21 best moisturisers for dry skin 2025, tried and tested
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As someone who interviews dermatologists for a living, I can tell you with utmost certainty that finding the best moisturisers for dry skin is far from a straightforward process. While it's true that most run-of-the-mill formulas do a decent job at hydrating your skin, very few actually succeed at retaining much-needed moisture on a very dry complexion. After all, it takes more than just a few replenishing ingredients and a thick consistency for a moisturiser to be considered worthy, especially when it comes to long-term benefits.
Take it from a beauty writer who's always had dry and sensitive skin: nothing's more important than catering your skincare routine to your exact skin type. On top of issues like dry patches, flaking and peeling, dry or dehydrated skin is usually considered more vulnerable – making an even bigger case for a tailored approach.
Above all, you'd do well to focus on barrier repair and incorporate ingredients like ceramides, peptides, hyaluronic acid and squalane. Plus, depending on your other needs – whether it's brightening, minimising the look of fine lines and wrinkles or smoothing out skin texture – you might want to incorporate other actives such as including vitamin C, niacinamide or retinol.
To help you pick, I've curated a round-up of the best moisturisers for dry skin for every budget and preference – from those with SPF protection to oil-free formulas and weightless consistencies. I've also consulted with a handful of dermatologists and skincare experts to answer all of your moisturiser-related FAQs, so be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of this page for the full lowdown.
SKIP TO: What do dermatologists recommend for very dry skin? | When should you moisturise? | How to choose the right moisturiser for dry skin.
How we tested the best moisturisers for dry skin:
Throughout the years, the GLAMOUR team has collectively tested over a hundred moisturisers for dry skin – including rich creams for lasting hydration. We've judged all formulas – including cult classics as well as newer launches – based on consistency and whether they managed to lock in the moisture for a long period of time, all while keeping in mind conditions such as eczema and rosacea. Find out how we test here.
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Looking for more moisturiser-related content? Check out our guides on the best moisturisers of all time, moisturisers for oily skin, moisturisers with SPF, night creams and more.
Enter: the best moisturisers for dry skin, tried and tested…
- Key ingredients: Japanese purple rice, Okinawa algae blend and botanical extracts.
- Best for: Dull, dehydrated skin and a dewy finish.
Why we love it: Now, if there's a moisturiser that needs no introduction, it's the Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream. Featuring a rich, plumping formula, this cream will not only keep your skin nice and hydrated throughout the day but it will also boost its ability to retain moisture in the first place. It includes a special blend of hyaluronic acid and Okinawa algae as well as the antioxidant-rich Japanese purple rice. We're sold.
Charlotte Tilbury Charlotte's Magic Cream
- Key ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, shea butter, oat extract and glycerin.
- Best for: Daily hydration and prepping skin for makeup.
Why we love it: Made with an innovative formula that floods your complexion with long-lasting hydration, this must-have moisturiser from Charlotte Tilbury definitely deserves its name. It's particularly great for priming your skin for makeup and transforming dull, tired skin and giving your skin a more glowy and dewy appearance after each application. After all, it's an absolute favourite among celebrities, influencers and skincare experts for a reason.
Medik8 Daily Radiance Vitamin C-Tetra Cream
- Key ingredients: 7% Tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, hyaluronic acid and vitamin E.
- Best for: Brightening and daily SPF protection.
Why we love it: This 2-in-1 moisturiser combines the brightening effects of vitamin C with the protective properties of an SPF 30 day cream. It comes with a lightweight, fast-absorbing formula that shields your complexion from environmental aggressors and leaves your skin feeling fresh and smooth all day long.
- Key ingredients: Shea Butter, squalane, peptides, açai.
- Best for: deep hydration and supporting your moisture barrier.
Why we love it: Having just launched a few months ago, the Rhode Barrier Restore Cream is already widely considered as one of the best remedies for stressed, dehydrated skin. Filled to the brim with skin-loving ingredients such as shea butter, squalane and peptides, this nourishing creamy concoction does a superb job at soothing and replenishing your skin, leaving in looking healthier and plumper than ever.
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Augustinus Bader The Rich Cream
- Key ingredients: Argan oil, avocado oil, evening primrose oil, hydrolyzed rice protein, squalane and glycerin.
- Best for: Deep hydration with a luxury feel.
Why we love it: When it comes to skincare, there's nothing that screams “luxury” just as much as Augustinus Bader. This intense hydrating moisturiser is made to help stimulate your body's natural collagen production and also contains a wide range of helpful vegan-friendly ingredients, including a blend of natural oils, soy bean, rice proteins and more.
- Key ingredients: Ceramides, fatty acids, cholesterol.
- Best for: those after a quality fragrance-free moisturiser.
Why we love it: As far as Korean moisturisers go, the AESTURE Atobarrier365 Cream is easily one of the best formulas out there. Fore starters, it's clinically-proven to deliver lasting hydration without compromising your skin's natural moisture barrier. Thanks to the brand's patented encapsulation technology, this cream's absorption rate is actually 80% higher than that of a regular ceramide-infused formula. It's fragrance-free, it's reasonably priced and it delivers the most stunning post-facial-like glow.
