11 De-Puffing Eye Creams to Help You Look Better Rested This Fall
Each change of seasons presents us with a symbolic opportunity to re-evaluate our beauty routines. What could we have done better in the last season? What habits do we want to cultivate heading into the next phase of the year? The summer-to-fall transition is a particularly interesting time for renewing our skincare habits.
For much of the Byrdie team, this summer involved a lot of, well, partying. Rosé, late nights, minimal sleep. After all, it stays light out for so long. Who wants to turn in early? But now that it's early fall, things are getting a little slower, a little cozier, and we're noticing that we just look very, very tired. All those happy hours, salty French fries, and hours we should have been sleeping have led to some puffiness in the eye area that we'd like to dedicate our autumns to removing.
There are two types of under-eye puffiness. First, there's the temporary kind that results from lifestyle habits. According to esthetician Renée Rouleau, "Under-eye puffiness is brought on from eating salty foods at night, yawning, allergies and crying. Sleep also plays a part in causing puffy eyes due to the flat nature of the body laying for seven to eight hours. This makes for improper drainage of the fluid around the eyes." Then, there's sagging skin, or "bags," under the eyes that happens as a result of aging. "Bags start out in the early years as under-eye puffiness, and over time, the connective tissues that attach the skin to the orbital bone deteriorate. This results in a pouch of fat known as 'fat pads,'" says Rouleau. Under-eye creams won't reverse this condition, but they can certainly help prevent it.
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To keep temporary eye puffiness from turning into permanent eye bags, you're going to want a super-lightweight, oil-free, but hydrating eye cream with firming ingredients like peptides and caffeine. For extra de-puffing action, keep your eye cream in the fridge and apply it in the morning to contract the blood vessels around your eyes.
Want product recommendations? Look no further. Keep scrolling for 11 editor-approved eye creams that meet these de-puffing requirements.
Byrdie assistant editor Erin regards this French product as her favorite de-puffing eye cream. Concentrated ingredients like plant stem cells, vitamin E, and black roses create the impression that you've turned the clock back three to five years.
Rouleau specifically formulated her eye cream with firming in mind, using effective de-puffing ingredients include palmitoyl oligopeptide, a line-filling peptide; Snap-8, a Botox-like peptide; and astaxanthin, a potent antioxidant that increases elasticity.
Caffeine is a known firming ingredient, and this refreshing eye balm is full of it. Soothing cucumber, aloe, and green tea extracts also help with pesky puffiness.
Our editorial director, Faith, stores this firming gel in her fridge for maximum cooling and de-puffing action. Cucumber, oat kernel extracts, and avocado oil are just a few of the soothing, hydrating ingredients in action.
Three types of caffeine are the main selling points of this firming eye cream, in addition to nourishing rose-hip oil and vitamin C, which enhances collagen production. Better yet, it's all-natural, affordable, and available on Amazon.
This high-performance eye cream is another favorite of Erin's. Eight different peptides went into the featherlight, de-puffing formula's creation.
Another pick from Erin, Tula's formula contains probiotics, antioxidants, and essential oils, all of which work to firm saggy under-eyes.
The powerful combination of peptides and animal extracts in this top-rated eye cream supports collagen production, improves sagging, and boosts the skin's ability to repair itself.
For those who care about their products being 100% natural and plant-derived, this lightweight serum is your jam. A combination of algae extracts are the active firming ingredients here.
Byrdie's social media editor, Aimee, swears by this fatigue-fighting cream for puffiness specifically. Potent ingredients like echinacea green envy, algae, and rose-hip extract visibly firm and tighten the skin.
Faith is obsessed with the formula and smart packaging of this cooling eye gel. Antioxidants and caffeine find their way to your under-eye area by way of a triple-steel rollerball, which massages as it cools and refreshes.
Want more product recommendations? Don't miss the 15 best eye creams on Amazon.