Spotlyte 7: Caffeine-Infused Eye Creams to Kickstart Your Day
[email protected] | July 27, 23
We’re selective about the formulas we use on our hair, skin, and nails. The Spotlyte 7TM highlights recently-released and/or noteworthy products you can add to your makeup bag, one day at a time. Let’s go shopping.
For a whopping 90 percent of us, the day doesn’t start until we’ve glugged a coffee, a tea, or an energy drink. Of course, the common denominator for these buzz-inducing beverages is caffeine. But the benefits of the chemical compound expand beyond just jolting your brain awake. Caffeine features antioxidant properties to defend your skin against free radicals, and it’s also a vasoconstrictor, so it makes sense that caffeine is a common ingredient in undereye creams. After all, who among us hasn’t woken up with puffy, swollen eyes in the a.m.? Below, seven caffeine-spiked formulas that’ll give your undereyes a boost.
IT Cosmetics® Bye Bye Under EyeTM Eye Cream ($48) delivers a refreshing wakeup call via cooling cucumber extract, which hydrates and depuffs. Plus, caffeine and algae work in tandem to prime the undereye area for makeup (perhaps for the brand’s popular Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer, an ultra-pigmented formula that camouflages dark circles, stat).
In addition to energizing ginseng, the Origins GinZing® Refreshing Eye Cream ($32) also contains caffeine derived from none other than coffee itself (Ethiopian coffee, nonetheless). Finely-milled mica reflects light, which brightens the often-shadowy area.
The FAB First Aid Beauty® Eye Duty Triple Remedy: Brighten, Depuff and Smooth ($36) delivers on its promises with a blend of licorice root, caffeine, and algae. Bonus: if you’ve ever tried the old spoon-in-the-fridge trick to soothe your undereye area, you’ll appreciate this product’s cooling metal applicator, which works to depuff on contact.
If there were such thing as an eye massage, it would probably feel like the Olay Eyes® Depuffing Eye Roller ($20) gliding cooly over the skin. Three metal roller balls yield a serum-like formula that’s spiked with caffeine and peptides — a duo that depuffs on the spot and smooths over time.
As its name suggests, the Clinique Pep Start® Eye Cream ($26) is made for mornings. Not only is the packaging reminiscent of freshly-squeezed O.J., but the formula quenches the undereye area just as well: glycerine (a humectant) and squalane work to draw moisture from the air and keep it in place. Of course, the formula also contains caffeine to quell morning undereye bloat.
Simple yet effective, the Sephora Collection Beauty Uncomplicated® Brightening Eye Cream ($16) contains hydrating hyaluronic acid and our hero ingredient, caffeine. Plus, it’s free from synthetic fragrances, which makes it an ideal choice for sensitive skin.
The funny thing about The Ordinary® Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG ($7) is that it costs just about as much as an actual cup of coffee (or two). But don’t let the price fool you: this stuff is packed with five percent caffeine, which is one of the highest concentrations available in skincare.
