As passionate travelers we know that what goes into our beauty bag is just as important as the style must-haves we pack in our suitcase. We also know all too well that long-haul flights, jetlag, sun-soaked beach breaks, and living it up in buzzy cities and party destinations can take their toll on our complexion, not to mention our delicate eye area.
After all, the skin around our eyes is much thinner than the rest of our face and body and has fewer oil glands, making it susceptible to sun damage, dry-out, fine lines, and wrinkles. So, in addition to keeping up the H2O and getting plenty of sleep, invest in a hydrating, rejuvenating eye cream, and don’t leave home without it. Here are our picks of the best eye creams for every travel experience.
Best For In-Flight: Pietro Simone Eye Contour Cream
Even a few hours subjected to that dry cabin air environment equals dry, dehydrated, flaky, dull skin, especially around the eye area.
Secret weapon: This luxe eye cream by top Italian facialist Pietro Simone is infused with the brand’s signature ‘Italian Bella Complex’, a cocktail of natural ingredients including cold-pressed tomato seed oil from Puglia; annurca apples from Vesuvio; edelweiss from the Italian Alps and Tuscan grapeseed oil. Also available in a handy travel kit size.
Best for City Breaks: Farmaesthetics Watercress Eye Gel
Exploring a vibrant city full of hip restaurants, bars, boutiques, art, and culture comes with a downside to your delicate eye area. Environmental pollutants and late nights out can lead to dark circles, fine lines, and lackluster skin.
Secret Weapon: Fight toxins the natural way. When Farmaesthetics founder Brenda Brock lived in New York City she leaned into her Texan farming roots by spending the weekends cultivating a fresh herb garden in her apartment, which she infused into her beauty-skincare routine. Her watercress-based eye cream is a powerful firming and anti-inflammatory solution that contains caffeine to lift and brighten the skin and cucumber and aloe soothe to protect.
Best for Jet Lag: Tata Harper Boosted Contouring Eye Balm
Puffy eyes and dark circles go hand in hand with jetlag – and the stressors associated with crossing time zones, delayed flights, and lack of sleep. Try this potent pick-me-up to reawaken and re-hydrate tired eyes.
Secret weapon: This high-performing eye balm is chock full of vitamins and minerals and 47 active botanical ingredients to lift, firm, and work wonders on under-eye ‘bags’ and sagging skin. All Tata Harper products are formulated, manufactured, and packaged by hand on her own farm in Vermont.
Best for Nature Adventures: Color Up Bright Eye Cream
Wind. Sun. High-altitude hiking and skiing. Spending time outdoors and in nature may nourish the body and soul, but it can take a toll on the skin and eyes resulting in puffiness, dullness, and fine lines.
Secret Weapon: Based in mountainous Colorado, this CBD-based skincare line is well-versed in how high altitudes can impact the skin. Color Up’s Bright Eye Cream features a potent combination of organic hemp CBD peptides, essential vitamins (A, C, E, B), minerals (niacin and magnesium), and fatty acids (omega-3 and 6) to boost collagen, reduce the appearance of fine lines, dark circles and puffiness.
Best for Party Destinations: Kerstin Florian Correcting Eye Caviar
Living it up at gorgeous hotel roof bars, wineries and global hotspots known for their party vibe is fabulous fun, but spare a thought for the inevitable dark circles, puffy eyes, and dehydration that follows.
Secret Weapon: Celebrity make-up artists call Kerstin Florian’s Correcting Eye Caviar a ‘game changer’ for refreshing the eye area and concealing any signs of late nights during Oscar, Grammy, Emmy award season. Rich in algae and practically a facial for your eyes, this beauty will banish wrinkles fast for results that last hours.
Best for Beach Breaks: Supergoop Advanced Anti-Aging Eye Cream
Beach breaks and island getaways mean sunshine. Which means SPF. The eye area is more susceptible to UV rays, aging and hyperpigmentation so be sun savvy and invest in an eye cream infused with SPF.
Eye Care Treatment
A good eye cream is an essential part of your beauty routine, but if you want to take eye rejuvenation to the next level, Dr. Carole Hazan of Aesthetic and Surgical Dermatology of New York (ASDNY) has this advice.
“My mantra for maintaining healthy skin and aiding rejuvenation so your complexion and eye area have a youthful appearance is to eat a well-balanced diet with lots of vitamins, antioxidants, and water, get adequate sleep, exercise regularly, and always use sunscreen. We’ve spent summer in the Hamptons, but even in the city I never walk out the door without applying a moisturizer with SPF. My favorite is Eucerin SPF 30 Daily Protection Face Lotion and I love Olay Regenerist for my night cream as it contains retinol, an ingredient that helps smooth fine lines and lighten blemishes and discoloration. When choosing an eye cream look for ingredients like Vitamin C, peptide, and hyaluronic acids as they stimulate the production of collagen and increase the skin’s ability to retain water, smoothing out fine lines and wrinkles. Botox is a great way to reverse the signs of aging for longer-lasting results and dark circles can be treated with hyaluronic acid fillers like Restylane and both give very natural looking results when administered by an experienced physician.”