If your skin is feeling parched, tight and a bit uncomfortable, but not excessively dry, water-based moisturisers could be a good fit for your skincare routine. These formulas are usually designed to be very hydrating, often packed full of ingredients like hyaluronic acid.
While rich creams might work for some, water-based creams tend to be more lightweight, meaning they’re ideal for oilier skin types that are easily congested. But, generally, they will work well with any skin type that needs a hydration boost (as well as summer if you prefer a lighter moisturiser at that time of year, but we aren’t there yet).
My skin falls into both of these categories—prone to dehydration and on the oily side—so not only have I tried quite a few great water-based moisturisers in my years as a beauty editor, I use them in my daily skincare routine. The below picks are brilliant water-based moisturisers that'll help to keep your skin hydrated all-year-round.
How I tested the best water-based moisturisers
As mentioned, water-based moisturisers suit my skin type, so I included both products that I've used before as well as testing some new-to-me options. I considered the following factors to compile a guide to the best.
- If it suits all skin types or is formulated for specific skin concerns
- Key ingredients and any unique technology
- How it feels to apply
- Consistency—is it watery, a gel, a thicker cream or a hybrid?
- How well it absorbs and how nourished it makes the skin feel
The best water-based moisturisers to shop now
1. LANEIGE Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Gel Moisturiser
From the makers of the iconic LANEIGE Lip Sleeping Mask (one of the best products out there for dry lips, IMO), the best way I can describe the texture of this moisturiser is like water in gel form. As well as blue hyaluronic acid, an “amplified” version of the hydrating ingredient, it contains mint leaf extract that works to reduce sebum and the look of shine, making it particularly great for oilier skin. (If you don’t think the ultra-light gel texture is right for you, there is also a cream version.) It sinks into the skin easily with a nice cooling feel.
2. Kate Somerville HydraKate Recharging Water Cream
If I had to pick just one moisturiser to use every day for the rest of my life, I’d find it impossible (it’d also be very impractical now that I think about it). However, if I made a shortlist, this one would definitely be on there. It has such a nice texture, balancing a silky cream with a gel, and delivers hydration to where it’s needed most via AquaPort technology. I noticed a difference in my skin the first time I used it. The serum is also divine.
3. Caudalie Vinosource-Hydra Grape Water Gel Moisturiser
With soothing aloe vera, this is a really nice gentle moisturiser from Caudalie and another that has a watery texture that melts into the skin. Designed to deliver a quick boost of hydration to support the skin barrier, it stretches far and soaks in fairly quickly. Like lots of water-based moisturisers it’s not especially thick, but it’s a nice reasonably priced gel formula that ticks that hydrating box.
4. Murad Nutrient-Charged Water Gel
Another lightweight gel-cream texture, this absorbs into the skin so well, leaving behind not a hint of greasy residue. It’s loaded with the good stuff, with five vitamins, five minerals and five peptides. It’s also oil free, so a good choice for oilier skin types who prefer these formulas, but is designed to nourish dry skin, too. Not only that, but it claims to improve your skin’s hydration retention for up to five days. A very impressive moisturiser.
5. Tatcha The Water Cream
Of the three Tatcha moisturisers, this is the one designed with oily and combination-to-oily skin in mind. At a glance, it’s thicker than you might expect from a water-based moisturiser, with a slightly creamy consistency, but it feels very softening without overloading the skin. As well as being hydrating, the formula features calming leopard lily, wild rose to reduce the look of enlarged pores and Hadasei-3™, a complex of radiance-boosting fermented Japanese superfoods.
6. Oskia Violet Water Hydra Gel
Last but by no means least is OSKIA's Violet Water Gel, another gel-cream. A great lightweight choice for blemish-prone skin, it has a jam-packed ingredients list with both hydration and this skin type in mind—including niacinamide, hyaluronic acid and a micro-plankton complex that works to help control and balance sebum production. It feels great on the skin and is a nice all-rounder that works to hydrate, brighten and balance.
