ILIA

Bright Start Activated Eye Cream.

Eye Care

About this product

An eye cream with a pearlescent finish designed to brighten dark circles, reduce puffiness, and provide a primer base for concealer application.

Full ingredients

Aqua/Water/Eau, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Propanediol, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Candelilla/Jojoba/Rice Bran Polyglyceryl-3 Esters, Jojoba Oil/Macadamia Seed Oil Esters, Brassica Campestris/Aleurites Fordi Oil Copolymer, Silica, Glyceryl Stearate, Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Behenyl Alcohol, Caffeine, Moringa Oil/Hydrogenated Moringa Oil Esters, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Mica, Hydroxyacetophenone, Caprylyl Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Squalene, Caprylic/Capric/Succinic Triglyceride, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Sodium Phytate, Phytosteryl Macadamiate, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Fruit Extract, Crithmum Maritimum Extract, Phytosterols, Tocopherol, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Sodium Citrate, Ci 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), Ci 77491 (Iron Oxide)

Guru Score

59%

Mixed

4 experts · Moderate agreement

4Gurus

1Yay

1Mixed

2Nay

What they liked

Instant brightening with pearlescent finish
Works well under concealer as primer
Gentle retinol alternative for sensitive eyes

What they flagged

Can feel too wet and crease under eyes

What the gurus are saying

This eye cream's pearlescent formula gives instant brightness for dark circles, but some find it leaves the under-eye area too wet even after setting. Beyond the brightness, it depuffs and works as a primer under concealer. The CA fennel extract offers a plant-based retinol alternative for sensitive eyes, gentler than actual retinol but slower to show results, and suits most skin types.

Synthesized from 4 expert reviews · most recent take January 2025

Best for

Mature skin

Type

Eye CareCream

Key actives

Vitamin EPeptides

Formula notes

Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

Where to buy

Amazon → Google →

Opens a search for this product. We do not sell anything ourselves.

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored

Alexandra Anele

1.44M subs

~Nay

"That eye cream kept my under eyes too wet despite me letting it really set in, and I'm just getting creasing up in here. I don't like it."

Nipun Kapur

409k subs

~Nay

"Literally guys nobody's talking about it"

Sincerely Miss Ash

195k subs

~Yay

"I really like this eye cream. I get this instant brightness with it because there is a little bit of a pearlescent in the formulation, so perfect for those that have the shadowing underneath the eyes with dark circles. If you're just looking for that brighter look, this will give you that instant bright. It also acts as that primer before your concealer. It sits really nicely underneath concealer and it just gives this nice brightness. [...] This also depuffs [...] as well. You can use it everyday twice a day and this is great for most skin types. If you're into retinol but you can't use an eye product that contains retinol because maybe it's just too irritating for you, this could be your alternative. There's an ingredient in here called CA fennel extract, and this is a plant-based alternative to retinol. This ingredient will help with fine lines and wrinkles. [...] This ingredient might take a little bit longer to work if you were to compare it to a retinol eye cream but it's going to be gentle."

Hyram

4.34M subs

~Mixed

"Oh okay so she uses the Ilia eye cream I think that one's kind of bougie but I really like Ilya as a brand"

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Sunscreen filters

Sun protection is the best evidenced way to slow visible ageing, and the filters are what does the work. Mineral and chemical filters both protect when a product is applied thickly enough and often enough, which is where most people fall short rather than on the choice of filter.

Source: DermNet

Peptides

Peptides are short protein fragments meant to signal repair. The evidence for them is thinner than for retinoids or vitamin C, and it varies a lot by the specific peptide, so the category is more promising than proven.

Source: NIH, National Library of Medicine

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, and it is often in a formula to keep the other ingredients stable rather than as the active itself. It pairs well with vitamin C, though on its own the evidence for visible change is limited.

Source: NIH, National Library of Medicine

Frequently asked.

What is ILIA Bright Start Activated Eye Cream?

An eye cream with a pearlescent finish designed to brighten dark circles, reduce puffiness, and provide a primer base for concealer application.

Is ILIA Bright Start Activated Eye Cream worth it?

The gurus are split. 1 of the 4 gurus give it their stamp of approval while 2 would skip it, which lands it in the middle at a Guru Score of 59%.

What is ILIA Bright Start Activated Eye Cream's Guru Score?

ILIA Bright Start Activated Eye Cream holds a Guru Score of 59%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 4 expert reviewers we have collected.