The 10 Best Face Moisturizers To Add to Your Routine in 2021
Courtesy Fresh Beauty
There's an overwhelming amount of product out there — something to solve every issue! — but sometimes it can be most beneficial to focus on the basics first. A routine can be fully revitalized just by pressing the reset button with a new face moisturizer, and we've got all the best creams on the market for targeting every single one of your worries, from simple hydration to brightening to antiaging. Face moisturizer bolsters up any skin-care regimen, and these are the cream of the crop. Scroll through to find the answer to every concern or whim. Here are the best face moisturizers to try in 2021.
Favorite Overall: Fresh Rose & Hyaluronic Acid Deep Hydration Moisturizer
Favorite, Runner-Up: CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion
Best Budget: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel
Best with Retinol: RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream
Best Brightening: Olehenrikson C-Rush Vitamin C Gel Moisturizer
Best with SPF: Fenty Skin Hydra Vizor Invisible Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30
Best Sleeping Mask: Glow Recipe Watermelon + AHA Glow Sleeping Mask
Best Gel: Clinique Moisture Surge 100 Hour Auto-Replenishing Hydrator
Best Tinted Moisturizer: Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Natural Skin Perfector Broad Spectrum SPF 30
Best Primer: Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream
Favorite Overall: Fresh Rose & Hyaluronic Acid Deep Hydration Moisturizer
This has all the marks of a faithful moisturizer. It contains hyaluronic acid for optimal hydration, time-release technology that keeps the moisture coming for hours, and damask rose extract to help support the skin barrier. Pair it with any of your active skin-care products, and expect great things.
BUY IT: $45; nordstrom.com
Favorite, Runner-Up: CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion
If we're talking about dependable, you quite literally cannot beat this drugstore icon that is friendly on your wallet and good for all skin types. Thanks to both hyaluronic acid and deeply hydrating ceramides, it also reigns supreme for those who deal with dry skin. It provides the perfect healthy base for any skin-care routine.
BUY IT: $13.99; amazon.com
Best Budget: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel
If you want something that feels light as air and sinks right into the skin, this shopper-loved gel cream will certainly do the job. While it's extra beneficial for those with combination, oily, or blemish-prone skin, it provides a smooth, nourished canvas for any skin type. The price point and general easy access on the market doesn't hurt, either.
BUY IT: $17.99; amazon.com
Best with Retinol: RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream
Shoppers cannot stop raving about this over-the-counter retinol cream that promises to visibly firm skin and reduce wrinkles by up to 50 percent, even deep-set wrinkles. It's raked in almost 13,000 reviews on Amazon, and the drugstore tube makes a fabulous option for someone who is just starting out with retinol.
BUY IT: $19.99; amazon.com
Best Brightening: Olehenrikson C-Rush Vitamin C Gel Moisturizer
Vitamin C is the key ingredient to helping brighten dark spots, refine skin texture, target fine lines, and give your complexion an overall boost of radiance. This peach-tinted gel moisturizer instantly illuminates and delivers an energizing burst of hydration, which also makes it a fabulous wake-up call for your morning routine.
BUY IT: $46; sephora.com
Best with SPF: Fenty Skin Hydra Vizor Invisible Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30
This two-in-one moisturizer and sunscreen immediately sets your skin up for success. Beyond being known as a fabulous makeup primer, the pink-tinted cream formula is invisible on all skin tones. No white or gray cast to be found — only sun protection and reliable hydration. What more could you ask? Oh, right. The packaging makes a pretty vanity addition, too.
BUY IT: $35; sephora.com
Best Sleeping Mask: Glow Recipe Watermelon + AHA Glow Sleeping Mask
You've probably heard of this famous pink jar, and it fully delivers in both looks and function. Use this instead of night cream a few times a week, and wake up with glowing skin. The pillow-proof formula acts as a radiance-boosting hyaluronic acid face mask, formulated with watermelon extract, as well as pore refining AHAs that work while you sleep to gently exfoliate and clarify.
BUY IT: $45; sephora.com
Best Gel: Clinique Moisture Surge 100 Hour Auto-Replenishing Hydrator
We just can't quit this department store classic, and for good reason. This new upgrade on the time-tested product is an oil-free gel-cream moisturizer with aloe bio-ferment and hyaluronic acid that penetrates deep into skin's surface for hydration that the brand claims goes over 10 layers deep and lasts for 100 hours. Talk about covering your bases.
BUY IT: $41; nordstrom.com
Best Tinted Moisturizer: Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Natural Skin Perfector Broad Spectrum SPF 30
On days when you just can't be bothered by face makeup, a tinted moisturizer can provide just enough coverage to have you feeling confident, but still natural. This longtime-loved tube is just the ticket if you want a radiant, glowy tint that's also fortified with SPF. Which means you literally cross off three things from your to-do list. You'll be tempted to give up the concealer altogether.
BUY IT: $47; nordstrom.com
Best Primer: Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream
Using a combination of collagen-stimulating peptides, plumping hyaluronic acid, and the dynamic duo that is vitamins C and E, the Magic Cream hits the antiaging trifecta not only for long-term wrinkle-busting effects — 100 percent of testers reported reduced wrinkles, according to the brand's website — but also for instant gratification perks like smoothed texture and plumped skin, which is why it is heralded by many makeup artists as the best base cream to apply before foundation.
BUY IT: $64; nordstrom.com
