5 Fail-Proof Eye Brightening Creams

Late nights coupled with super early mornings (hello, 5 a.m. wakeup calls!) are sure to result in tired-looking eyes that need plenty of TLC. But before you layer on copious amounts of heavy-duty concealer—an obvious must-have in any eye-brightening arsenal—make sure you’re doing all the proper prep work before you hit the sack and then again in the A.M. Treating the delicate skin that surrounds your eyes with the right products will help keep the area smooth, plump and more luminous, so that any darkness trying to peek thru is less likely to be noticed.

Formulations that are rich in ingredients like vitamin C, which helps to brighten, caffeine, which works to decrease retained fluid that contributes to under-eye darkness, and even light-reflecting and -deflecting particles, which do exactly what their names imply, will help perk up tired-looking eyes in next to no time. Here are my fav picks that I don’t go a day without especially since they leave my peepers looking bright-eyed, no matter how little sleep I got the night before.

THE POWER PLAYERS

To add a bit of glow around the eye area, swipe on a thin layer of Soleil Toujours Perpetual Radiance Eye Glow + Illuminator SPF 15 Sunscreen ($68). It also contains SPF for a dose of added protection.

Alpyn Beauty Line Filling Eye Balm ($62) is sheer genius! Created by a beauty veteran, this is my daily go-to for its quick ability to de-puff and take away under-eye darkness. I also love the fact that it doesn’t sting or irritate the delicate eye area.

When I have a little more time on my hands, I slap on a pair of the Klorane Smoothing and Relaxing Patches ($24), which are formulated with soothing cornflower

Two of my favorite power-packed, superhouse eye creams are from Lancome ($60) and Kate Somerville ($88)—you can’t go wrong with either of these!