Sincerely Miss Ash rates moisturizers very well overall. Out of 34 she reviewed, she approved 31 and skipped just two. She named four outright winners, including the Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream and the Tatcha Indigo Overnight Repair Cream. Her Guru Score for the category is 91%.
What does Sincerely Miss Ash recommend in moisturizers?
She tends to like formulas that sit cleanly under sunscreen and makeup and work well with actives like tretinoin. The Astera Ado Barrier 365 Cream is one she uses twice a day alongside tretinoin. She highlighted the Dr. Althea 345 Relief Cream for spreading without pilling and sitting smoothly under both sunscreen and makeup. She also tends to like products that cover more than one skin concern rather than just hydrating. The SkinBetter Science AlphaRet Overnight Cream she rated 10 out of 10. It pairs retinol, peptides, a vitamin C derivative, and glycolic acid together. She said that keeps skin bright, soft, and smooth and helps stimulate collagen over time.
In her words
"This could actually replace your nightly moisturizer, but it has a retinol in it, plus peptides, a vitamin C derivative, and glycolic acid at a lower percentage. It has all of the ingredients we need to keep our skin bright, soft, and smooth, preventing fine lines, stimulating collagen, and improving the overall clarity and youthfulness of the skin. This is truly ten out of ten, I really like this."
"This product will plump your skin like a dream if you want that plumpness and that youthful look. This one has five different types of hyaluronic acids, but this one contains polyglutamic acid. This ingredient is very similar to hyaluronic acid but it holds on to four times more moisture than hyaluronic acid, so we have two ingredients here that will plump and hydrate. I feel like because of that polyglutamic acid ingredient, this just takes your skin to the next level in terms of plumpness. This is very lightweight, it has that whipped gel texture, perfect for all skin types. This is another one that works great as a makeup primer. This one will leave your skin a little bit sticky and tacky so with that being said, your foundation and all of your makeup just sticks so nicely on top of this, which will give you that longevity with your makeup and of course you will get that nice glow. But if you don't like that sticky tackiness, then think twice about this because this will leave your skin feeling like that even if you don't wear makeup."
"This really is one of the thickest, richest creams I have ever used. If you are truly looking for something that is thick like toothpaste, something that really repairs the skin and repairs the skin quite quickly when your skin is burning and it has that itchy, dry feel, you are going to really love this. It does have copper and zinc to help replenish your skin's moisture. This one is honestly suited for your nighttime routine. If you're someone that wears foundation and makeup, this is a little rich and thick to be using with makeup and a little bit too rich to use underneath sunscreen. I do like to have this on hand for those days where my skin feels angry, but especially for those winter cold months. My skin can get quite irritated and dry during the winter and this always saves my skin."
"I have been using this non-stop since the spring. I love the formulation. It's lightweight. It provides a light to medium coverage. You can build this up to a full coverage if you need to. And I love the ingredients in here. There's a lot of skin care ingredients like a triple hyaluronic complex which helps to deeply hydrate the skin. There's [squalane] in here, [niacinamide] and of course the list goes on. This sits really nice underneath other types of makeup products like cream blushes, liquid blushes, cream bronzers. Everything that I have applied on top of this has sat really nicely. It's longwearing as well and it gives a natural dewy finish to the skin which I personally like. So, if you love matte skin, you probably won't like this unless you just use some translucent powder on top of it. But, I think this is going to be exceptional coming into the winter months when we lack that moisture and we're looking for that natural dewy glow to our skin. I think this is going to be exceptional and it's great for all skin types. I have combination skin and I'm also very acne prone. This never breaks me out. It doesn't clog my pores."
"I have the face cream version of this, the Ado Barrier 365 cream. And honestly, I use that cream almost every day, twice a day right now. It is very rich but lightweight. I use it alongside [tretinoin]. I will use it with vitamin C, copper peptides. It's my go-to cream right now. I just love the way that it makes my skin look and feel. Great for all skin types. It's also fragrance-free. This is K beauty. I have combination skin. I'm very acne prone and that cream never ever breaks me out. It is amazing and I think it's going to be great for the winter months."
"The Dr. Althea 345 Relief Cream is wonderful, very thin and lightweight. It almost has a lotion gel type of hybrid, but it's more of a lotion, and it feels like water when I apply it across my skin, perfect for all skin types. Three means there are three blemish relief ingredients, four means four nourishing ingredients, and five means five soothing ingredients. I go through this quite a bit and I actually use it in the winter as well, I just really love how lightweight it is, and it's another good one to use with tretinoin and active ingredients. I really love it for my morning routine because of how thin and lightweight it is, and it always sits great underneath sunscreen as well as makeup. It spreads quite nicely across the skin, it's never sticky or tacky, and it never pills with other skincare either."
