Welcome to day 4 of Skincare Favourites Week! My question of the day for you is this: how’s your moisturiser doing for you? Giving you the good boing-boing skin?
Even though I’m very particular about the types of serums I use, I’m pretty lax when it comes to moisturisers. I don’t need the moisturiser to have magical anti-aging properties, although that would be a bonus. I just need the moisturiser to do one thing and one thing only, and that’s to moisturise my skin. Not just to sit on top of my skin but to really absorb onto the skin and keep it well hydrated during the day and/or night.
As I have combination skin with a very oily T-zone, the only type of moisturisers I’m fussy about are day moisturisers. They must be lightweight, quick to absorb and don’t leave any sort of greasy or shiny residue on my skin. As for night creams, I’d prefer that they’re not very rich. Cream-gels or gels are usually my moisturising weapons of choice.
Most of my top moisturisers are pretty simple ones. They don’t really do anything else than keep my skin matte and hydrated during the day and highly moisturised at night. I wouldn’t say that they did anything signficant on my skin and I’m absolutely all right with that. I have serums to do all the hard work.
Let’s get started! Here are my top 10 moisturisers in no particular order.
Bioderma Mat Anti-Shine Fluid
If you have oily to combination skin, this is a great day moisturiser for you. I love it and have since repurchased another 2 more tubes of this. It’s very lightweight, non-greasy, absorbs very quickly and leaves a matte finish on the skin. As it’s very light, I don’t use this as my night cream but for the day, it’s the perfect sort of moisturiser for my type of skin. This is especially useful in summer when you just can’t stand a lick of shine on the skin lest it be mistaken as sweat. I’m not super keen on the scent though but as it works really well, I overlook the fragrance. (review here)
Caudalie Vinosource Moisturising Matifying Fluid
This moisturiser is very similar to Bioderma Mat’s Anti-Shine Fluid. In fact, other than the difference in fragrances, I can’t really tell which is which when it comes to the texture and consistency. This also keeps the skin matte, controls the shine and is a great base for makeup. The French sure knows how to get this anti-shine thing right. Right? 😉 (review here)
Estee Lauder CyberWhite HD Advanced Brightening Moisture Creme
This is a recent discovery and I really like it. I scraped the entire jar dry just so I didn’t waste single drop. It’s light enough to not be greasy and leave a shine on my skin yet rich enough for me to use at night. It’s meant to be a day cream because there’s a night cream version of this but I prefer to use this as my night cream. I didn’t notice any sort of brightening on the skin but as a moisturiser, it’s spot on. It’s the kind that’s rich enough for the skin but doesn’t leave it looking greasy at night that Tim wouldn’t want to come near my face with a 10 foot pole.
Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief
I love this gel moisturiser. My skin drinks it in like nobody’s business. Some don’t like it and claim that it just sits on top of the skin doing absolutely nothing. I’m glad to report that that isn’t the case for me. Clinique also has the Moisture Surge Intense Fortifying Hydrator that is quite similar to this one but instead of a gel, it’s a cream. Although the latter is still a light cream, I still prefer the original Extended Thirst Relief hands down. It smells good and it’s actually light enough to use during the day but rich enough to use at night as long as I apply a bit more of the moisturiser in the evening. (review here)
Uriage AquaPrecis Moisturising Refreshing Cream Gel
This is my go-to moisturiser whenever I travel. It’s my day and night cream, all in one. It’s light enough to use during the day but moisturising enough to be used as my night cream. My skin goes haywire especially when I travel on aeroplanes. This moisturiser calms it right down. Plus it smells really good. (review here)
Dermalogica MediBac Clearing Oil Control Lotion
This was the first moisturiser I’ve used from Dermalogica and to date, it’s still the most effective for me from the brand. It’s incredibly lightweight and definitely controls the oil production on my T-zone. It also makes a good base for makeup as it leaves a matte finish on the skin. I’ve only used this during the day as it’s not rich enough to be used at night. If you have oily to combination AND congested skin, I highly recommend you checking this out. It also contains salicylic acid to help prevent skin congestion. (review here)
NARUKO Gellies
I’ve used several moisturisers from NARUKO over the years and I’ve enjoyed using all of them. To be honest, I have absolutely no idea how one Night Gelly differ from another in different ranges because they work exactly the same for me. They’re gels and in summer, when you keep them in the fridge, they feel oh so good on the skin. I don’t have a particular range to recommend to you because, like I said, the consistency across the board is the same and so are the results. They moisturised my skin very well and I loved using them as night creams or even masks. Get the ones that smell the best to you, I say. You can tell that scent in moisturisers are very important for me. 😛 (review of one of the gellies here)
Clarins Daily Energizer Cream-Gel
Speaking of scent, hello citrus! When this first came out years ago, I think I bought 3 jars of it. That’s how much I loved it. Like the Wake-Up Booster, it’s delicious scent and feel on the skin is a good pick-me-up in the mornings. Citrus scent lovers will like this one. I sure did and still do.
