Raise your hand if you’ve ever woken up before an important job interview or exciting date with your eyes looking puffy and swollen. We’ve been there too!
For some folks, those puffy eyes are a regular occurrence, while for others they only pop up after the occasional night of indulgence. There are a few different beauty practices and routines that can help you deal with puffy eyes, and a great eye cream is an important part of that. Today we’ll give you the low-down on undereye puffiness and recommend the best puffy eye creams to help you out!
Simplified Skin Anti-Aging Eye Cream
Simplified Skin’s Anti-Aging Eye Cream is powerful enough to visibly reduce puffiness after just one use, while also being gentle enough for those with sensitive skin to use around the delicate eye area. Its richly nourishing, anti-aging formula features vitamin C, green tea, hyaluronic acid, peptides, witch hazel, rosehip oil, and matrixyl 3000; it’s also cruelty-free, and doesn’t use fragrances, gluten, sulphates, or parabens. You can use it both in the morning and evening for all-day protection and hydration!
View on Amazon- The Low Down on Puffiness
- Top 10 Best Puffy Eye Creams 2026
- 1. Best Overall Eye Cream: L'Oreal Paris Skincare Dermo-Expertise Eye Defense
- 2. Best Anti-Aging Eye Cream: RoC Retinol Correxion Anti-Aging Eye Cream
- 3. Best Budget Eye Cream: The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG
- 4. Best Moisturizing Eye Cream: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Gel Eye Cream
- 5. Best Premium Eye Cream: Dr. Brandt No More Baggage Eye Depuffing Gel
- 6. Best Natural Eye Cream: 100% Pure Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream
- 7. Best Eye Cream for Sensitive Skin: CeraVe Eye Repair Cream
- 8. Best Eye Cream for Long-Term Results: Drunk Elephant Shaba Complex Eye Serum
- 9. Richest Eye Cream: Clinique All About Eyes Cream
- 10. Best Fast-Acting Eye Cream: Garnier SkinActive Clearly Brighter Anti-Puff Eye Roller
- The Full Guide to Puffy Eyes and Firming Eye Creams
- Say Goodbye to Puffy Eyes
The Low Down on Puffiness
Before you can find the right puffy eye cream, it’s important to understand what causes puffiness in the first place, as well as which features you should look for in an eye cream.
The Two Types of Undereye Puffiness
There are two major types of undereye puffiness, so in our reviews, we’ll let you know which type each eye cream addresses. There are also many complex reasons that lead to these different types of eye puffiness, which we discuss in detail later on.
Temporary Fluid Retention
The first type is temporary fluid retention, which leads to a type of swelling known as “edema”. It can be caused by diet, alcohol consumption, and even just from sleeping incorrectly. It’s very common, but it’s also fairly easy to reduce with a basic, soothing eye cream and a few of the tips we give towards the end.
Long-Term Puffiness
This type of puffiness sticks around for the long-term, and it’s usually age-related. With age, collagen levels deplete in the skin so it loses its firmness. As a result, both fat and fluids shift around and sink, often collecting in the hollows under the eyes. This kind of puffiness is more permanent and harder to deal with.
Certain depuffing ingredients (which we outline below) may still help reduce its prominence, but it’s a long term process. It’s often better to be proactive and use ingredients that will help prevent puffiness in the first place.
Finding the Perfect Puffy Eye Cream
Don’t let puffy eyes get you down! These are a few factors and features you should consider when buying eye cream for puffiness.
Types of Eye creams
Our list focuses on results, so it includes a few different kinds of eye cream products, going beyond the traditional. These are the types of eye products you’ll want to consider, from lightest to richest:
- Eye Serums are light and fluid so they’re quick to penetrate into the skin and deliver active ingredients. They’re not very moisturizing, but they’re potent.
- Gel Eye Creams are light and hydrating so they’re perfect for skin that gets oily or is prone to milia. They sink in deeply so they’re great for delivering depuffing ingredients, they often have a cooling effect, and they’re better at moisturizing than serums.
- Eye Lotions, often marketed as light eye creams, are a little richer than gel-creams with a slightly oilier texture. They still sink in well, but they also leave a slight moisturizing film over the surface of the skin.