How many moisturizers has Sincerely Miss Ash reviewed?
Sincerely Miss Ash has reviewed 34 moisturizers, for a Guru Score of 91%. 31 approved, 1 mixed, and 2 skipped.
What has Sincerely Miss Ash skipped in moisturizers?
She skipped just two products in this whole category. The Lawless Forget the Filler Skin Plumping Line Smoothing Perfecting Cream she found moisturizing, but she said the peptide ingredients were too low on the ingredient list to justify $70.50 Canadian for 50ml. Her view was that you could find something with more anti-aging ingredients for the same price. The SkinFix Barrier Restoring Gel Cream did a good job at basic hydration but did not deliver the skin repair it promised, which was what she was specifically looking for from it.
"For the price point, this is pretty expensive at $70.50 Canadian for 50 mls. I don't feel like it's worth $70 because the peptide ingredients are not even at the top of the ingredient list. You can find something else that contains more anti-aging ingredients for the price. Even though it's great and it's moisturizing and will keep your skin nice and plump and moisturized, I don't know how beneficial this will be for long term with continuous use. It is a pretty thick cream that spreads nicely and doesn't have fragrance, but I just don't think it's worth the price."
"I had a sample of the SkinFix Barrier Restoring Gel Cream. I felt like it did a good job to moisturize the skin, but I really didn't feel like it repaired my skin. When I used this on balanced and normal skin and then when my skin needed some TLC, I didn't feel like I received the relief I was expecting, because this is supposed to be very repairing and I didn't get that from this. The gel is very lightweight, and this wouldn't be something that I would purchase, especially a full size. I just didn't really like it."
What should you take from Sincerely Miss Ash's picks?
Her record in this category is about as positive as a moisturizer run gets. The two things that tend to earn a skip from her are a formula that does not back up its claims and a price that outpaces what is actually in the bottle. She named four outright winners, including the iNNBEAUTY PROJECT Extreme Cream Anti-Aging, Firming & Lifting Moisturizer and the Neostrata Triple Firming Neck Cream. With a Guru Score of 91%, she is a reliable and enthusiastic voice to follow if moisturizers are what you are shopping for.
Watch Sincerely Miss Ash say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide CreamNamed a winnerWatch at 16:45
- iNNBEAUTY PROJECT Extreme Cream Anti-Aging, Firming & Lifting MoisturizerNamed a winnerWatch at 7:32
- Tatcha Indigo Overnight Repair CreamNamed a winnerWatch at 8:38
- Neostrata Triple Firming Neck CreamNamed a winnerWatch at 12:51
- Lawless Forget the Filler Skin Plumping Line Smoothing Perfecting CreamSkipped itWatch at 12:04
- SkinFix Barrier Restoring Gel CreamSkipped itWatch at 18:55
- SkinBetter Science AlphaRet Overnight CreamRated itWatch at 4:56
- Glow Recipe Plum Plump Hyaluronic SerumRated itWatch at 6:08
- Avène Cicalfate+ Restorative Protective CreamRated itWatch at 15:12
- Milk Makeup Hydrogrip Gel TintRated itWatch at 2:00
- Astera Ado Barrier 365 creamRated itWatch at 17:54
- Dr. Althea 345 Relief CreamRated itWatch at 13:46
- Embryolisse Lait-Crème ConcentréRated itWatch at 2:17
- Aestura Atobarrier 365 CreamRated itWatch at 20:38
- Charlotte Tilbury Magic CreamRated itWatch at 6:50
- La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5Rated itWatch at 16:45
- CeraVe Moisturizing CreamRated itWatch at 7:48
- CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing LotionRated itWatch at 9:30
- La Roche-Posay Lipikar Balm AP+M Triple Repair Moisturizing CreamRated itWatch at 7:17
- BYOMA Moisturizing Gel CreamRated itWatch at 7:53
- The INKEY List Omega Water CreamRated itWatch at 5:27
- Paula's Choice Barrier Repair Advanced MoisturizerRated itWatch at 17:34
- OSEA Atmosphere Protection CreamRated itWatch at 6:25
- Saie Glowy Super GelRated itWatch at 17:05
About this expert
See everything Sincerely Miss Ash has reviewed
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This guide reflects what Sincerely Miss Ash said across their videos about 34 products in moisturizers, 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.