The Best Face Moisturizers for Every Skin Type in 2022 -- La Mer, Olay, Drunk Elephant and More

Shop ET Style’s top picks of the best face moisturizers out there for your skin’s moisturizing needs for all skin types broken down.

Jun 13, 2022 - 21:05

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The Best Face Moisturizers for Every Skin Type in 2022 -- La Mer, Olay, Drunk Elephant and More

Moisturizing your skin is kind of like brushing your teeth: It's generally a good idea to do it twice a day in order to get the best results, no matter your skin type or tone. And with winter here, keeping the skin hydrated and supple amid cold weather is important.

Most people have the same end goal for their face: plump, soft, younger-looking skin with no signs of acne, sun damage, fine lines, wrinkles or dark spots. Consistent hydration not only improves your skin's texture, making it smoother; it also reinforces the skin's barrier function, meaning it’s less permeable to irritants such as pollution.

While this twice-daily facial beauty routine might seem straightforward enough to follow, shopping for a new facial moisturizer can often be anything but easy. Because who knows which of the best sunscreen, cream, anti-aging products, retinol moisturizers, collagen and elastin lotion, moisturizing cream or oil-free moisturizer actually works best on your unique skin type? After all, the daily moisturizer formula that pairs perfectly for the acne-prone might not suit those whose complexions are on the dry side.

Make sure to look for key ingredients in a moisturizer, including hyaluronic acid, vitamin e, shea butter, salicylic acid, ceramide, aloe vera, fatty acid, and more. The best moisturizers have those key ingredients to moisture the skin and even out your skin tone.

Until there's an end-all-be-all official skincare manual out there, we've laid out our recommendations for the best face moisturizer for all skin types below.

Check out more of our top picks for the best foundation, lipstick, face oil, self-tanner, face masks, wrinkle treatments, face wash, eye cream, teeth whitener, eyelash serum, sunscreen and face cleanser.

Shop ET Style’s top picks of the best face moisturizer out there for every one of your skincare needs in 2022 and beyond. Looking for more lifestyle inspiration for the new year? ET Style has you covered. Peruse through our guide for everything you need to stay fit, healthy and organized.

For Anti-Aging

Skinstore

Safe for sensitive skin, First Aid Beauty's FAB Skin Lab Retinol Serum combines retinol and polypeptides to help soften the look of wrinkles and fine lines on mature skin with ingredients including hyaluronic acid, vitamins C and E, aloe, colloidal oatmeal, allantoin and ceramides.

$58

Skinstore

Using only ingredients necessary to deliver results, this Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 Hydration Support Formula provides intense hydration and smooths out fine lines and wrinkles.

Olay

Olay Regenerist Anti-Aging Face Moisturizer is the face cream that gets to work immediately, hydrating the skin and softening the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles while firming and plumping. It's infused with ingredients like hyaluronic acid, amino peptides and vitamin B3, which work together for visible, and surprisingly affordable, results.

$39$30

Sephora

Formulated with anti-aging superstars Retinol and Vitamin C, this lightweight moisturizer brightens, firms and nourishes skin overnight while improving tone, texture and the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

$110

For Dry Skin

Ulta

Dermalogica's Skin Smoothing Cream hydrates the skin using lactide acid along with mallow to soothe skin while smoothing out uneven skin texture.

$44

Sephora

The price tag is undoubtedly steep, but celebrities like Jennifer Lopez swear by La Mer, the legendary elixir that infuses skin with sea-sourced renewing energies. This famously luxurious facial cream deeply soothes, moisturizes and helps heal dryness, so your skin looks naturally vibrant and restored. The secret to activating the Miracle Broth in Crème de la Mer lies in a soothing ritual: warm it for a few seconds between your fingers until it becomes translucent, then press gently onto your face. Because it's so rich, La Mer is ideal for drier skin types.

$190 AT SEPHORA

Sephora

This luxurious cream has found a home with myriad fashion and beauty influencers. They love its clean ingredients, antioxidant-laden formula and ability to take skin from extremely parched to pleasingly plump. The highly active compounds get to work both superficially and deep inside your skin's cells -- as a result, fine lines will disappear and skin will be visibly firmer.

$230

Glossier

Glossier's Priming Moisturizer Rich face moisturizer is a deeply moisturizing yet fast-absorbing face cream for either day or night with an anti-redness complex built into the formula.

$35

Sephora

Lancôme's Hydra Zen Anti-Stress Glow Liquid Moisturizer is lightweight made with 11 amino acids and hyaluronic acid. This face moisturizer visibly de-stresses skin, hydrates and supports the skin's moisture barrier for a glow that lasts all 24 hours.