- Eye Creams are creamy and very nourishing, so they’re good for very dry skin. They take longer to sink in, so they’re best at night-time, though some people find that they exacerbate their morning puffiness or contribute to oiliness and milia.
You’ll want to keep your own skin type and concerns in mind when selecting the right type of eye cream for you. We get into this in more detail later.
Depuffing Ingredients
From retinol to caffeine, there are a few skincare ingredients that actually reduce puffiness. Some work slowly while others give quick but temporary results. There are also protective agents that prevent future puffiness! We examined eye creams with a wide range of depuffing effects, and we explain exactly how each one works in our reviews.
You can learn about the different depuffing ingredients, one by one, right here.
Gentleness
The skin around the eyes is extremely sensitive so eye creams have to be gentle. Unfortunately, it’s often the case that the more effective an eye cream, the likelier it is to irritate the skin. We tried to give a balanced selection, and we’ll let you know in our reviews when a product is likely to irritate the skin. Fragrances are often irritating as well, so we’ll let you know about the scents used in each product (though we gravitated towards fragrance-free options).
Cooling Touch
Some eye creams, simply because of their texture, have a cooling effect the second they come in contact with the skin. This is a great way of getting light relief from morning puffiness without intense ingredients. That’s why many of the eye creams on our list have a cooling touch.
Moisturization
Traditionally, an eye cream is a moisturizer for the delicate eye area, so even though our main goal is to recommend depuffing eye creams, we still want some moisturizing effects. The most depuffing eye creams are often less moisturizing, but you can layer them under a moisturizing one for double results.
With all of these factors in mind, let’s deal with that gosh darn puffiness! Check out the best puffy eye creams we’ve uncovered and analyzed.
Top 10 Best Puffy Eye Creams 2026
1. Best Overall Eye Cream: L'Oreal Paris Skincare Dermo-Expertise Eye Defense
Editor’s Rating:
Quick Facts:
- Type: Gel-Cream
- Size: 0.5 oz
- Cruelty-Free/Vegan: No
- Quick Fix or Long Term: Both (But Gently)
- Key Ingredients: Glycerin, Jojoba Oil, Caffeine
- Scent: Fragrance-Free
This light gel-cream is our favorite middle-of-the-road puffy eye cream option. It has a gentle effect that never irritates or dries out the skin. It’s very moisturizing but it’s not heavy, so if you want depuffing results along with gentle hydration, this is the eye cream you should try.
The light, gel-cream formula is a true moisturizer, with glycerin and light jojoba oil, making it an effective remedy for both dry and dehydrated skin. It contains a touch of caffeine which, in combination with the cooling sensation it imparts, depuffs the skin quickly. You can learn more about how this amazing ingredient works here.
This gel-cream works especially well when refrigerated! It also contains oat extract which gives additional soothing effects and some antioxidant protection.
The amount of caffeine in this blend isn’t extremely high, especially when compared to an intense formula like The Ordinary Caffeine Solution. Don’t expect a dramatic or instant tightening effect – just subtle firming, combined with great hydration, and important antioxidant protection.
All-in-all, we love this product as a safe and gentle choice, although we think L’Oreal made a small mistake with its marketing. They claim that this product can actually reduce fine lines and dark circles, which sets shoppers up for disappointment when they don’t experience dramatic results.
This gel-cream comes in a jar, so grab it along with a skincare spatula to keep things hygienic.
Pros
- Light and cooling
- Excellent moisturizing effects
- Gently skin firming with caffeine
- Soothing ingredients
- Reasonable price
Cons
- Mild results
2. Best Anti-Aging Eye Cream: RoC Retinol Correxion Anti-Aging Eye Cream
Editor’s Rating:
Quick Facts:
- Type: Lotion
- Size: 0.5 oz
- Cruelty-Free/Vegan: No
- Quick Fix or Long Term: Long Term
- Key Ingredients: Retinol, Glycerin, Copper Gluconate
- Scent: Fragrance-Free
If you’re looking for long term results and serious age-prevention, a retinol eye cream is a must-have. This one from RoC is one of the best we’ve seen. If you’re not familiar, retinol is a form of vitamin A that is the gold-standard cosmeceutical for reversing signs of aging like fine lines and wrinkles. We discuss its mechanism of action here.
