The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG Review

Struggle with pesky dark circles and puffy under eyes? Join the club and unfortunately, they aren’t that easy to fix. Dark circles have a few different causes: bone structure, genetics and dilated blood vessels which come with age and lack of sleep. A topical serum will only work for dilated blood vessels because skincare, no matter how magical it may be, cannot address bone structure or your genetics.

The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG is a topical eye serum aimed at combating dark circles and puffiness. This serum uses caffeine which can reduce the appearance of puffiness and dark circles in the under-eye contours. The 5% caffeine formulation is high but combined with its cooling, soothing and thick gel texture, it’s a dream for the under-eye area. The best part? It’s super affordable!

The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG Review

The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG Review

The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG will target dark circles and puffiness caused by dilated blood vessels. Dilated blood vessels occur as you age and target the already fragile skin around your eyes. You lose collagen as you age so as your skin becomes thinner, the dilated blood vessels are more visible giving you the appearance of dark circles. Of course lack of sleep, age and genetics also play a huge role.

This serum only targets dilated blood vessels and this goes for all under eye creams or serums. Topical skin care cannot target hollow under eyes or the annoying dark under eye circles that run in your family. They require fixes via filler injection, laser and likely a good dermatologist. This goes for all eye creams so if you’ve felt like eye creams in the past don’t work for you, this may be why.

This formula contains a very high concentration of caffeine at 5% and much higher than you will find in most eye creams or serums. The ECGC comes from green tea leaves which are known for soothing the skin, making them a good option for targeting dark circles and depuffing. Studies have also shown that caffeine can help to smooth cellulite so, feel free to try this serum on your body!

So let’s talk about the way the serum feels. It’s a gel, water based texture that’s thick and cooling on the under eyes. It feels really nice on the under eyes and you don’t need a lot. It does not have a scent and less is more because the product can pill. It comes in UV protected packaging and it has an easy dropper.

This product has no conflicts and can be used in the AM or PM. Some reviews said it pills so keep that in mind if you want to apply makeup over this. Overall, this product is super affordable so it’s a good way to try an under eye treatment without spending much. That’s a good thing because many different eye creams are sold and marketed to cure all dark circles and puffiness and that’s a very large ask. As we learned, depending on the origin of your dark circles, fillers or lasers may be the only way to combat them.

I’ve tried expensive eye creams in the past and have never noticed a difference in my under eyes. I don’t have noticeable dark circles but I definitely think this product helped with the puffiness which is much more than I’ve gotten in the past. But, I don’t think it did much for my dark circles so keep that in mind if you think it’s going to be the end all, be all, miracle product.

The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG Pros

  • Very affordable eye serum. It’s better to save on eye creams and serums because they can be gimmicks and depending on your dark circles, they won’t work.
  • Water based formula is a thick jelly consistency. It’s super cooling and soothing on the skin.
  • Caffeine 5% is a high formulation but paired with soothing green tea, it’s a great, effective match for puffy eyes and dark circles.
  • Vegan and cruelty-free formula. Also alcohol and oil free.
  • Can be used in the AM or PM without conflicts.
  • Caffeine also works on combating cellulite so if this does not work on the under eyes, feel free to repurpose it on your body.
  • UV protected packaging to extend the shelf life plus it’s a recyclable glass bottle.
  • The dropper applicator is easy to use and control how much product you use.

The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG Cons

  • Many reviews say that this did nothing for their under eyes. This is the case for a lot of eye creams because dark circles have many different causes and there’s a small chance a topical cream or serum can fully fix that.
  • This product is a thick gel and some said it pills. If you apply this in the AM, beware of applying makeup over it.
  • Caffeine 5% is a very high formulation. If you have sensitive under eyes, the caffeine may irritate them.
  • This product is very hyped up and eye creams don’t fix hereditary dark circles or dark circles caused by bone structure.

How to use

Use this before oils and creams in the AM and/or PM. It has no conflicts as to what you can use it with. It’s a thick gel so less is more when you apply it. That’ll be the best way to avoid pilling.

Where to buy it

The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG is available at:

The Ordinary is now producing this product with a black dropper. Some places have a white dropper for sale as that’s usually what it’s made with. There’s no difference in formula although a black dropper may be a newer formulation as it was a recent production change.

Final Thoughts

The beauty industry really pushes eye creams as a miracle, must have when most of them are a gimmick. Remember eye creams and dark circles are not one size fits all! If you have dark circles due to lack of sleep and not genetics, then this serum may work for you. The nice thing is caffeine helps to combat puffiness so everyone can benefit from that when you’re lacking sleep.

The Ordinary Caffeine Solution serum is super affordable which is definitely the route you want to take with eye creams or serums. But, I don’t think it’s a game changer for dark circles. If you really want to hide dark circles, you’re better off with a good under eye brightener or concealer.