- Key ingredients: Ceramides, panthenol and glycerin.
- Best for: Those that are after an irritant-free formula.
Why we love it: One of the brand's most sought-after products, the Ceramidin Cream is a fool-proof moisturiser that will keep your skin plump and hydrated without irritating it in the process. Boosted by a blend of ceramides to nourish your moisture barrier, this clever face cream is also infused with other hydrating heroes such as panthenol and glycerin to help your skin retain moisture for as long as possible. The result? Fresh, supple skin with a healthy-looking dew.
- Key ingredients: Peptides, spermidine, and barrier polysaccharides
- Best for: Prepping the skin before applying makeup.
Why we love it: Let's be real, when was the last time that Merit came out with a disappointing formula? Correct, never. Although the “clean girl”-friendly brand is best known for its makeup, trust us when we tell you that its skincare products are definitely worth considering. The Great Skin Moisturiser, for one, features a lightweight consistency that quickly absorbs into the skin without that greasy feel, delivering the perfect dewy base for your makeup look. Infused with peptides, spermidine, and barrier polysaccharides to help support your skin's elasticity and maintain hydration levels, this cream is also non-comedogenic, dermatologist-tested and fragrance-free. We'll take ten.
Glow Recipe Cloudberry Bright Moisture Cream
- Key ingredients: Cloudberry, peptide-lipid complex.
- Best for: Brightening and delivering lasting moisture.
Why we love it: One of the brand's latest additions to its product lineup, the Glow Recipe Cloudberry Bright Moisture Cream is an everyday staple that will soften, brighten and plump up your complexion while fending off environmental stressors. In true Glow Recipe fashion, this peptide-rich formula smells divine, feels super hydrating on the skin and has a lightweight yet nourishing texture.
The INKEY List Bio-Active Ceramide Repairing and Plumping Moisturiser
- Key ingredients: Ceramides and glycerin.
- Best for: Plumping and hydrating mature skin.
Why we love it: Infused with a selection of potent ceramides, this affordable moisturiser from The INKEY List does not disappoint. Not only does it deliver a steady stream of hydration, but it also helps your skin restore its elasticity and provides a pleasant youth-boosting effect.
- Key ingredients: Glycerin, provitamin B5 and the brand's “Inst'tight” complex.
- Best for: Sculpting and firming.
Why we love it: Suitable for all skin types, the REFY Face Sculpt is an innovative moisturiser formula that (apart from hydrating the skin) will help sculpt, firm and tighten the skin over long-term use. Better yet, it also features a built-in facial roller to help with lymphatic drainage and depuff your face in the process. Ideal for those with dry skin types looking for an added firming boost.
Murad Cellular Hydration Barrier Repair Cream
- Key ingredients: Niacinamide, squalane, glycerin, refined bilberry seed oil, allantoin and hydrogenated rapeseed oil.
- Best for: Strengthening your skin's moisture barrier on a cellular level.
Why we love it: Suitable for all skin types, this innovative day cream from Murad is clinically proven to strengthen, nourish and repair your skin’s barrier at the cellular level. This is especially great for those who suffer from dry, flaky skin, as this product can help your skin find its radiance and keep moisture sealed in for up to 24 hours at a time.
Farmacy Beauty Honey Drop Lightweight Moisturizer
- Key ingredients: Plant-based ceramides, antioxidant-rich buckwheat honey and sweet fig.
- Best for: Keeping your skin hydrated through the colder months.
Why we love it: Despite being incredibly lightweight, this creamy moisturiser packs a seriously hydrating punch – formulated with honey, ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and golden cupuacu butter beads. It nourishes, plumps and moisturises on multiple levels within the skin and repairs your skin barrier in the proceess.
Save when you shop for the best moisturiser for dry skin with these Cult Beauty discount codes.
- Key ingredients: Glacial glycoprotein and squalane.
- Best for: Those who dislike a greasy, sticky feel.
Why we love it: It would hardly be a round-up of the best moisturisers without the iconic Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream, right? Thought so. Formulated with high-grade skincare ingredients such as squalane and glycoprotein, this product promises up to 24 hours of hydration to keep your skin nice and smooth throughout the whole day (and night). Oh, and did we mention that it has a non-greasy formula too?
Save big when shopping for moisturisers for dry skin using these LookFantastic discount codes.
- Key ingredients: Ceramides and hyaluronic acid.
- Best for: Those looking for a quality budget-friendly alternative.
Why we love it: If in doubt, always choose CeraVe because you can’t go far wrong. Not only is it one of the most budget-friendly brands on the market, but its products are incredibly effective, and they just work – mostly down to the fact that everything is developed by dermatologists. This cream is bolstered with both ceramides and hyaluronic acid, moisturising and hydrating while protecting your skin cells. Plus it’s fragrance-free, making it suitable for even the most sensitive of skin types.
Drunk Elephant Bora Barrier Repair Cream
- Key ingredients: Glycerin, jojoba seed oil, shea butter, evening primrose oil and squalane.
- Best for: Calming sensitive skin and strengthening your moisture barrier.
