AliceintheRabbitHole has worked through more than 200 dry-skin products, and her record earns an approval rate of 66%. She approves more often than not, but she does not hand out praise easily. She named more than 20 winners along the way.
What does AliceintheRabbitHole recommend for dry skin?
The through-line in her approvals is barrier repair, and petrolatum keeps showing up at the centre. It is the thick, occlusive base in products like Aquaphor. What it does is seal moisture into dry skin rather than just adding water, which makes richer, overnight formulas a strong fit. Fragrance-free formulas also earn praise from her reliably, especially those with calming and moisturising ingredients like centella asiatica and panthenol.
In her words
"I use Aquaphor a lot. There's nothing quite like slugging for treating my barrier issues. The holy grail here, it is Aquaphor. There's a lot of petrolatum based options out there, but I always end up with this as my holy grail because frankly I think that ingredient, petrolatum, is the winning ingredient."
"This is such a hefty, occlusive, deeply nourishing moisturizer, it is so perfect for this colder weather and yet it's so beautiful, it sinks into your skin so nicely, a level up from the hyaluronic acid moist cream. [...] It is just so well made, you see emollient oils in the ingredients list in addition to five different types of ceramide. This [...] would easily be a sixty dollar product in Sephora at 2.7 fluid ounces. [...] I'm so glad I sat down to try some more of these products."
"Their Lip Balm is still my absolute favorite. I prefer the clear Lip Balm from them and I love using it overnight, before bed. I feel like this really stays on through the night."
"The Bioma Hydrating Milky Moisturizer is such a good product. It's the one that is all I can use when my skin is in a disastrous state. I'm going without it for now, but I might end up needing to add it back in."
"Out of all these products, [...] this one from VT Cosmetics is wholeheartedly my favorite. It's a creamy serum consistency that my dry skin type loves, it has niacinamide and ceramide ingredients which are incredible for the moisture barrier, and it's fragrance free and looks low irritant. Whether that's because of the ginseng based PDRN or just because of the formulation, who knows, but out of everything I liked this one the most."
"There's nothing quite like slugging for treating my barrier issues. The holy grail here, it is Aquaphor or CeraVe's Healing Ointment. There's a lot of petrolatum based options out there, but I always end up with those as my holy grails because frankly I think that ingredient, petrolatum, is the winning ingredient."
How many products has AliceintheRabbitHole reviewed for dry skin?
AliceintheRabbitHole has reviewed 225 products for dry skin, for an approval rate of 66%. 148 approved, 51 mixed, and 26 skipped.
What has AliceintheRabbitHole skipped for dry skin?
AliceintheRabbitHole skips products that cost a lot and deliver only average results, and she is plain about why. When she tried the Glow Recipe Avocado Ceramide Recovery Serum, she found it fine but not worth $45. The Rhode Glazing Milk Ceramide Facial Essence got the same verdict, with AliceintheRabbitHole calling Rhode one of the most overhyped brands she has ever seen.
"I don't recommend the belif eye gel. [...] It's a scented eye cream that will absolutely make you cry if it gets into your eyes, and I just feel like it's so underwhelming. [...] I've been trying to get rid of this for months, and every time someone picks it up thinking it's cute, I tell them to [...] make sure they actually like the gel inside because it's kind of light and has fragrance for whatever reason, and then [...] they put it back."
"Applying it did not go well, it pilled badly and my skin actually started stinging, and I'm not sure if that's from the booster ingredients, which are similar to octocrylene, an ingredient my skin typically doesn't do well with. It only has a three star rating on the Ulta website too. This sunscreen is definitely not for me, and this is why I don't love mineral sunscreens in general, they just take so long to apply."
"This just did not work for my skin type. I felt like I was getting an increase in redness when I used this product, though it's possible that came from the fragrance or the vitamin B12 ingredient rather than the PDRN itself, since this is a higher concentration than I'd knowingly tried up until this point. [...] So for me this is a no, I'm sure it will work for some amount of people, but it was sadly a no-go for me."
"This is my biggest disappointment from Abib, I really wanted to love this. It went viral and looks super cute, but compared to [...] the Edom lip mask [...] this one is just too light. It also has kind of an absurd amount of scent, it smells exactly like [...] a box of graham crackers and it's really strong. The packaging is adorable but I just [...] can't get it to stay on my lips."
What should you take from AliceintheRabbitHole's picks?
For dry skin, AliceintheRabbitHole's track record is a useful place to start. Her praise lands on formulas that genuinely repair the skin barrier, and she is plain when something falls short. She named more than 20 winners across these reviews, and that is a meaningful signal. Anyone whose skin trends dry or stripped will find her takes worth reading.
Watch AliceintheRabbitHole say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- Round Lab Birch Juice Moisturizing Sunscreen SPF 50 PA++++ (Korean formula)Named a winnerWatch at 7:04
- iNNBEAUTY PROJECT Extreme Cream Anti-Aging, Firming & Lifting MoisturizerNamed a winnerWatch at 10:58
- Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Probiotics Barrier EssenceNamed a winnerWatch at 11:40
- Drunk Elephant Bora Barrier Rich Repair CreamNamed a winnerWatch at 22:37
- Isntree Yam Root Vegan Milk CleanserNamed a winnerWatch at 13:22
- Stratia Liquid Gold Barrier CreamNamed a winnerWatch at 13:08
- COSRX Full Fit Propolis Synergy TonerNamed a winnerWatch at 2:25
- AXIS-Y Vegan Collagen Eye SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 21:02
- Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Vitamin C Eye CreamNamed a winnerWatch at 41:28
- Jumiso Snail Mucin 95 Plus Peptide Facial EssenceNamed a winnerWatch at 13:05
- BYOMA Barrier Repair TreatmentNamed a winnerWatch at 7:32
- Stratia Liquid Gold Eye CreamNamed a winnerWatch at 2:34
- First Aid Beauty Pure Skin Face CleanserNamed a winnerWatch at 3:24
- Heimish Marine Care Eye CreamNamed a winnerWatch at 5:18
- VT PDRN Hydro Gel MaskNamed a winnerWatch at 3:45
- Pacifica Vegan Ceramide Extra Gentle Face WashNamed a winnerWatch at 5:27
- Round Lab Camellia Deep Collagen Firming Gel MaskNamed a winnerWatch at 1:36
- Cocokind Rose Water TonerNamed a winnerWatch at 5:08
- Edom Lip BalmNamed a winnerWatch at 5:58
- Sulwhasoo Overnight Vitalizing MaskNamed a winnerWatch at 24:01
- VT PDRN Cica Redo Exosome SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 22:41
- belif Aqua Bomb Eye GelSkipped itWatch at 12:28
- Good Molecules Moisturizing Rich Sunscreen SPF 30Skipped itWatch at 27:26
- Medicube PDRN Pink Peptide SerumSkipped itWatch at 16:32
About this expert
See everything AliceintheRabbitHole has reviewed
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This guide reflects what AliceintheRabbitHole said across her videos about 225 products for dry skin, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The approval rate is the share of these products she approved. It is general information, not medical advice.