums in the fridge, but there’s a good reason to—the cold products (and sometimes the cold metal applicators) help boost circulation, which can firm skin, reduce dark circles, and deflate puffiness.
What’s the difference between eye cream and serum? “Eye serums are lightweight and can be used alone or in addition to an eye cream. Eye creams are typically much richer moisturizers,” explains Dr. Green. “Many individuals like to use an eye serum in the morning, as the lightweight formulas make it easy to layer products on top, and eye cream at night, as its formulation can promote hydration and moisture retention.” (Though one is not better than the other, she says.)
About Our Expert
Dr. Michele Green, MD, is a board-certified cosmetic dermatologist in NYC.