Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Autumn Winter 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    1. Beauty
    2. Skincare

    I Swear By This Classic £2 Cream for Enviably Plump, Dewy Skin—It Is Easily My Most Used Product

    All hail Nivea Soft

    Amelia Yeomans's avatar
    By Amelia Yeomans
    Published 18 May 2025 In Features

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    woman with glowing skin
    (Image credit: Getty Images)
    Jump to category:
    • Shop more of my Nivea favourites
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    There are plenty of beauty products I am glad I abandoned after my teenage years—cakey mousse foundation, I'm looking at you. But there is one particular item that I have used on repeat for over a decade, and won't be turning by back on any time soon: Nivea Soft moisturiser.

    I'm frequently asked for skincare recommendations by friends and family, and my usual spiel is that everybody's skin type is very different and there are rarely any one-size-fits-all products out there. However, Nivea Soft is one of the things that I will suggest to anyone and everyone.

    What makes the best moisturiser in my book is a formula that instantly soothes, sinks in quickly, and leaves a glowy finish on my face that gives the illusion of a pricey facial. Not only does Nivea Soft tick all of these boxes, but it's also an absolute bargain.

    Nivea Soft Moisturising Cream (75ml), 48h Moisturising Cream for Face, Body and Hands With Vitamin E and Jojoba Oil, Hand Cream Moisturises Deeply, Vegan Formula Day Cream

    Nivea Soft Moisturising Cream (75ml)
    £3£2
    SHOP NOW

    One thing I am always happy to splurge on is a good moisturiser. It would be my desert island beauty product, and I use it far more than anything else in my stash, so it makes sense to invest. Whilst I love a pricey rich cream during the winter months, there's a lot to be said for a product that provides the same amount of nourishment but sinks in speedily—particularly when said product costs less than a takeaway coffee.

    If you're familiar with Nivea Crème, another fantastic budget moisturiser, I consider Nivea Soft to be its lightweight sister. Both formulas are extremely nourishing, but whilst Crème is thicker and more mask-like, Soft has a barely-there feel that is ideal for wearing under makeup. It is a cream that *always* leaves my skin looking fresh, dewy, and hydrated without feeling heavy, meaning you hardly need to give it any time to dry down before following up with your base products.

    You may like
    • street style shot of a model with clear and glowy skin - best night cream A Night Cream Is the One Step That Could Make the World of Difference to Your Skin—These Are the 19 Best
    • best tinted moisturisers - model backstage The Best Tinted Moisturisers Are Essential for Healthy-Looking Skin— the Only 13 Worth Your Money
    • a selection of trinny london products As a Beauty Editor, I Cannot Believe I Have Been Hesitant to Try This Brand—It’s Now Become My Most Used

    nivea soft tube

    (Image credit: Future)

    Another reason for my infatuation with Nivea Soft: it's a fantastic multi-tasker. It is the first thing I pack when I'm off on holiday as it can be used on your whole body, so it saves me packing separate creams for legs, arms and face when I'm tight on space. It's also ideal for mixing with bronzing drops or something like the Bondi Sands self tanning drops when you don't want to wear foundation but want to give your complexion a boost.

    It is suitable for all skin types, but I do have one small word of warning: it contains Jojoba oil, which those who suffer with clog-prone skin may not agree with. However, I have acne-prone skin that breaks out very easily, and I have never found fault with this formula.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You will never catch me without a tube (or tub) of Nivea Soft in my makeup bag.

    Shop more of my Nivea favourites

    Nivea Sun UV Face Shine Control SPF 50 Cream

    Nivea Sun UV Face Shine Control SPF 50 Cream
    £13£7
    SHOP NOW

    Lightweight and not at all greasy, this is an affordable SPF with ample protection for the summer.

    Nivea Regenerating Serum Infused Micellar Water (400ml), Micellar Cleansing Water With Amino Acid, 5% Panthenol and Squalane, Gentle Waterproof Makeup Remover

    Nivea Regenerating Serum Infused Micellar Water
    £8£4
    SHOP NOW

    If you have sensitive eyes and struggle to remove mascara, this is the micellar water for you.

    Nivea Creme Tube (100ml), Moisturising Cream Provides Intensive Protective Care for Soft and Supple Skin, Ideal for Daily Use as a Face, Hand, or Body Cream

    Nivea Creme Tube (100ml)
    £3£2
    SHOP NOW

    Love a thick cream? This is my favourite for extra dry skin.

    Nivea Sun Protect Caring Lip Balm Spf50 (5.5ml), Factor 50 Lip Balm With Shea Butter, Protection Against Uva/uvb Rays With 24h Moisture, Lip Care, No White Cast

    Nivea Sun Protect Caring Lip Balm SPF50
    £5£3
    SHOP NOW

    I never go on holiday without a trusty SPF lip balm on hand.

    Amelia Yeomans
    Amelia Yeomans
    Junior Shopping Editor

    Amelia is Junior Shopping Editor at Marie Claire UK. With a keen eye for lifestyle trends and a focus on quality over quantity, she is very clued up on the best products and brands on the market. She previously worked as a Senior Writer for woman&home, covering everything from product reviews and nail art trends to reporting on fashion weeks and the best-dressed celebrities at red carpet events.

    Read more
    street style shot of a model with clear and glowy skin - best night cream
    Skincare A Night Cream Is the One Step That Could Make the World of Difference to Your Skin—These Are the 19 Best
    best tinted moisturisers - model backstage
    Skincare The Best Tinted Moisturisers Are Essential for Healthy-Looking Skin— the Only 13 Worth Your Money
     
     
    a selection of trinny london products
    Beauty As a Beauty Editor, I Cannot Believe I Have Been Hesitant to Try This Brand—It’s Now Become My Most Used
    Foundations with SPF
    Make Up I Swear by Foundations With SPF for Extra Sun Protection—Here Are My Most-Worn Formulas
     
     
    Latest in Skincare
    Laura Pearson reviews SKINVIVE and HArmonyCa
    Skincare I Avoided Injectables Until I Was 42—These Are the 2 Treatments That Changed My Mind
    K-Pharmacy
    Skincare Meet K-Pharmacy: Korea's Clinical Formulations are The Next Skincare Frontier
     
     
    Blue Light LED Masks Can Cause Pigmentation
    Skincare There’s a Problem With Blue LED Light That Nobody’s Talking About—Especially for Darker Skin
    Skin Barrier Skincare: Elizabeth Arden Advanced Gold Ceramide Capsules
    Skincare The Next Generation of Barrier Skincare Isn’t About Replacing Ceramides—It’s About Teaching Skin to Make Its Own
     
     
    Latest in Features
    New Beauty Products
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Nobel Prize-Winning Skincare, a Very Chic Body Brush and the Future of LED Therapy
    What to ask for at the hair salon
    Hair Here's What to Ask For at the Hair Salon to Get What You Actually Want
     
     
    Keely Hodgkinson winning Athlos 2026
    Fitness Fashion is Fuel—Keely Hodgkinson is Winning Proof That Wearing Confidence-Boosting Outfits Changes the Way We Move
    NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 10: Anne Hathaway attends Moncler Fifth Avenue Flagship Opening at 767 Fifth Avenue on September 10, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by The Hapa Blonde/GC Images)
    Life The “Hot Pregnancy” Era Is Supposedly Empowering. It Just Made Me Feel Worse...
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.