Origins GinZing Energy Boosting Moisturiser
I can’t talk about the Clarins Daily Energizer moisturiser without also mentioning another citrus favourite, and that’s the Origins GinZing moisturiser. This is very similar to the Clarins moisturiser. Both are great pick-me-ups in the mornings too. The Origins GinZing has a sharper, more tart, specifically orange scent whereas the Clarins moisturiser is more mellow. I’ve used this as day cream and night cream without any issues at all. (review here)
SK-II Stempower
Okay I’ll admit it. Of all the moisturisers I’ve mentioned here, this is my #1. I love, love, LOVE the Stempower. It’s the only moisturiser out of the list that didn’t just moisturise my skin, it softened it over the period of use. It doesn’t have that smelly water scent that the Facial Treatment Essence has but it’s pleasant enough for me to keep using at night. It’s not a heavy cream but a lightweight form of cream-gel on the skin. If only this wasn’t so damn expensive; I’d be buying jars of this and never needing to use another brand of night cream again. I know. Big claims from a beauty blogger. That’s how much I love the Stempower. Sigh. (review here)
There are more moisturisers that I’ve tried that made the list too but I’ll keep it to a top 10 for now. Who knows what other great moisturisers I stumble upon in a year or two’s time? The new ones may even know the ones on this list of its pedestal! That’s the fun of trying out new beauty products, isn’t it? The joy of discovering something even better? 🙂
What’s your #1 moisturiser? The one you’ll buy over and over?
Catch up on Skincare Favourites Week!
- My Top 10 Cleansers
- My Top 10 Toners and Lotions
- My Top 10 Serums
- My Top 10 Moisturisers
- My Top 10 Eye Creams
- My Top 10 Exfoliators
- My Top 10 Facial Masks
Shop the post!
Like you, I hold strongly to the belief that serums do the leg work and moisturisers just sit on top doing what it’s meant to do (like you know, developers vs project managers – offending most PMs out there in 5 words or less). So, I pick up whatever Olay product that’s on sale in Chemist Warehouse. Usually the Total Effects range because they’re affordable, they work and most importantly, no breaking out. Major bonus!
LOL at the developers vs project managers! Yeah, like you, I believe that with a really good serum, any ol’ moisturiser would do, to be honest. Olay moisturisers are good because they have a good amount of niacinamide and peptides that even a lot of expensive moisturisers don’t offer.
I must give Naruko a try when I can get hold of it. I heard so much about that brand. I may have to sell my kidney with you two if I start using the SK II stempower but your review sounds promising:)
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Haha I wouldn’t expect anything more than a feel-good gel moisturiser for Naruko, to be honest. As for the SKII stempower … soon I may have no kidneys left. 😛
Loving this series, Tine! There’s quite a few products you’ve listed that I haven’t tried yet and am intrigued to, especially the French skincare 🙂
Also, just wanted your opinion on something, if you don’t mind. My friend’s just recently relocated here (i.e. Sydney Australia) from a very humid climate and her skin’s gone all sorts of crazy – dry, red, and whiteheads on her chin. Is there anything that you would recommend for her to use to calm it down? Appreciate your help!
Thanks Emily!
