Eye creams are an extra step in your skincare regime; many make bold claims. Editor Trudi Brewer believes if you need to refresh the look of fatigue under the eye area, one ingredient works: retinol.
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The skin under the eyes has a tough life. The action from smiling, crying, and squinting is why it’s prone to age earlier than the rest of the skin on your face. However, retinol – a vitamin A derivative, the gold standard for anti-ageing ingredients can help. Why? It can stimulate skin cell turnover and collagen production, producing fresher, firmer skin and a smoother, plumper, brighter under-eye area. So, here are the eye creams stacked with this wonder ingredient that is gentle and effective.
Medik8 Crystal Retinal Ceramide Eye 3, $119.
Active ingredients: Crystal retinal, moisture-boosting hyaluronic acid spheres, hydrating and skin-strengthening ceramides, antioxidants and anti-inflamatory bisabolol (chamomile extract).
Why do we like it?
If there’s one brand that excels at retinol in skincare, it’s Medik8. The brand says this new eye cream is an all-in-one solution for correcting crow’s feet, wrinkles, creepiness and puffiness. The formula contains a twin encapsulated slow-release retinaldehyde, a form of vitamin A stronger than standard retinol, meaning it will help smooth and brighten the skin faster. Add the other nourishing and hydrating ingredients in airless packaging, and you have a potent, clinical-strength formula that delivers brighter, firmer skin.
How to use: Apply at night, and only use the size of a grain of rice. The new Crystal Retinal Ceramide Eye is available in three concentrations. You start with Ceramide Eye 3, that’s also safe for sensitive skin, and then slowly graduate to Ceramide Eye 6, $99 and then to Ceramide Eye 10, $129.
Environ Youth essentia vita peptide eye gel, $119
Active ingredients: Peptides, Argireline, Matrixyl and Dermaxyl, Optim-Hyal, or glycokines that stimulate hyaluronic acid synthesis in the skin and sustain regeneration. Vitamin A and E combat inflammatory damage from UV rays and soybean and rosemary extracts.
Why do we like it?
We don't need to be reminded of what happens to our skin as we age. But the eye area shows the first signs, such as loss of laxity, puffiness and fine lines. While this gel doesn’t promise the same results as botox or filler, a friend says it's just as good with consistent use. For repairing the skin’s texture under the eye area, the low concentration of vitamin A retinoid and the blend of protein peptides in this gel increases cell turnover, reduces fine lines, and helps to strengthen the delicate skin by boosting collagen production, which makes the under eye area appear more plump and lifted.
Oh, and did I mention it’s gloriously hydrating, which instantly smooths that delicate skin?
How to use: One pump is applied to the entire eye area, both morning and evening. This gel is suitable for all ages and skin types.
Murad Retinol Youth Renewal Eye Serum, $159.
Active ingredients: Retinol tri-active technology, with cotton wool grass extract and marine kelp extract.
Why do we like it?
It’s rare to find a retinol eye cream to apply to your eyelids and under the eye area. However, this serum offers a 360-degree anti-ageing effect with a silky texture that sinks in fast. And as far as retinol goes, this formula touts a retinoid complex that combines a time-released version of the ingredient with a fast-acting one, plus a booster that ups the efficacy of both.
How to use: Use a night and pat it on the under-eyes and on the lids.
VERSO Super Eye Serum, $156.
Active ingredients: Stabilised vitamin, colourless turmeric, glycerin, and a host of skin-brightening and skin-firming peptides.
Why do we like it?
If you like an eye serum, this formula refreshes and fortifies the delicate eye area with the brand’s potent Retinol 8 Complex and hyaluronic acid. This combination kickstarts the natural synthesis of your collagen and floods the skin with moisture. Tacking those crow’s feet, creases, dark circles and even under eye bags.
How to use: Use morning and evening; for anyone with sensitive skin, the brand says to patch test the product to check the active ingredients will not cause any irritation.
Dr Dennis Gross Advanced Retinol + Ferulic Triple Correction Eye Serum, $134.
Active ingredients: Bakuchiol, retinol, ferulic acid, ubiquinone, quercetin (onion extract), rambutan, camellia leaf extract, and hyaluronic acid, while saccharide isomerate and phospholipids - boost your natural hyaluronic acid. Caffeine, willow bark extract, salicylic, mandelic and glycolic acids, bearberry extract, vitamin B3.
The brand champions a Phyto-Retinol Blend to firm the look of wrinkles and skin laxity. The plant equivalent bakuchiol and rambutan (much like lychee) help boost the effectiveness of retinol, complementing the ferulic acid derived from plant cells. Together this blend targets those visible lines & wrinkles. Makeup artists swear by this serum as a primer before makeup.
How to use: Use half a pump and apply it to the upper and lower eye area and between the brows. Use morning and night.
The latest skin-changing innovation.