Banana Bright Eye Cream: Ole Henriksen's Vitamin C Tube

In 1937 the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Albert Szent-Györgyi for his work on biological combustion, with special reference to vitamin C. One small molecule was suddenly a subject worth a medal. Nearly a century later it is printed on the front of an eye cream. Some ideas take a while to get from the laboratory to the bathroom shelf.

Banana bright eye cream is the tube I think of first when someone says vitamin C for the eyes. Ole Henriksen is a Dane who developed cystic acne at 19, studied skincare in London, moved to Los Angeles and became what LVMH calls the world's first celebrity facialist. He launched his line in 1983 after clients fell for what he called the Ole Glow, and you can feel that in the products: they are made by someone who spent years with his hands on faces, not by someone in a lab coat. The brand has been part of LVMH's incubator since 2011, and the eye crème, launched in 2017, is the one it calls its global bestseller. I went deeper on a related idea in OLEHENRIKSEN: Ole Henriksen Left Denmark for LA and Brought Banana Bright.

The trick is to treat the first grid as a small routine built around one idea. The Banana Bright+ Vitamin C Eye Crème is the anchor, and the brand says the current version has three forms of vitamin C plus banana-powder-inspired pigments that reflect light. It is fragrance-free and vegan. The Vitamin CC Eye Sticks are the version to keep in a bag for a mid-day touch. The Firm and Glow Moisturizer and the 15% Dark Spot Serum carry the same idea across the rest of the face, and the Mineral Face Sunscreen and Face Primer are the morning finish. Peach Glaze is the niacinamide and vitamin C serum for a slightly softer start, and C-Rush is the gel crème for days when a rich cream feels like too much.

Start with the cause before you shop. Dark circles come from pigment, from thin skin showing blood vessels, or from the hollow that casts its own shadow, and a cream can only do so much about the last two. If yours are mostly shadow, expect the cream to make the area look fresher and smoother, not to erase anything.

That said, the cream shelf is worth browsing. Sunday Riley's Auto Correct is a brightening and depuffing formula that feels like a small treatment, the kind of pot I would keep for a Sunday evening. Kiehl's Avocado Eye Cream is the classic rich one, gentle and comforting for skin that runs dry. Origins Ginzing is the vitamin C option that also promises to depuff, and Clinique's All About Eyes with vitamin C is a dependable, plain-spoken choice.

Drunk Elephant's C-Tango and Glow Recipe's Guava Bright-Eye Gel Cream are the two I would compare side by side: one is a cream, the other a gel cream, and the choice comes down to whether you like your eye products rich or fresh. The INKEY List's Brighten-i is the simplest way to try a brightening eye cream for the first time, and Farmacy's Wake Up Honey is the softer, more hydrating pick.

A pairing I like: a vitamin C eye cream in the morning, and something plainer and richer at night. Vitamin C is a daytime friend, and the thin skin around the eye does not need more than one active at once.

What I would skip: rubbing any eye cream into the lids and lash line. Tap it along the orbital bone and stop there.

One rule for patches: keep them in the fridge and use them cold. Cold feels good on puffy morning eyes, and it makes ten minutes feel like a small holiday.

Peter Thomas Roth has three sets here, and they are the range I would use to build a habit. Potent-C is the brightening one, Cucumber De-Tox is the soothing, everyday one, and the 24K Gold set is the one for before an evening out. Summer Fridays' Jet Lag patches are the ones I would put in a carry-on, since the name says it all. Beauty of Joseon's Revive patches are made with wrinkles and puffiness in mind, and Peace Out's caffeine patches are for the mornings when you woke up and your eyes did not.

The 4AM Overtime undereye masks and the Dolce&Gabbana No-Puff Caffeine patches are the two that are more like accessories. The second in particular has the feel of a treat, and I would give a box to someone who has a wedding on the calendar.

A pairing I like: patches on clean skin, then a light eye cream over the top once you peel them off. The patch delivers the water, the cream keeps it there.

What I would skip: sleeping in patches that are meant for ten to twenty minutes. They dry out, slide off and leave a gummy mark on the pillow.

Try this: dab a little corrector on the darkest inner corner only, then blend outward until the edge disappears. Most people put too much on the whole under-eye and end up with a peach mask. The dark spot is small, so the product should be too.

Peach and orange tones cancel blue and brown shadows, which is what a corrector does. caliray's Hideaway is a concealer and corrector in one, and tarte's shape tape color corrector is for anyone who wants full coverage in a single pass. Sephora Collection's Best Skin Ever 8HR is a good place to start if you are new to correctors, and Kosas Revealer Extra Bright and Charlotte Tilbury's Magic Vanish are the two I would try if you like a corrector that stays close to skin.

For concealer that does the brightening in one step, Natasha Denona's Hy-Glam is the fuller-coverage option, Patrick Ta's Major Skin Soft Blur is the lighter one with vitamin E, and Westman Atelier's Vital Skincare Brightening Concealer adds hyaluronic acid for skin that gets papery by afternoon.

A pairing I like: eye cream, a minute to sink in, corrector on the darkest corner, and then a small dot of concealer only where you still see shadow. Layered thin, it looks like your own skin on a good night's sleep.

What I would skip: heavy corrector on days when you have not slept and your skin is dry. It will sit in every line you own.

I think the Banana Bright+ Vitamin C Eye Crème is a very good place to begin, and I say that as someone who does not like hype around a single tube. It is well made, it is fragrance-free, and it is light enough that concealer sits on top of it without sliding.

Add a cold patch on the weekend, a corrector for the days you need it, and be patient. If your circles run in the family, no cream will erase them, but a good one will make the skin around them look rested. Szent-Györgyi got a medal for the vitamin. You just get a fresher-looking morning. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Clinique Moisture Surge, the 1988 Gel-Cream That Keeps Being Rewritten and Ole Henriksen Lip Balm.