The 21 Best Face Moisturizers For Any Skin Concern
There are some skincare staples that never fall out of your routine, no matter your skin type. One such product is moisturizer. Moisturizers help hydrate skin in the morning to set a smooth, flake-free canvas for makeup application, or they can be used at night to help target specific skin concerns while you sleep. And if you want to keep your skincare routine super simple, all you really need to do is cleanse, apply toner/serum, and then your favorite moisturizer (and follow with sunscreen, of course, if it’s the morning).
No matter what your skin type or concern is, there’s moisturizer that can help. Here are 23 moisturizers that are beloved by dermatologists, beauty editors, and more for glowing, hydrated skin.
1. Best for All Skin Types:
NEUTROGENA Hydro Boost Water Gel
It’s hard to find something that works on all skin types, but this best-selling gel cream satisfies pretty much every need. The bouncy texture feels like a cold drink of water on dry and combination skin, but because it’s oil-free and non-comedogenic, it’s also great for oily skin and acne-prone skin. Plus, it can be used anytime of day: Use it first thing in the morning for a refreshing burst of hydration, before bed as a night cream, or throughout the day to fight flakiness.
2. Best for Head-to-Toe Moisture:
CERAVE Moisturizing Cream
This drugstore favorite may seem simple, but it’s packed with good stuff like ceramides and hyaluronic acid to both hydrate skin and seal in that moisture. It’s so nourishing that it can be used on the body as well, and the fragrance-free formula won’t irritate sensitive skin.
3. Best for Sensitive Skin:
CETAPHIL Redness Relieving Daily Facial Moisturizer SPF 20
Pretty much all of CETAPHIL’s products are suitable for sensitive skin, but this calming day cream is specially formulated to neutralize redness with allantoin, licorice extract, caffeine, and vitamin E. Even better, it also has built-in mineral sun protection.
4. Best Repairing Moisturizer:
LA ROCHE-POSAY Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer
This lightweight moisturizer is packed with skin-loving ingredients like ceramides to repair the skin barrier, hydrating glycerin, and soothing and brightening niacinamide. Plus, it’s oil-free, paraben-free, non-comedogenic, and fragrance-free.
5. Best Moisturizer for Mature Skin:
L’ORÉAL PARIS Revitalift Triple Power Anti-Aging Moisturizer
The “triple” in the name comes from three anti-aging powerhouses: pro-retinol, which fades the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles; hyaluronic acid, which draws moisture to skin for a plumping effect; and vitamin C, which brightens and provides antioxidant protection. Plus, you get all this for less than $25.
6. Best Collagen Moisturizer:
OLAY Regenerist Collagen Peptide 24 Face Moisturizer
The collagen in our skin depletes with age, so moisturizers that contain the ingredient can help provide that youthful, plump look—at least temporarily. This affordable formula contains collagen peptide plus niacinamide for bonus brightening and hydration benefits, making it a skincare win all around.
7. Best Moisturizer With SPF:
KIEHL’S Ultra Facial Moisturizer SPF 30
This moisturizing lotion is about as basic as it gets (in a good way). Lightweight and quickly absorbed, the formula is perfect under makeup and provides the optimum amount of hydration to last through the day. And of course, it also contains broad spectrum SPF 30, so you’ll always have that extra layer of sun protection built right in.
8. Best Classic Moisturizer:
CLINIQUE Moisture Surge™ 100H Auto-Replenishing Hydrator
This update on the best-selling Moisture Surge gel moisturizer will have you going back to a (new) old favorite. It maintains the lightweight gel-cream texture of the original, but now hydrates for a whopping 100 hours—with effects lasting even after cleansing.
9. Best Luxe Moisturizer:
LA MER Crème De La Mer
Anti-aging, ultra-moisturizing, and protecting, Crème de la Mer became the formula to which all others were compared. And although it is pricey, it’s also pretty fantastic (the magic lies in the brand’s Miracle Broth of ingredients). Plus, a little goes a long way, so one jar might last you months.
10. Best for Dry Skin:
HERBIVORE Pink Cloud Soft Moisture Cream
Sure, this fluffy pale pink cream looks pretty, but it’s packed with stuff your skin will love too. Just to name a few, it contains tremella mushroom (aka a humectant that helps skin retain moisture), olive-derived squalane, shea butter, and aloe—all of which will help skin stay glowing and bouncy all day long.
11. Best Antioxidant Moisturizer:
JUICE BEAUTY Antioxidant Moisturizer
We often associate antioxidants with serums, but you can get a boost from superfood ingredients in most any skincare product. This moisturizer, for instance, contains brightening vitamin C as well as grape and apple to help fight free radical damage, all while keeping skin nourished with jojoba, avocado, and sunflower oils.
