Eye serum vs eye cream. What’s the difference and how exactly do they work? We explain the benefits of both and how they fit into your routine to help address signs of ageing, fatigue, and puffiness around the eyes. 

Which Is Better: Eye Serum or Eye Cream?

Under eye serum and eye cream both offer benefits for perking up tired, puffy, crepey or dull skin but they work in different ways.

What is eye cream?

• Moisturising and nourishing
• Reduces under eye dryness
• Improves skin texture
• Works on the skin’s surface
• Heavier texture
• Cream-based formula

Eye creams and eye balms are a cream-based formula with a richer texture than a serum. What does eye cream do? They focus on delivering intense moisturisation to the delicate eye area to improve texture, nourishment and concerns of puffiness and dryness.

Eye creams and balms contain emollient and occlusive ingredients which work on the skin’s surface to lock moisture in.

What is eye serum?

• Targets specific under-eye concerns: wrinkles, dark circles, puffiness, loss of firmness
• Contain active ingredients
• Penetrate deeply into the skin
• Light texture
• Rapidly absorbed
• Water-based formula

Lighter than a cream, under eye serum contains active ingredients like anti-aging peptides, antioxidants, and humectants to target specific skin concerns. With less (or no) occlusive or emollient ingredients, they don’t offer the same moisturising benefits as a cream.

Eye serums are quickly and deeply absorbed into the skin where the active ingredients get to work targeting under-eye concerns like dark circles, fine lines, dark spots, and sagging.

You might be wondering “If I’m using a serum is eye cream necessary?” They make a great team to address moisturisation (cream) and specific concerns (serum).

Our Favourite Under Eye Serums

Which eye serum is best? esmi range of Intensive Eye Serums are designed to help address a range of common concerns from fine lines and puffiness to dehydration and dullness.

Anti-Ageing Eye Serum

Ideal for: Crows feet, puffiness, fine lines, and dryness.

Anti-Ageing Eye Serum fights signs of ageing around the delicate eye area - crows feet, puffiness, dryness, and fine lines. Eyes are instantly refreshed and results are reinforced over time.

This lightweight serum lifts, tightens, and reduces wrinkle depth in the eye area.

Hydrating Eye Serum

Ideal for: Dehydration, signs of fatigue, puffiness and fine lines.

The hero ingredient of our Hydrating Eye Serum is hyaluronic acid, which delivers long-lasting hydration to help restore under-eye skin.

This lightweight serum also contains a potent formulation of marine extracts and antioxidants for skin conditioning and nourishment. Used consistently, it helps promote a firmer, softer and brighter eye area.

Brightening Eye Serum

Ideal for: Dark circles, age spots, eye bags, and wrinkles.

Feeling less than bright-eyed? With a unique blend of plankton extract, peptides, and active ingredients (including potent skin brightener Ethyl Ascorbic Acid) Brightening Eye Serum acts on signs of dark circles, eye bags, and wrinkles. Promote a brighter, tighter and more youthful eye area with this lightweight, fast absorbing serum.

How to apply eye serum

After cleansing or exfoliating, and before moisturising, apply a grain of rice-sized amount (per eye) and massage to below the eye area and above on to the brow bone in an outwards motion.

Massage until the product has completely absorbed. 

How to Layer Eye Cream and Eye Serum

Using an under eye serum and cream? Make sure you’re layering these eye care products correctly to maximise results.

After cleansing, apply the eye serum in the step outlined above. When the serum is absorbed, follow with your eye cream or eye balm. Apply a rice grain size of the cream or balm (per eye) and massage in.

The cream locks in the active ingredients of the serum (remember those actives are working deep in the skin layers!) while moisturising and nourishing the surface.

Both eye serum and eye cream can fit into your daily AM and PM routine. If you are using a heavier eye cream, you may prefer to apply it only in your PM routine.