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Whether applied under make-up or used as overnight treatments, these products will nourish the skin
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We’ve included luxurious treats as well as budget basics
A moisturiser is the most classic skincare buy of all, whether you prefer lavish or lightweight formulas, and it’s often the priming layer beneath a make-up base, too. Although seemingly a simple purchase, it can be tricky to find the best moisturiser to suit your skin, with many of us still seeking the holy grail of this beauty must-have.
Available as a cream, gel, balm or lotion, shopping for moisturiser is influenced by skin type – normal, dry, oily or combination – and it’s important you get the balance right.
If your skin is dry, you’ll be looking for a moisturiser that offers soothing relief. Signs of dry skin include tightness and flaking – it can also present as a visible lack of elasticity. A moisturiser for dry skin will help address those skincare concerns by adding nourishment to dry patches and plumping up areas that feel parched.
It’s important not to confuse dry skin with dehydrated skin. The former differs in that it’s a skin type that’s prone to dehydration, which can be caused by environmental factors such as the weather, air conditioning and central heating, as well as certain health conditions or deficiencies. Meanwhile, dehydrated skin is due to a lack of water and may present alongside oiliness.
Dry skin needs extra oils, so that’s something to look for in the ingredients list, while, dehydrated skin needs extra water. Either way, moisturisers must sink in and add nourishment. However, not every moisturiser will effectively combat dryness, which is why we’ve been doing our research to find the most easily absorbable formulas serving up a comforting, smoothing base.
We’ve included a selection of moisturisers that our reviewer has used for years, as well as those recently discovered over a testing time of a few weeks. Our tester has looked at formula, consistency and skin finish, as well as packaging. Read on for our guide to the best tried and tested moisturisers for dry skin, across every price point.
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Presented in a yellow tub with a twist-off lid and iridescent branding, we opened the product up to find a glossy formula inside. This shiny, cream finish felt refreshingly soothing on our skin and its thick consistency covered our face and neck with quickly absorbed moisture, which felt lightweight to wear.
Ingredients include skin-balancing niacinamide, and we saw an even, brightening effect. There’s also shea butter, argan oil, peptides and manuka honey extract in there for plumping moisture, too.
We detected a lightly sweet honey fragrance, which was a gentle addition, and we didn’t see any irritation whatsoever. Our skin looked and felt smoothed and dewier all over, with a small amount gliding on and creating a fresh base. We also noted it layers well with other skincare products, too.
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Billed as a priming moisturiser, we found this buildable skincare buy is an ideal base underneath make-up. The lightweight formula feels soothing and moisturising, and the sheeny layer is refreshing rather than heavy. This means the formula sinks in fast too, making for a speedy morning routine.
Ingredients include shea butter and aloe leaf juice, and we saw calmed skin with light moisturising coverage, which blended seamlessly and offered smoothing skin prep. Its slimline tube packaging slots easily into any make-up bag on the go, too.
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This refreshing gel-cream hybrid is a lightweight moisturiser, which feels calming on dry skin. Presented in a fun, vibrant-pink bottle with a pump-release applicator, the vegan-friendly moisturiser is fragrance-free too.
What’s helpful about Byoma’s packaging is that it lists all the ingredients, as well as their purposes. It also includes a demystifying “how to use” the product and in which skincare order. Suitable for inclusion in both our morning and evening routine, we found the sheeny, soft formula delivers even hydration that soaks in well and leaves a smoothing base.
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Undoubtedly a skincare splurge, this cream is lavishly luxurious. Slathering it across our skin, we could feel nourishment soothe and smooth, while enjoying the uplifting marine extract scent. Consistency wise, the formula is comfortingly buttery without being greasy, and we saw visible plumping and felt reduced tightness.
Hydrating ingredients include sweet almond oil and sunflower seed oil, while marine plankton is said to help with elasticity. We noticed richly moisturised skin, which felt significantly softer, and that in turn gave our face a welcome glow, both under make-up and without a foundation base.
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A lightweight formula perfect for perking up dry skin, the glossy consistency glides onto skin and absorbs efficiently too. The white-coloured cream rubs in well and leaves a healthy, moisturised effect.
Ingredients include squalane and vitamin E, and we noted the cream’s soothing qualities both on bare skin and under make-up. It’s fragrance-free, too, which is ideal if your skin is sensitive or easily irritated by strong scents. We found the cream to be cooling and refreshing, as well as brightening and hydrating. And for less than £30, we think it creates a luxe skincare finish.
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A combination of rich and glossy texture, this thick, shiny face cream envelopes skin with moisture, making application feel like a real skincare treat. You can either slather the cream over your face for a whopping does of hydration, or use sparingly, as a small amount goes a long way.
Presented in chic packaging, this green and gold pot has a gorgeous celestial-themed metallic lid complete with moon designs. Ingredients include rosehip oil, shea butter, avocado oil, vitamin E, plant extracts and bakuchiol, which is often referred to as a plant-based alternative to retinol. We saw a more balanced skin tone, while dryness was smoothed over and improved.