Why we love it: Designed to help soothe sensitive skin, this new release from Drunk Elephant is filled to the brim with lipids, ceramides, natural minerals, and potent antioxidant compounds. This helps it alleviate dryness, providing you with long-lasting hydration that firms the skin and reduces any unwanted redness.
Summer Fridays Rich Cushion Cream
- Key ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, camomile, allantoin, squalane and glycerin.
- Best for: Healing a damaged skin barrier.
Why we love it: Tired of stressed and dry skin? Say no more – this face cream has everything you need to achieve the silky smooth skin you deserve while also keeping it shielded under a strengthened moisture barrier. It also contains camomile and allantoin, which are both known for their soothing abilities.
La Roche-Posay Toleraine Creme
- Key ingredients: Glycerin, shea butter, vitamin B3, and thermal water.
- Best for: Soothing flare-ups.
Why we love it: Loved by beauty editors, dermatologists, and skin experts for a very good reason, this little tube of magic works wonders throughout the year. Thick but not greasy, it’s fragrance-free and packed with prebiotics to protect the skin and prevent moisture loss. It relieves dry, tight, stinging and irritated skin almost instantly while also re-hydrating and soothing any sensitivity.
Kate Somerville Goat Milk Moisturizing Cream
- Key ingredients: Aloe vera, avocado oil, jojoba oil, grape seed oil, witch hazel flower water, rice bran extract and vitamin E.
- Best for: Ultra-sensitive skin, eczema-prone skin and soothing inflammation.
Why we love it: This nourishing and hydrating cream from Kate Somerville is specially formulated for sensitive, eczema-prone and acne-prone skin to help alleviate inflammation. It provides a cool, calming effect, thanks to a combination of ingredients such as aloe vera, milk proteins, avocado oil and jojoba oil. 10/10 would recommend.
- Key ingredients: Organic sunflower seed oil and wild pansy, chamomile, calendula and rosemary extracts.
- Best for: Healing dry patches, and ensuring lasting hydration.
Why we love it: The Weleda Skin Food moisturiser is one of the brand's best sellers, and it's easy to see why. It doubles as a body cream and thanks to its potent and deep-penetrating formula, it's also one of the best skincare products for dry skin in general. It's ideal for tackling dry patches, nourishing and hydrating your skin, without resulting in an oily, greasy feel.
Vichy Aqualia Thermal Rich Cream Face Moisturiser with Hyaluronic Acid
- Key ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, mineralising water, shea butter and plant sugar mannose.
- Best for: bringing radiance back into the skin.
Why we love it: Ideal for sensitive, dehydrated skin, Vichy’s moisturiser is packed with shea butter and hyaluronic acid alongside the brand’s mineralising thermal water. It has a velvety finish on the skin making it a good choice to wear under makeup, or as the final step in your night-time routine. It works to help ensure skin looks and feels as healthy and as radiant as possible – which is exactly what we all want, right?
Save when you shop for the best moisturiser for dry skin with these Sephora discount codes.
What do dermatologists recommend for very dry skin?
“As the weather turns colder, skin tends to become drier and more sensitive,” shares Dr Alexis Granite, CeraVe’s consultant dermatologist. Dr Granite also advises to really take the time to massage your chosen product in, ideally for at least 30 seconds to really maximise the effects. “And if you find yourself reaching for it several times a day, you might want to consider a richer product,” she adds.
When should you moisturise?
First, remember that regardless of your skin type, it's important to moisturise all year round. And with winter fast approaching, moisturising is more important than ever, especially for the dry-skinned. After all, it’s the time of year in which skin goes into overdrive – skin barriers are easily depleted, and all moisture is zapped in the blink of an eye, both of which are most often caused by the combination of the bitterly cold British weather (yikes) and the constant need to have the central heating on at all hours of the day.
How to choose the right moisturiser for dry skin
The ideal moisturiser (or lotion) for dry skin will include a mixture of emollients such as ceramides, occlusives such as fatty acids, and lanolin (all of which help hydrate the skin and repair your natural skin barrier while locking in the moisture) as well as humectants, including glycerin, squalane and hyaluronic acid, all of which are essential active ingredients for the ultimate hydration cocktail.
Good-quality moisturising lotions are also known to include other high-grade skincare ingredients, such as retinol, vitamin E, green tea extract, niacinamide, aloe vera and vitamin C – all contributing towards not only nourishing your face, but also to help with various skin conditions (such as acne, rosacea and eczema), tackle breakouts, calm itchy and flaky skin and even reduce appearance of fine lines.
Shop more moisturisers for your skin's needs:
- Best Moisturiser For Mature Skin
- Best Vitamin C Moisturiser
- Best Barrier Repair Cream
- Best Moisturiser For Combination Skin
- Best Water-Based Moisturisers
- Best Tinted Moisturisers
- Best Multi-Tasking Moisturisers
- Best Korean Moisturisers
Feeling inspired to upgrade your skincare routine? Check out our guides to the best face masks, best skincare for teens, best hyaluronic acid serum, best body moisturisers, and best vitamin C serums, best face toners and best eye creams.
