The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum Review

The Ordinary has released its second eye serum, and this one is just as powerful and effective as the original, Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG.

The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum is an advanced eye serum that targets ALL of those pesky signs of aging that pop up around the eyes, such as the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, eye bags, puffiness, and dark circles.

In this The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum review, I’ll discuss my experience with the eye treatment.

This The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum review post contains affiliate links, and any purchases made through these links will result in a commission for me at no extra cost to you. Please read my Disclosure for additional information.

One of The Ordinary’s best sellers, it is a water-based serum that is on the pricey side for The Ordinary at $25.

The first thing I noticed when reading the product description is that it targets just about all of the signs of aging that an over-the-counter eye product can, such as wrinkles, crow’s feet, puffiness, eye bags, and dark circles.

The ingredient list is filled with actives that address the signs of aging, and some of the ingredients specifically target the skin around the eyes.

The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum Key Ingredients

• Glycerin: A common moisturizer that supports a healthy skin barrier and helps the skin retain moisture.
• Acetyl Glucosamine: An amino sugar that has multiple skin benefits. It helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles, improves skin hydration, and even helps fade hyperpigmentation and dark spots.
• Niacinamide: Niacinamide is another multi-tasker that is a skin brightener, helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles, balances oil production, improves ceramide production for a stronger skin barrier, and can even help with acne.
• Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38: Also known as Matrixyl synthe’6, this peptide is an anti-wrinkle ingredient that helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles and crow’s feet.
• Acetyl Tetrapeptide-5: Also known as Eyseryl, this peptide claims to improve the look of puffiness and eye bags.
• Myristoyl Nonapeptide-3: This newer peptide claims to be able to mimic the effects of retinol but without the typical side effects like irritation and redness.
• Dipeptide Diaminobutyroyl Benzylamide Diacetate: This tripeptide is better known as Syn-Ake, a tripeptide that targets wrinkles caused by facial movements like Botox does.
• Caffeine: An antioxidant and stimulant, caffeine improves blood vessel microcirculation and may help with dark circles and puffiness.
• Epigallocatechin Gallatyl Glucoside: This active combines the green tea polyphenol EGCG with a glucose molecule and delivers antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.
• Gallyl Glucoside: A skin protective antioxidant that soothes the skin.
• Fraxinus Excelsior Bark Extract: This extract works in this serum with niacinamide and silanetriol to reduce under-eye bags and puffiness.
• Arginine: An amino acid and natural moisturizing factor in the skin that increases hydration and helps heal wounds.
• Hydroxymethoxyphenyl Decanone: A synthetic molecule formulated to mimic grains of paradise, a spice in the ginger family. This active is supposed to increase hyaluronic acid production and offer antioxidant benefits.
• Propyl Gallate: An antioxidant and preservative.

The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum: Claims

Their clinical results show an improvement in the look of dark circle appearance and color intensity, skin texture of the eye contour, skin luminosity and brightness of the eye contour, crow’s feet wrinkles, and under-eye wrinkles.

How long will it take?

Per The Ordinary, Multi-Peptide Eye Serum improves the look of under-eye wrinkles and crow’s feet in 1 month.

After using it for 2 months, it reduces the look of under-eye bags by 50% and reduces the look of dark circles by 53%. Over time, your eye area will look 60% brighter.

The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum Review: First Impressions

I ordered a bottle of The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum during the pre-release and have some initial thoughts on this product that is a little pricier than most The Ordinary products.

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The serum has a non-sticky, lightweight serum texture that takes a few minutes to sink into my skin. The serum leaves a somewhat tacky feel on my skin.

I’ve been using this in the morning and evening, and I’ve noticed that my under-eye area is super hydrated, moisturized, and very plump.

It works well under makeup, too.

If you have dry skin, you may want additional moisture to seal in all of the goodies in this eye serum.

If so, look for an eye cream that doesn’t contain strong actives that can interfere with the peptides in this serum. See more details in the Conflicts section below.

I like pairing it with a lightweight eye cream (like this one), and it works well and doesn’t pill.

I have thin skin with fine lines under and around my eyes, and daily use of this serum for several weeks seems to have softened the lines a bit.

I haven’t noticed as much brightening as smoothing since I have hereditary dark circles that nothing seems to significantly help.

The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum Pricing

Now, the pricing…

When compared to several other drugstore brand eye treatments, this serum is actually quite comparable. In fact, it’s less expensive than Olay, RoC, and La Roche-Posay eye creams.

But because The Ordinary is so well known for their rock-bottom prices, I can understand why $25 may seem like a lot for an eye treatment.

The Ordinary notes that the pricing reflects the advanced technologies in the eye serum. (They took the most effective ingredients from discontinued sister brand eye serum Hyalmide SubQ Eyes and combined them with new technologies.)

