Mixed Makeup has reviewed 35 dry skin products and come away approving of almost all of them. Her Guru Score of 89% reflects that warmth. The two products she skipped are just as worth knowing about, because she explains her reasoning clearly.
What does Mixed Makeup recommend for dry skin?
What she keeps coming back to are ingredients that do the structural work for dry skin. Ceramides, lipids, fatty acids, and soothing actives like centella all get her praise. They help skin hold onto moisture and stay strong. She has been recommending the Dr.G R.E.D Blemish Kombucha Tea Essence for years. She points to its fermented probiotics as especially useful for dry skin. She also rates essences higher than hydrating serums. An essence goes straight onto dry skin, but a hydrating serum needs a damp face first.
In her words
"First up is one of my holy grails. I've been using this for years and recommending it for years, it's the Dr.G R.E.D Blemish Kombucha Tea Essence. This has really nice antioxidants in it, it has that kombucha tea extract, it also has green tea in it, but because it has this fermentation it also has probiotics for your skin. And while I'm still not completely convinced that probiotics in your topical products can actually balance out your microbiome, we do know that probiotics are really great to help with dry skin, and that's especially what I like about this product. It's also just a fun product to use, it's a base essence meaning that you'll see two different layers in the bottle and you shake it up and then you pour it onto your hands and you pat it onto your skin, and it just makes your skin feel so juicy and hydrated. It's a wonderful product, I love it so much and I talk about it all the time."
"I'm just trying to support my skin barrier and I want to add in all the moisture and hydration. I'm going to go in with this from The Ordinary, it is the Soothing and Barrier Support Serum. I bought this probably like a month and a half ago and I just started using it. You can see it has B12 in it that gives it this really beautiful pink tone to it, which I also just think is really fun, but it has other really nice soothing ingredients like Centella asiatica. So again, I'm trying to just make sure that my skin barrier feels really nice and strong and supported."
"Sometimes I'll get a little crazy with the hydration where I'll use the Rhode Glazing Milk. [...] Everybody has these beautiful essences because I think we did the right thing by taking on some of these K-beauty steps, essences are beautiful. I prefer an essence over a hydrating serum any day because I find that with a hydrating serum you have to dampen your face first, whereas the essence just puts it together."
"I have been really liking this Tatcha moisturizer. It's the lighter version. [...] It feels nice, super nice. I like the texture of it."
"This one from Clinique is a great one. Lots of people use this cleansing balm, it's a really good one. Warm that up, don't put it directly onto your eyelashes and onto your eye makeup. Warm it up, turn it into an oil and you're going to get so much more out of that. I [...] like products that don't dry me out while they're removing whatever makeup I had on during the day, and I find that this cleansing balm really does the job there. [...] Work that into a beautiful oil, [...] massage it onto your face and you won't even need to use a washcloth."
"The SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2 is a corrective moisturizer that has lipids, ceramides, and fatty acids all the things that our skin needs to retain moisture."
How many products has Mixed Makeup reviewed for dry skin?
Mixed Makeup has reviewed 35 products for dry skin, for a Guru Score of 89%. 31 approved, 2 mixed, and 2 skipped.
What has Mixed Makeup skipped for dry skin?
Her two skips both went to very famous products. She skipped Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré and La Mer Crème de la Mer Moisturizing Cream. Both are too thick, she says, and not right for all skin types, especially anyone on the oilier side. Her view is that their reputations spread through early makeup-artist word-of-mouth, not through formula merit. She says clearly that neither one is king for skin prep.
"This is so thick, not everybody needs a thicker [moisturizer], and it really makes me mad when people say like everyone needs Embryolisse, no they don't. Not everyone is going to survive Embryolisse. A really oily-skinned client is not going to benefit from having Embryolisse under their makeup, period. You will not find Embryolisse in my pro kit. No, I've never seen it. Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré and La Mer is is King for skin prep? No, it's not. Sorry, yeah, I'm here to tell you no, it's not."
"Remember it was like Embryolisse and like La Mer used to be like the go-to moisturizers you would use under makeup back in the day. I have a theory about that. [...] The theory is there was we weren't in tune to all the other magical formulas that can work just as well, so it was like you know it took like a couple makeup artists on set to probably talk about it in a news article or [...] magazine, and then it just started to spread and then no one wanted to take that next step to find the next best thing so we all just kind of followed suit. [...] This is boring. [...] It's so thick, not everybody needs a thicker. [...] A really oily skinned client is not going to benefit from having La Mer under their makeup period. Skin prep is going to be different for everyone. [...] The idea that La Mer is King for skin prep, no it's not."
What should you take from Mixed Makeup's picks?
Mixed Makeup's record on dry skin reflects real enthusiasm for the category. She rates products across a wide range of price points. What she consistently weighs is the formula. She looks for barrier-supporting ingredients, real hydration, and a texture that suits the skin it is meant for. Her two skips make clear that a famous reputation is not enough on its own.
Watch Mixed Makeup say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- Embryolisse Lait-Crème ConcentréSkipped itWatch at 12:17
- La Mer Crème de la Mer Moisturizing CreamSkipped itWatch at 11:18
- Dr.G R.E.D Blemish Kombucha Tea EssenceRated itWatch at 6:55
- The Ordinary Soothing & Barrier Support SerumRated itWatch at 9:12
- Rhode Glazing Milk Ceramide Facial EssenceRated itWatch at 22:12
- Tatcha Dewy Skin CreamRated itWatch at 1:02
- Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing BalmRated itWatch at 2:35
- SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2Rated itWatch at 7:25
- The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HARated itWatch at 14:47
- SkinFix Barrier+ Foaming Oil CleanserRated itWatch at 2:48
- Dove Beauty BarRated itWatch at 24:26
- Laneige Cream Skin RefinerRated itWatch at 7:47
- Shani Darden Moisture Boost Plumping SerumRated itWatch at 6:51
- Sungboon Editor Deep Collagen Power Boosting MaskRated itWatch at 12:23
- Maxine's Revenge French Face ConcealerRated itWatch at 11:53
- Augustinus Bader Rich CreamRated itWatch at 20:33
- Laneige Lip Sleeping MaskRated itWatch at 18:05
- Dieux Instant Angel Lipid-Rich Firming MoisturizerRated itWatch at 2:59
- Beauty of Joseon Ground Rice and Honey Glow MaskRated itWatch at 5:38
- Then I Met You Snail Mucin Eye CreamRated itWatch at 5:16
- Prequel Foot Rescue Advanced Restorative TreatmentRated itWatch at 7:35
- Kosas Revealer ConcealerRated itWatch at 1:32
- Altreno Tretinoin LotionRated itWatch at 7:08
- Avène Tolerance Control Soothing Skin Recovery CreamRated itWatch at 4:35
About this expert
See everything Mixed Makeup has reviewed
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This guide reflects what Mixed Makeup said across their videos about 35 products for dry skin, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The Guru Score is our read on how warmly they talk about them. It is general information, not medical advice.