Using a retinol-based eye cream can work especially well to prevent and slightly reverse existing puffiness because it induces collagen production and firms the skin from below. Retinol is not as intense as prescription-strength vitamin A, so it’s gentle enough for the eye area.
However, those with sensitive skin should still be careful when using it and pay close attention to signs of irritation. It makes the skin a bit more sensitive to the sun, so it’s important to wear sunscreen when using it.
This cream is very light so it sinks into the eyes quickly, and there’s no need to worry about intense richness causing the eyes to puff up in the morning. It contains glycerin, which is our favorite hydrating agent, along with light and gentle emollients that help to soften the skin. It also provides antioxidant protection with copper gluconate.
We recommend using this eye cream in the evenings for long-term results while using an instant depuffer like the Dr. Brandt Depuffing Gel in the daytime.
Pros
- Most effective long-term puffiness solution
- Light moisturizing formula
- Helps fade fine lines and wrinkles
Cons
- Very intense
3. Best Budget Eye Cream: The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG
Editor’s Rating:
Quick Facts:
- Type: Serum
- Size: 1 oz
- Cruelty-Free/Vegan: Yes and Yes
- Quick Fix or Long Term: Both
- Key Ingredients: Caffeine, Green Tea-Derived EGCG
- Scent: Fragrance-Free
It’s not immediately obvious that this is an eye product, and yet, it’s one of the best treatments for under eye puffiness both in the long and short term! Made by The Ordinary, it was formulated to be as simple and effective as possible, and at a very reasonable price point. It’s a great budget option, especially when taking into account that it has double the quantity of the average eye cream.
The star ingredient in here is caffeine which is used at an impressive 5% concentration. Caffeine is an excellent choice for undereye puffiness regardless of its cause because it works against both fat deposits and water retention. Hundreds of users find that, in practice, this eye serum helps both in the short and long term with under eye puffiness as well as with blue or purple under eye circles.
The second ingredient of note is EGCG, a soothing antioxidant compound taken from green tea. It’s not the most thoroughly researched ingredient, but there is good reason to believe that it can protect the skin from photodamage, which causes puffiness in the long term.
While this serum does contain some very effective hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid and urea, they are no match for the caffeine, which can be drying. At this high concentration, it’s also a little more likely to irritate the skin, so those with sensitive skin should be careful. If the skin around your eyes is severely dry or super sensitive then this serum might not be a great choice. You’ll want something with less caffeine like L’Oreal Eye Defense.
If your skin isn’t particularly sensitive, we still recommend using this eye serum in conjunction with a more moisturizing eye cream, like CeraVe Eye Repair.
Pros
- Depuffing both in short and long term
- Prevents irritation and fine lines with EGCG
- Very high concentration of caffeine
- Very affordable
Cons
- Can be a little drying and irritating
4. Best Moisturizing Eye Cream: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Gel Eye Cream
Editor’s Rating:
Quick Facts:
- Type: Gel-Cream
- Size: 0.5 oz
- Cruelty-Free/Vegan: No
- Quick Fix or Long Term: Quick Fix
- Key Ingredients: Glycerin, Hyaluronic Acid, Dimethicone
- Scent: Fragrance-Free
A lot of the products we recommend on this list are quite intense, so this eye cream is a step back. It’s not extremely depuffing, but that’s the exact reason why we want to recommend it. It’s our favorite choice for those with sensitive skin who simply need a cooling eye product that won’t make puffiness worse by over-moisturizing.
It’s part of Neutrogena’s Hydro Boost line of deeply hydrating but gentle skincare products infused with hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and moisture-sealing dimethicone. If you’re prone to puffiness, it’s a great go-to eye cream that won’t make the situation worse but will still thoroughly nourish your skin.
Since it’s a gel-cream formula it has a cooling effect when applied to the skin, which can be very helpful for reducing temporary morning puffiness caused by a late night or overindulgence in alcohol or salty snacks.