Next, I’ll compare this The Ordinary eye serum with a few other The Ordinary products to see how it measures up and if it warrants the higher price tag.

The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum vs The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG

So now that The Ordinary offers two eye serums, you might be wondering what the difference is between The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum and The Ordinary’s original eye serum, The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG.

First, I should note that if the price is your main concern, Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG is much more affordable at $8.90 for 1 oz. The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum is $25 for half as much (0.5 oz).

The serums both contain caffeine and epigallocatechin gallatyl glucoside, but that is where the similarities end.

Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG targets puffiness and dark circles*, whereas Multi-Peptide Eye Serum targets puffiness and dark circles, PLUS skin texture, skin luminosity and brightness, crow’s feet, wrinkles, and fine lines.

There is no question: The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum is the more complete eye serum.

Whether the almost 3x increase in price from the Caffeine serum is worth it to you depends on your skincare needs and budget.

I’ll be reaching for Multi-Peptide Eye Serum more often because I deal with crepey skin, wrinkles, dark circles, and puffiness. (fun, I know!)

*For more details on The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG, please see my review here.

The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum vs The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Serum

If you’ve already purchased The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Serum (formerly known as The Ordinary “Buffet”), you may be wondering if you even need to purchase this eye serum at all.

Keep in mind that The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum is specifically formulated to be used around the eye contour, while Multi-Peptide Serum is not. The Eye Serum has a slightly thinner texture as well.

Even though the two products share some of the same ingredients, such as glycerin, palmitoyl tripeptide-38, dipeptide diaminobutyroyl benzylamide diacetate, and arginine, the formulas are different.

The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum contains active ingredients like niacinamide, Fraxinus excelsior bark extract, acetyl tetrapeptide-5, and caffeine that specifically target under-eye concerns like wrinkles, darkness, puffiness, and bags.

These targeted ingredients contribute to the higher price of the 0.5 oz eye serum (which is, in fact, higher than the 1 oz face serum).

Another Eye Serum Alternative

If you want one of the most advanced eye serums available, The Ordinary’s sister brand NIOD offers their Fractionated Eye Contour Concentrate, which targets crow’s feet, wrinkles, puffiness, textural unevenness, and dark circles.

Both serums contain acetyl tetrapeptide-5, niacinamide, acetyl glucosamine, palmitoyl tripeptide-38, dipeptide diaminobutyroyl benzylamide diacetate (Syn-Ake), Fraxinus excelsior bark extract, arginine, glycerin, propyl gallate, gallyl glucoside, and epigallocatechin gallatyl glucoside.

So what’s the difference?

NIOD uses a whopping 28 complex approaches to address the signs of aging around the eye contour.

But be warned; it is expensive at $70 for 0.5 oz.

If it’s in your budget, NIOD is worth considering, as it’s an excellent product. My mom swears by it!

For more details on my experience with this NIOD eye serum, please see my NIOD Fractionated Eye Contour Concentrate review.

Is The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum Worth It?

This is not a question I usually have to ask because The Ordinary products are so well-priced.

But…is The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum worth its $25 price tag? I think so.

Why? It’s all about the formula.

When researching the ingredients, I noticed a few actives (including myristoyl nonapeptide-3, niacinamide, Fraxinus excelsior bark extract, and silanetriol) in this $25 The Ordinary eye serum are also found in this $99 eye gel.

The Ordinary uses advanced technologies to target skin concerns found specifically around the eyes.

Would I prefer it to be under $20? Of course, but I think it’s well worth the few extra dollars.

Keep in mind that for less than $10, you can always start out with The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG to address puffiness and dark circles and then upgrade from there.

How To Use The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum

The Ordinary demonstrates using Multi-Peptide Eye Serum in a skincare routine on their website. It is applied after cleansing but BEFORE The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Serum (face serum) and your moisturizer.

Apply a small amount to your eye contour area. Since the serum is pretty concentrated, just one drop works for both of my eyes.

The Ordinary recommends patch testing this eye serum before using it for the first time to avoid an adverse initial reaction. Use only on unbroken skin.

The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Eye Serum Conflicts

The serum is formulated to be used around the eye area only. The peptides in the serum conflict with direct acids, pure vitamin C, salicylic acid, resveratrol, and ferulic acid.

You should avoid combining the serum with other eye products (i.e., eye creams) that contain those ingredients.

The Bottom Line

There is no doubt this is a pricey product from The Ordinary. If price is a concern, Caffeine 5% Solution + EGCG is a more affordable eye serum.

If given the option to choose between Caffeine 5% Solution + EGCG and Multi-Peptide Eye Serum, I prefer Multi-Peptide Eye Serum which also addresses wrinkles, fine lines, and skin texture.

For The Ordinary skincare routines for aging and mature skin that incorporate Multi-Peptide Eye Serum, be sure to check out my post: The Ordinary Skincare Routine For Over 50.

Thanks for reading!

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