Editor’s note: this post is from our archive. The Skyn Iceland line has evolved since we first wrote about it — the Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels are still in production, and the brand’s eye-cream lineup has settled around the Icelandic Relief Eye Cream as the everyday-use hero. Our current Amazon pick is the Skyn Iceland Icelandic Relief Eye Cream.
This is an early review post from the rebuilt triedandtestedbeauty.com archive — a fresh take on a brand we covered back in 2012. Skyn Iceland has changed in the years since (the line has been refined, the eye-care category has expanded, the packaging is even calmer than it was), but the proposition is the same: stress shows up on the skin, and the brand’s products are designed to address that.
About Skyn Iceland
Skyn Iceland is a New York-based skincare brand built around Icelandic-inspired ingredients and the idea that stress is a skin issue. The line is best known for its hydrogel under-eye patches, glacial cleansing cloths, and arctic hydration cream. The brand’s reputation has held steady through the indie-skincare boom because the products genuinely deliver on the de-puffing brief — the Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels remain a stylist favorite for early-morning shoots, and the eye-cream range continues to draw a quietly loyal repeat-customer base.
Why the Skyn Iceland eye cream still works
The Icelandic Relief Eye Cream is the brand’s everyday-use eye cream and the natural successor to the original Relief Eye Pen we covered in 2012. The formula is built around three actives that map cleanly to what the under-eye area actually needs: caffeine for de-puffing, Icelandic glacial water for soothing, and a peptide complex that targets the appearance of fine lines. The texture is a true cream — richer than a gel, lighter than the brand’s heavier night formulas — and it absorbs into the under-eye without leaving a residue that interferes with concealer.
What stood out for us across multiple bottles: the eye cream actually de-puffs. Plenty of products in the category claim this and don’t deliver. The Skyn Iceland eye cream gives a visible morning result within ten to fifteen minutes — small but real — and the cumulative effect after two or three weeks of consistent use is a less-tired-looking under-eye even on poor-sleep days. The Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels (the cult hydrogel patches) remain the brand’s emergency-use product for very-tired mornings, and the two work well as a pair: gels for an event, cream for the daily routine.
How to use the Icelandic Relief Eye Cream
Apply morning and evening. After cleansing and any serums, use a rice-grain-sized amount per eye, tap (don’t rub) along the orbital bone — outer corner, under the eye, inner corner, brow bone. Avoid going right up to the lash line. The cream is light enough to layer under sunscreen and concealer in the morning, and it doesn’t pill under makeup if you give it sixty seconds to absorb.
For an event-night routine, layer the Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels first (ten to fifteen minutes, lying down with the gels on), remove, and then apply the Icelandic Relief Eye Cream as the lock-in step before makeup. The combination delivers the dewiest under-eye result we’ve gotten from any product pairing in the category.
Skyn Iceland eye cream vs the alternatives
For people considering Skyn Iceland against the wider eye-cream market: the brand sits in a quiet middle tier of the prestige category. The Icelandic Relief Eye Cream is priced below the luxury end (La Mer’s Eye Concentrate, La Prairie) but above the drugstore tier (RoC Retinol Correxion, Olay Eyes). The closest direct competitors at a similar price point are Origins’s GinZing, Kiehl’s Avocado Eye Treatment, and the Drunk Elephant C-Tango — all of which we have tested and rotate through.
What pushes Skyn Iceland to the top of the rotation for us is the de-puffing performance. GinZing is brighter (pearlescent finish, more about luminosity), Avocado is richer (better for very-dry under-eyes), C-Tango is firmer-feeling (more anti-aging coded). Skyn Iceland’s Icelandic Relief Eye Cream is the one that most reliably reduces visible puffiness, and that has become our daily priority.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Skyn Iceland Icelandic Relief Eye Cream the same as the original Skyn Iceland eye products?
The Icelandic Relief Eye Cream is the brand’s current everyday-use eye cream. The original Relief Eye Pen we covered in 2012 has been retired. The hydrogel under-eye gels (Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels) and the cream are now sold separately and meant to work together — patches for emergency de-puffing, cream for daily routine.
Does the Skyn Iceland eye cream actually reduce puffiness?
In our testing, yes — visibly within ten to fifteen minutes of application, with a more meaningful cumulative effect after two to three weeks of consistent twice-daily use. The active doing the work is the caffeine, supported by the brand’s Icelandic glacial water and a peptide complex.
Where can you buy Skyn Iceland eye cream?
The Icelandic Relief Eye Cream is sold direct on the brand’s site, at Sephora, at Ulta, and at Amazon. The Amazon listing currently has the strongest single-page combination of price and shipping speed for US-based buyers; both Sephora and Ulta carry the same SKU.
Is Skyn Iceland eye cream worth the price?
For a daily-use prestige eye cream that genuinely targets puffiness, the price-per-bottle works out to a reasonable cost-per-application over a full bottle’s life. Anyone whose primary under-eye concern is fine lines (rather than puffiness) may get more from a peptide-and-retinoid product like the Drunk Elephant C-Tango or Kiehl’s Avocado. For puffiness specifically, Skyn Iceland is the pick.
Shop the post
Our current pick: Skyn Iceland Icelandic Relief Eye Cream on Amazon.
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Related coverage from Tried & Tested Beauty
If you liked this, take a look at our Dermalogica MultiVitamin Power Serum review — same approach to a different skincare staple.