Estée Lauder was selling an eye cream as early as the 1930s, according to Leonard Lauder, which makes the category nearly as old as the company she and Joseph Lauder launched in New York in 1946. Dermatologists describe the skin around the eyes as the thinnest on the face, which is why the old advice to tap product in rather than rub still holds. Night Repair arrived in 1982 on the idea that skin repairs itself best at night, and the Eye Lift + Sculpt version brings that idea to the eye area. Shiseido, founded in 1872 by a former chief pharmacist of the Japanese Navy, makes Benefiance for wrinkles and shadows. Caudalie began at Château Smith Haut Lafitte in Bordeaux after a pharmacy professor told the founders grape seeds were being thrown away, and Premier Cru is its anti-aging line. Fresh started in Boston in 1991 with a hand-wrapped soap from Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg, and Black Tea uses a retinol alternative for crow's feet. None of these erase lines, but they keep the area hydrated, which makes lines look softer.

Sunday Riley founded her brand in Houston in 2009 and formulates the products herself, and Auto Correct is her depuffer for mornings. Vicky Tsai left Wall Street, sold her engagement ring and car to buy Japanese blotting papers, and built Tatcha on green tea, rice and algae; its vitamin C formula targets three types of dark circles. Summer Fridays began with one blue tube, Jet Lag Mask, and Light Aura pairs vitamin C with peptides. Origins, the wellness-minded brand that opened its first store in Harvard Square in 1991, makes Ginzing to brighten and depuff.

Clinique launched at Saks in 1968 as the first allergy-tested, fragrance-free, dermatologist-developed line, and All About Eyes Rich keeps that mild approach with hyaluronic acid. Dr. Jart+ launched first in dermatology clinics in Seoul, and Ceramidin supports a dry barrier. Augustinus Bader grew out of a wound gel a stem-cell scientist developed for burns, and its rich formula is built on his TFC8 complex. La Mer's founder, the physicist Max Huber, spent 12 years fermenting sea kelp after a lab accident, and The Eye Concentrate is the brand's plumping treatment. What I would skip is a thick formula right before concealer. It slides, so save the rich ones for night.

Use a rice-grain amount for both eyes. Tap it along the orbital bone with your ring finger, not right up to the lash line. Apply before moisturizer, morning and night, and keep it in the fridge for a cooling effect. If you have persistent puffiness or dark shadows, see a dermatologist, since sleep, allergies and genetics play a bigger role than any jar. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Collagen Cream, Peptide Serums and Firming Eye Creams I Would Start With and Under Eye Cream for Puffy Mornings, Dark Circles and Fine Lines.