12. Best Vitamin C Moisturizer:
SUNDAY RILEY C.E.O. Vitamin C Rich Hydration Cream
When we think of bright, even-toned skin, we immediately think of vitamin C. This rich cream contains 5% THD ascorbate, a stable form of the ingredient that both targets existing signs of aging (such as dark spots), and prevents future ones. Apply morning and night for an otherworldly glow.
13. Best Firming Moisturizer:
DRUNK ELEPHANT Protini™ Polypeptide Cream
Think of this face cream as a protein smoothie for your face. Made with strengthening amino acids, antioxidant-rich pygmy water lily stem cell extract, tightening soybean folic acid ferment extract, and more, it helps repair skin cells for a firmer appearance with each application.
14. Best Vegan Moisturizer:
YOUTH TO THE PEOPLE Adaptogen Deep Moisture Cream
Made with calming ashwagandha and hydrating fermented reishi, this face cream has adaptogen ingredients you’d probably expect to see at a health-food store. Add in jojoba, squalane, and shea butter, and it’s one of the best moisturizers you’ll ever use, vegan or not.
15. Best for Wearing Under Makeup:
GLOSSIER Priming Moisturizer
If you’re someone whose flaky, dry skin gets in the way of a flawless makeup application, I see you and I am you. Start getting picture-perfect skin with just a CC cream or tinted moisturizer when you apply this cream first. All you need is a pea-sized amount under makeup to get smooth, hydrated-looking skin.
Ipsters love that the scent is mild and makes them feel fresh and clean with one application. One Ipster even gave it perhaps the best compliment a skincare product can get by saying it “does everything it says” it does.
16. Best Multi-Action Moisturizer:
IT COSMETICS Confidence in a Cream
If you’re looking for a product that will work through the change of the seasons and will also provide key anti-aging and hydrating benefits, this cream does it all. It has peptides that help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, supports natural collagen production, and has ceramides that help restore skin’s moisture barrier. It’s perfect for women of all ages, whether you’re looking to target fine lines or to prevent them.
It’s also packed with hydrating ingredients like colloidal oatmeal and shea butter so it will help nourish, hydrate, and heal skin concerns (like redness and uneven tone) over time. Ipsters rave that it smells great, feels lightweight, and always leaves your face feeling soft.
17. Best for Dull Skin:
TATCHA The Dewy Skin Cream
Dull skin is characterized as uneven, and can even appear to be patchy or discolored. This cream targets these issues with ceramides, the building blocks of healthy skin. It helps reinforce your skin’s protective barrier and traps moisture so it never looks cracked or parched.
Ipsters love that just a small amount works to cover your entire face. One even said “this is the best moisturizer I have. It makes my skin feel so hydrated and soft.” With reviews like that, who needs advertising?
18. Best Moisturizer With Retinol:
MURAD Retinol Youth Renewal Night Cream
Retinol does its best work at night, and this potent cream doesn’t mess around while you get some shut-eye. It’s formulated with a time-released form of retinol that keeps your skin working and recharging all night long. In fact, this formula smooths, softens, hydrates, and plumps. If you’re new to using retinol, this is a great product to start with since it’s gentle enough to use every night.
Over 22,000 Ipsters rave about it. One said it’s a “hydrating retinol product that leaves my face feeling smooth and moisturized.” Another loves that it “goes on light and doesn’t get my pillow oily.”
19. Best Night Cream:
AHAVA Night Replenisher
If you have dry skin, you’ll want to stick with products that are labeled somewhere between the normal to dry arena. And, like mentioned above, it’s best to focus on a night cream that can help repair dryness overnight. Night creams tend to be a bit thicker than regular moisturizers, so they can get to work without being hidden by makeup or SPF during the day.
This formula includes a gentle form of retinol that boosts cell turnover at night, which can help prevent skin from flaking and growing dull. It’s also vegan and all natural. Ipsters say this cream in and of itself makes a Glam Bag subscription “worth it.” One Ipster even said “the consistency and feeling on the skin is honestly amazing [...] and extremely moisturizing.”
20. Best for Uneven Skin Tone:
GOLDFADEN MD VITAL BOOST Even Skintone Daily Moisturizer
With ingredients like organic red tea (rich in antioxidants and vitamins C and E), and carotene (which brightens, protects, nourishes), this gentle formula is a superhero for all skin types. This formula is also scentless and lightweight, so you can wear it under makeup or at night.
Ipsters call Vital Boost Moisturizer a “wonder cream,” and love that it’s non-greasy and instantly makes a difference on their skin’s tone and texture.
21. Best Whipped Formula:
CALLYSSEE Whipped Moisturizing Cream for Normal to Dry Skin
A cocktail of aloe vera, calendula extract, coconut oil, and organic green coffee hydrates, softens, soothes, and repairs in one step. This formula is specifically made for normal to dry skin, but it comes in a lightweight formula that you can wear during the day. Since it’s also caffeine-infused, it will help skin appear brighter and over time help create a healthier complexion.
Ipsters say it’s “moisturizing without feeling greasy.” And that it made faces feel “instantly softer.”
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