peptide eye cream: what's in it, and how and when to use it

written by Riley Tonks, co-founder of arpy, 15 October 2026

a peptide eye cream is a cream made for the skin around your eyes, with peptides in the formula. ours also contains retinaldehyde, a form of vitamin A, so this guide covers both: what's actually in it, whether you need an eye cream at all, and how and when to put one on.

the short version

• peptides are short chains of amino acids. our eye cream has three, and they're there to help the eye area look smoother.
• it also contains retinaldehyde, often called retinal. it goes on at night, and it's introduced slowly.
• you don't need an eye cream. ours is an extra, not one of our four steps.
• a small amount goes around the bone of the eye socket, kept out of the eyes.

what is a peptide eye cream?

it's an eye cream with one or more peptides in the formula. an eye cream is a cream made to be used in small amounts around the eyes, where the skin is generally thinner than on the rest of your face.

the peptides are only part of it. most of any eye cream is the base: the water, oils, butters and water-holding ingredients that decide how it feels. ours is a rich cream, light cream in colour.

what peptides are in an eye cream?

it depends on the cream, as there are many peptides used in skincare. ours has three: palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7, palmitoyl tripeptide-1 and palmitoyl tripeptide-38.

the names are easier to read than they look:

• peptide: a short chain of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.
• tri and tetra: how many amino acids are in the chain. a tripeptide has three, a tetrapeptide has four.
• palmitoyl: a fatty acid, palmitic acid, attached to the peptide. it makes the peptide more oil-friendly, which suits a cream.
• the number at the end: it tells apart different peptides of the same length.

if tripeptide-1 rings a bell, it's because the copper tripeptide-1 in our copper peptide serum is built on the same three amino acids. in the serum they're paired with copper. in the eye cream they carry a fatty acid instead. they're different ingredients.

our product page says the three peptides are "here to help the eye area look smoother". that's what we claim for them, and we don't go further than that.

what else is in our eye cream?

besides the peptides, the ingredients our product page highlights are retinaldehyde, shea butter and glycerin. the full ingredient list is on the product page, and most of the rest is explained below in plain words.

what is retinaldehyde?

retinaldehyde, or retinal, is a form of vitamin A. it belongs to the same family as retinol, and DermNet, a skin reference site, notes that both are commonly added to cosmetics.

retinoids like retinal are best introduced slowly, which is why the product page says to start at two or three nights a week.

shea butter and glycerin

our product page says they "make the cream rich and comfortable". shea butter is a plant butter that softens. glycerin is a humectant, which means it draws water into the skin's top layer.

the rest of the list

• caprylic/capric triglyceride and sunflower seed oil: light oils that soften.
• tocopherol: vitamin E.
• aloe leaf juice powder, cucumber fruit powder and ginseng root extract: plant ingredients, further down the list.
• stearic acid, cetearyl alcohol, ceteareth-20, polysorbate 20 and carbomer: they give the cream its body and keep the oil and water mixed. cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol, not the drying kind.
• butylene glycol and hydroxypropyl cyclodextrin: helper ingredients that help other ingredients mix into the formula.
• triethanolamine: adjusts the pH.
• phenoxyethanol and ethylhexylglycerin: they keep the cream preserved.
• silica: a fine mineral powder.

is the eye cream fragrance-free?

yes. there's no added fragrance in it. our guide to fragrance-free moisturiser lists which arpy products are fragrance-free.

do you need an eye cream?

no. plenty of people put nothing extra around their eyes, or use their usual moisturiser there, as long as it feels comfortable and stays out of their eyes. arpy is built on four steps, and the eye cream sits outside them. our product page says it plainly: "start with the four. add this only if you want it."

an eye cream makes sense if you'd like something made for that small area and used in a small amount, or if you want vitamin A around the eyes in a cream with directions written for it. ours is rich, so it suits people who like a richer feel there.

what we say for ours is what's on its page: smoother-looking skin around the eyes.

how do you use eye cream?

a small amount, dabbed on gently. for ours, the product page says to "dab a small amount around the bone of your eye socket", after cleansing and serum, and to keep it out of your eyes.

in practice, that looks like this:

• a small amount on a fingertip.
• a few small dots along the bone that circles the eye.
• a light pat to spread it, rather than rubbing. many people use their ring finger, because it tends to press the lightest.
• staying on the bone, and out of the eyes.

when do you apply eye cream in your routine?

after cleansing and serum, and before the gel and cream. on the nights you use ours, that's 01 cleanser, 02 copper peptide serum, then the eye cream, then 03 hyaluronic acid gel and 04 nourishing barrier cream as usual. if you also use our vitamin C serum, it goes on after the copper peptide serum and before the eye cream. starting the eye cream and the vitamin C serum on separate nights is the simplest way in. our guide to the skincare routine, in order walks through the four steps one by one.

should you use eye cream morning or night?

it depends on the eye cream. ours is for night. its directions are written in nights, and DermNet's page on vitamin A creams talks about applying them at night. read the directions on its product page before you start.

how do you start using an eye cream with retinal?

slowly. these are the steps from our product page:

• patch test first.
• start with two or three nights a week.
• build up if your skin is comfortable.
• don't layer it with other strong actives, such as another vitamin A product.

if anything stings or doesn't feel right, it's best to stop using it.

the page also says to seek professional advice before using it if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, if you use anything prescribed for your skin, or if you're unsure whether vitamin A suits your skin.

where does the eye cream fit in arpy's routine?

it's an optional extra that sits beside our four steps. the routine itself is 01 hydrating ceramide cleanser, 02 copper peptide serum, 03 hyaluronic acid gel and 04 nourishing barrier cream. the core four is all four in one box for $159, which is $37 less than buying them separately.

the eye cream is one of three extras, and none of them are required. it's 30 ml, $54, fragrance-free and made in Australia. if you're starting from nothing, the four steps come first. adding one product at a time makes it easier to tell how each one feels on your skin, so the eye cream can come later, once you know how your skin feels with the four.

common questions

can you put eye cream on your eyelids?

our directions say around the bone of the eye socket, so we keep ours there.

how long does a 30 ml eye cream last?

it depends on how much you use and how often, so we don't put a number on it.

sources

• DermNet, "Topical retinoids (vitamin A creams)". https://dermnetnz.org/topics/topical-retinoids
• DermNet, "Emollients and moisturisers". https://www.dermnetnz.org/topics/emollients-and-moisturisers/