I’d say advise your friend to cut down her current skincare routine to the downright minimum. No serums with major active ingredients, no scrubs, no chemical or physical exfoliants, etc. I had a similar issue before (whole face broke in severe, angry rashes from overuse of the Clarisonic) and I pared down to the minimum. I used Cetaphil to cleanse my skin. If she has to wear makeup, keep it to a minimum and remove it with the Bioderma Sensibio H20 micellar water. The only serum I used that helped calm my skin down greatly was Trilogy’s Very Gentle Calming Serum. I highly recommend it. I’ve tried the calendula cream by Jurlique and while’s it’s a good product as well, I find it a tad rich for my skin. As for moisturiser, I used Cetaphil’s Moisturising Lotion. The point is to keep it very simple. And then pray hard for the skin to go back to normal. 😛
Thanks so much for the advice! I’ll pass it along, and fingers crossed it will work for her 🙂
i love this skincare series! i am using SK-II stempower as well due to reading ur review. at first i was reluctant as it costs pretty penny. my mum is a religious SK-II user and she got stempower travel size tub so i snatched it and fell in love instantly. i am never going back, love how my skin feels everytime i wake up. as for day moisturizer i’m using neutrogena hydro boost gel. it’s light enough and doesn’t take long to be absorbed, most importantly it does its job well. i don’t have much time in the morning so i’m sticking to neutrogena for day moisturizer and stempower at night.
Thanks Shuang, so glad you enjoyed it! How good is the Stempower?? I absolutely love it! Speaking of which, I need to replenish my supply. May need to sell a kidney to get it but hey, MY SKIN NEEDS IT! 😛
Out of all of these, I’ve only tried the moisture surge, and I love it but it does not play well with other products! 🙁 I find that it balls up with most of my bases and even my spfs 🙁 Does that happen to you too?
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Oh dear, sorry to hear that the Moisture Surge did that for you. I’ve not had that happen to me with the Moisture Surge but I have had other moisturisers and sunscreens do that, that balling up. Very annoying. Must be the combination of certain ingredients in those products that cause them to react like that. At the moment, I’m still clueless as to which is which.
Love this series, Tine!
I am tempted by the Bioderma one… At the moment, I use the Garnier Moisture Match as it’s winter but I’ll have to switch to something lighter come spring and summer.
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So glad you’re enjoying this series, Carole! Which Moisture Match are you currently using? The pink one?
Nice list! I would love to try something from SK-II, but I hope that since P&G owns the brand now that they use the technology in the Regenerist line. The moisturizer I buy over & over is Hada Labo Tokyo Skin Plumping Gel Moisturizer. Reminds me of Clinique Moisture Surge but much more affordable. But you’ve got me super-curious about the Origins GinZing Energy Moisturizer. I adore citrus scents so I gotta try a sample next time I go to a store with Origins!
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Thanks Allison! The Origins GinZing smells really good. Check it out at Sephora when you can. I love it! 😀
I love this series – one of your best from the many you had over the years 🙂 . I tried a sample of Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief but I did not like the smell. Strange really. After reading this post, I am really curious to try Naruko moisturisers as they are not only available in Watsons Malaysia but also pretty affordable.
My favourite day time moisturiser is Origins Make A Difference Plus+ day moisturiser and I am already on my third tub now. It is a lightweight gel moisturiser that is great under sunblock and makeup. I am using Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting moisturiser at night and have gone through several tubs as welll. Plan to try something else at night because I am getting bored. LOL.
Wow Victoria, one of the best? THANK YOU! 😀 So glad you enjoyed it. The Naruko moisturisers are good for hydration but I’d say to keep your expectations low in terms of everything else. But for hydration alone, it works just like the Moisture Surge but at more pleasant scents. 🙂
I’ve heard so much of the Make A Difference range from Origins. I really must check out at least one of the items! The Olay Regenerist range have great ingredients. Sadly, I find a lot of the products a tad too rich for my skin but Olay is still a brand I’ll happily recommend to anyone.
That Uriage moisturiser is my favourite daytime moisturiser too! I’m so happy to see it on your list because I feel like it doesn’t get anywhere near enough love.
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I adore the Uriage AquaPrecis range! The Comfort Cream is the only item in the range I’ve not tried. Heck, everything else is in this favourites series! 🙂