It’s very light, so it won’t exacerbate oiliness or milia, and it’ll look great under makeup. It’s still emollient enough, so you can use it in combination with a cool compress or face roller to get rid of morning puffiness (we explain this process below). If you’d prefer like a gentle and moisturizing puffy eye cream with richer texture, pick up CeraVe Eye Repair instead.
Pros
- Great for sensitive or oily skin
- Cooling effects depuff in the morning
- Very hydrating but light
Cons
- No intense or long-term depuffing effects
Editor’s Rating:
Quick Facts:
- Type: Thick Gel-Balm
- Size: 0.5 oz
- Cruelty-Free/Vegan: No
- Quick Fix or Long Term: Both
- Key Ingredients: Film-Formers, Peptides, Caffeine
- Scent: Fragrance-Free
This is as close as an eye cream can get to being an instant fix for puffiness. It’s an odd product that takes a bit of getting used to, but it’s worth buying if you want a fast solution.
This product is advertised as a gel, but that’s not quite right: it’s a hybrid between a gel and a paste or balm. It’s water-based and semi-transparent, but it also has a certain heaviness to it. The reason for the odd texture is a blend of film-forming ingredients that tighten over the skin and reduce puffiness.
The film formers make it hard to get the gel out of the tube at first, but once dispensed, it’s easy to smooth it over the skin. A lot of film-forming skincare products can feel uncomfortable on the skin, but that’s not the case here! In addition to firming, the gel also cools and refreshes on contact.
That’s not the end of the cosmetic effects! Since this gel is tinted orange it color-corrects blue or purple discoloration under the eyes. The level of pigmentation is low, so it’s comparable to a color-correcting primer.
Finally, cosmetic fixes aren’t enough! This is a skincare article, after all. This is still a skincare product, and a darn good one. It contains a ton of the ingredients you want to see in puffy eye creams: our beloved caffeine, anti-aging peptides, hydrating hyaluronic acid, and soothing centella asiatica. With daily use, this product absolutely helps to moisturize the skin and reduce signs of aging. It’s even a suitable choice for sensitive skin since it’s free of likely irritants.
It’s pricey, so if you’re on an extreme budget, you can save it just for the days when you really need the extra help, and use something more affordable the rest of the time.
Pros
- Instant firming and brightening effect
- Skincare ingredients for long-term effects
- Moisturizing and soothing
- Suitable for sensitive skin
Cons
- Very pricy
- Odd texture
6. Best Natural Eye Cream: 100% Pure Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream
Editor’s Rating:
Quick Facts:
- Type: Lotion
- Size: 1 oz
- Cruelty-Free/Vegan: Yes and Yes
- Quick Fix or Long Term: Both
- Key Ingredients: Coffee Extract, Green Tea, Vitamin C
- Scent: Coffee-Vanilla
If you’re committed to only using natural beauty products, this is the puffy eye cream to try! It’s a light lotion that moisturizes gently while also helping depuff tired eyes.
The formula is made with coffee and tea extracts, which act as a natural source of caffeine. They have a skin-soothing effect and act as vasoconstrictors to tighten things up both in the short and long term.
There are a lot of antioxidants in this eye cream, from the green tea and coffee extracts to vitamin C and rosehip seed oil. These ingredients protect the skin from external damage caused by pollution and sun exposure, which helps to slow down the aging process and keep the skin under the eyes firm for years to come.
The texture is light and moisturizing, with aloe vera helping to hydrate. It’s not the intense hydration of the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel Eye Cream, but it’s enough for those with normal skin around the eyes.
While it might seem a little pricey at first glance, this eye cream is actually quite comparable to the other options on our list. It comes in a 1 oz tube, which is double the amount of most eye creams and makes the price reasonable.
Really, the only drawback to this product is that it contains a few essential oils. This could make this a poor choice for those with sensitivity to fragrances.
Pros
- All-natural formula
- Firming effect from caffeine and tea
- Potent antioxidant protection
Cons
- Contains potentially-irritating fragrance
- Not enough for dry skin
7. Best Eye Cream for Sensitive Skin: CeraVe Eye Repair Cream
