Yes, you should be layering it with eye cream.
The eyes have it — it being our keen attention when it comes to skin aging. The naturally thin and delicate eye area is, after all, where our first fine lines and wrinkles begin to appear.
To treat these concerns, eye serums are light as air, melt right in, and deliver potent, cutting-edge ingredients for maximal results — both instantly and over time. For these reasons and more, the category is only growing and innovating to address common eye concerns, such as fine lines, puffiness, and under-eye circles.
Over the past couple of years, a standout in this category has been Swiss heritage brand La Prairie’s Skin Caviar Eye Lift, which, to the delight of its fans (InStyle’s beauty team included!), has been reimagined with new ingredients that up the ante on lifting, firming, and smoothing. And not just around the outer corners of the eyes but also the upper eyelids, brows, and more to ensure a deeper, more holistic approach to plumping and contouring.
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Like the original, the Skin Caviar Eye Lift 2.0 uses a dual chamber bottle, which allows two different formulas – one encapsulated in caviar beads, the other in an innovative tourmaline-pink gel-cream emulsion – to be stored in separated chambers to maintain their purity. One press of the pump, and you can cocktail them together to create a single silky formula.
In it, the brand’s proprietary Caviar Infinite, a blend of caviar proteins, caviar oils, and other precious components of caviar, works to strengthen and improve skin ligament structures in the hypodermis. At the same time, its Caviar Micro-Nutrients utilize over 300 different nutrients that stimulate metabolic pathways within the skin to energize and nourish skin cells.
“They synergistically re-densify the skin’s dermal structure by reactivating critical ligament-to-cell communication in the hypodermis,” says Dr. Daniel Stangl, La Prairie’s Director of Innovation. “As a result, skin ligaments become stronger and denser, the number of adipocytes (fat) increases, and together, these effects volumize hypodermal tissue. Through this holistic approach across all skin layers, the upper eyelids and brows are lifted, the eye area is firmed, lines and wrinkles are visibly reduced, under-eye puffiness is diminished, and eye contours are resculpted.”
Here, Stangl breaks down exactly what an eye serum is, how to apply it, and why it should be used in tandem with an eye cream for the best results.
What Is Eye Serum?
“Eye serums are skin-care products that are usually light in texture and consistency, easily absorbed into the fragile skin in the eye area, and formulated to target specific eye issues,” explains Stangl. “They contain high concentrations of powerful, water-soluble active ingredients to serve the specific eye concerns.”
How to Apply Eye Serum
Unless otherwise specified, an eye serum should be applied morning and evening to perfectly clean skin. As the skin around the eye is delicate, consider using your ring finger to gently tap and blend your eye serum on.
“Starting at the inner corner of the eye, dot the formula along the eyelid crease to the outer corner,” says Stangl. Then, do the same along the orbital bone, temples, and under the eyes. And remember: less is more, as eye serums are inherently potent, and you don't want to cause irritation to your skin or your eyes themselves.
“With the dabbing gesture, a pleasant lifting sensation takes place, adding a delightful moment of indulgence to the morning or evening skincare ritual,” adds Stangl.
Layering Eye Serum and Cream
An eye serum isn’t a substitute for eye cream — they work together to give you the best results. “Eye creams are far more universal and have a heavier texture than eye serums,” says Stangl. “One important purpose of eye creams is to hydrate the skin by strengthening the skin barrier in the stratum corneum and locking in moisture.” As such, you should layer an eye cream, like La Prairie’s Skin Caviar Luxe Eye Cream, over your serum for maximal hydration.