$45

Tatcha

The Dewy Skin Cream by Tatcha is a super rich face cream containing Japanese purple rice, which can plump skin as the product delivers its namesake dewy glow.

$69

For Acne-Prone Skin or Oily Skin Types

Amazon

This lightweight gel moisturizer formula is packed with the powerhouse hydrator hyaluronic acid and is beloved by high-end beauty aficionados and drugstore dwellers alike. This hydrating gel absorbs almost instantly, so your skin feels softer, nourished and not at all greasy.

$20$17

Fenty Skin

Rihanna's Fenty Skin Hydra Vizor Invisible Moisturizer is a favorite among fans, influencers and beauty editors. This moisturizer-sunscreen combo hydrates, protects and brightens the skin. The lightweight formula absorbs fast and doesn't leave a white cast.

$38

Sephora

Yes, even oily complexions need hydration. This oil-free formula and moisturizer designed for oily skin won’t make breakouts worse for the acne-prone—this mattifying moisturizer actually helps prevent them with salicylic acid—and instead gives skin a supple, matte appearance.

$38

For Combination Skin

Huda Beauty

Huda Beauty's Honey Balm Jelly Moisturizer is the textured jelly-meets-balm moisturizer. This face moisturizer is infused with honey and turmeric root extract to lock in moisture for up to 24 hours while soothing the skin.

$43

Sephora

This moisturizer from Bobbi Brown targets fine lines and wrinkles while managing combination skin. The formula uses shea butter with vitamins E and other nutrients for a cream you can use every day.

$64

Nordstrom

Chanel's hydrating gel cream is made with micro-droplets containing camellia oil extract that provide an instant sense of freshness along with a moisturizing effect that lasts up to 24 hours. As its name implies, the Hydra Beauty Crème deeply hydrates and protects skin against free radicals; it also helps restore and maintain optimal moisture levels in the skin cells.

$98

Amazon

Tula's 24-7 Moisture Hydrating Day & Night Cream is perfect for combination skin -- it's filled with probiotics, superfoods, watermelon fruit extract and squalene to deeply hydrate and firm skin. It's not filled with parabens, sulfates, phthalates, mineral oil, petrolatum, formaldehydes, formaldehyde releasing preservatives, triclosan, retinol or gluten.

$52$42

Sephora

This cult favorite ceramidin moisturizer cream for combination skin from Dr. Jart is a lightweight yet rich cream. It's stacked with ceramides, the good “fat” for your skin that hydrates the skin barrier from within and prevents chronic water loss from your pores. Normal, dry and even very dry skin instantly become plumped with all-day, time-release moisture.

$48

For Sensitive Skin

Amazon

Dr. Hauschka's Tinted Day Cream is formulated for sensitive skin. Tinted Day Cream soothes, hydrates and nourishes while adding a light, translucent, sun-kissed glow to skin.

$45

Drunk Elephant

The cult favorite skincare brand Drunk Elephant is committed to using only ingredients that either directly benefit the skin’s health or support the integrity and effectiveness of their formulations. What you won’t find in their products: essential oils, drying alcohols, silicones, chemical sunscreens, fragrances/dyes or sulfates/SLS, making them the perfect for the sensitive skin set. This thick, fluffy moisturizer is infused with six rare African oils and a ceramide complex for intense moisture; it's also fragrance-free, which means it’s sure to not irritate sensitive skin.

$60

SkinStore

Pai's soothing moisturizer is formulated with soothing ingredients like chamomile and rose hips so it goes on smoothly without irritating sensitive skin.

$59

Kiehl's

If you're looking for a no-frills moisturizer that simply does the job, the Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream with Squalane is the one for you. This bestseller is lightweight, fragrance-free and paraben-free. It instantly moisturizes, smoothes and soothes the skin -- even sensitive skin.

$33$25

Amazon

In addition to providing UV protection at SPF 30, this La Roche-Posay oil-free moisturizer contains ceramides (essential for repairing the skin barrier) and the anti-aging nutrient niacinamide.

$20

Amazon

Jessica Alba's Honest Beauty's The Daily Calm Lightweight Moisturizer is formulated with two types of hyaluronic acid and squalane. This face moisturizer is oil-free, synthetic-free, fragrance-free and cruelty-free.

$30

For SPF Protection

Amazon

We don't need to hear much more than "Jennifer Lopez loves this product" before whipping out our credit card. But if you are curious why the superstar uses it religiously, this budget-friendly anti-aging face cream contains moisturizing ingredients and SPF 30 -- a must -- plus glycolic acid, vitamin C and pro-retinol. Together, the combo works to even out skin tone, reduce the appearance of wrinkles and sun protection from UV rays.

$19