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Packaged in a tall bottle with a pump-release applicator, this light moisturiser has a gently sweet and subtly creamy scent. Designed for dry and combination skin, hydrating ingredients include avocado oil, jojoba oil, vitamin E and sunflower oil.
We found the lightweight consistency makes for excellent skincare layering, while it also offers calming hydration when used alone. Somewhere between a cream and a lotion, this formula is ideal if you prefer a less heavy finish. Meanwhile, our dry skin happily drank up the moisture delivered, feeling comforted and calmed with use.
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This gel-like moisturiser is packaged in a stylish prism-shaped pot, which looks chic on any surface. The night cream version of Charlotte Tilbury’s cult classic magic cream, the texture differs quite a bit from its daytime counterpart. The consistency feels like a mix of a serum, mask and intensive moisturiser, while slathering it on is a luxurious experience. Meanwhile, the frangipani scent smells sweet and indulgent. Ingredients include vitamin E and time-release retinol, and our dry skin looked a lot dewier the next morning, which we were very pleased to see.
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Also available with added SPF, this sheer, fragrance-free lotion glides onto skin, then quickly absorbs. The ingredients list features plumping ceramides and hyaluronic acid.
Given its lightweight composition, this cream feels surprisingly deeply moisturising. Designed to protect the dermis’s natural barrier, we did see conditioned skin. For the price, we noted its effortless efficiency in both soothing and smoothing dryness.
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When opening the brown-glass, apothecary-style pot of this moisturiser, we immediately noticed the golden cream’s clean, botanical scent. The inclusion of vitamins A and E are gently nourishing, and we could feel it on our face as this cream was gradually absorbed.
With a thick but not heavy formula, its moisturising effect left our skin looking a lot less dry, without any excess shine, and we saw significant smoothness. An undisputed treat buy, this is the right moisturiser for those who don’t like a glossy, dewy effect.
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Although technically an intensive treatment, we have relied on this as a regular dry-skin-relieving night cream for several years now. The essential oil blend includes cedarwood and ylang-ylang, while hyaluronic acid hydrates and lavender soothes. All of this contributes to a spa-like scent, making the application feel ultra relaxing.
The gleaming cream covered our skin well, sinking in as we slept to reveal obvious hydration the next morning. Where dryness has made our wrinkles more obvious, they appeared improved, while irritated tightness felt smoothed.
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This compact tube contains key skincare ingredients such as collagen, vitamin B3 (aka niacinamide) and hyaluronic acid. Its formula is so smoothing that the glistening cream glides onto the skin without much effort. With a rich consistency, our face felt well-coated in abundant moisture, which gradually sank in.
Under make-up, there was some slight surface residue as the day went on, so we would recommend leaving extra time for it to absorb. Almost immediately, the appearance of dryness was improved, with our fine lines and wrinkles reduced, and a feeling of elasticity added over the weeks we were using it.
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Presented in a compact bottle with a pump nozzle and metallic trim, we quickly noticed the luxurious vanilla and lavender scent of this moisturiser. Vegan-friendly, the ingredients include shea butter, green tea and oat silk, alongside skin-balancing niacinamide.
Our dry skin can feel dull, but we saw luminosity straight away. Absorption is extremely fast, which saves time waiting around ahead of applying make-up. The result is an excellent glowy-matte hybrid that has zero greasiness. With regular use over a few weeks, our skin looked noticeably clearer, too.
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Presented in a tall, square-edged bottle, the pump nozzle is useful for mess-free application. The formula is velvety soft and gently lightweight while still feeling nourishing. Gliding over our face, previously tight areas appeared to have added elasticity.
Ingredients include acacia-derived collagen, and its welcoming scent is sweetly creamy. Quickly soaking in, the luminous cream was also delicate on our easily irritated skin.
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More of a balm than a cream, dipping into this stylishly branded jar we found a thick paste that felt incredibly soothing. Not easily spreadable at first, the vegan-friendly vitamin A, E and shea butter formula steadily melted onto our skin with a rubbing motion.
The effect is that of all-consuming moisture, which perked up our dull, dry skin by creating a glowing finish that was richly velvety to the touch. After a busy day and evening, we could still detect hydrating glossiness in our make-up look, which we found impressive.
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Despite being an undeniably pricey splurge, we found this enveloping moisturiser to be lavishly cooling (alternatively, you can warm it in your hands). Packaged in a glass jar with a twist-off lid, the blue-grey glossy cream contains peptides and brightening vitamin C.
This cream is of a midweight consistency but is still satisfyingly hydrating for those who don’t like an overly thick moisturiser. It was instantly soothing on our skin and we appreciated its speedy absorption, which was particularly helpful ahead of applying foundation. As a result, we saw smooth, supple skin with an added glow.
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Our overall best buy is Wishful’s honey whip peptide moisturizer, as the shiny, smoothing formula softens skin and creates an even base. Meanwhile, Freya and Bailey’s reboot superfoods resilience moisturiser adds brightening radiance and helps with clarity. Finally, for an affordable fragrance-free daily hydration boost, we’d recommend CeraVe’s facial moisturising lotion.
We got our hands on The Ordinary’s newest moisturiser ahead of its launch in March 2023 – here’s our review
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