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Base Face Milk Essence + Lightweight Moisturizer.

ILIA Base Face Milk Essence + Lightweight Moisturizer
Mists & Essences

About this product

A lightweight, milky hydrating essence designed to plump and nourish skin, formulated with multiple weights of hyaluronic acid, microalgae, prickly pear, and fatty acids.

Full ingredients

Guru Score

70%

Mixed

5 experts · Moderate agreement
5Gurus
3Yay
2Mixed
0Nay

What they liked

  • Thin, watery texture absorbs without heaviness
  • Dewey finish that works under makeup
  • Hydrating and soothing for all skin types

What they flagged

  • Pricey for a milky toner category

What the gurus are saying

This milk-like essence delivers visible hydration and a dewy, buttery finish that gurus found impressive for both skincare and as a makeup base, without greasiness. The four weights of hyaluronic acid, plus microalgae and prickly pear, earn praise for calming irritated or tight skin and working across all skin types, especially in winter. One reviewer flagged the pairing with the brand's eye cream as potentially unnecessary layering, so those already using targeted eye care may want to skip that particular addition.
Synthesized from 5 expert reviews · most recent take September 2026

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored
~Yay
"I have been using this for several years. Every year I like to purchase a new one because I love how thin and lightweight this is. I like using this as an essence, even though they say this is a lightweight moisturizer. You could totally use this as your moisturizer replacement, especially if you're someone that has normal combo oily skin. If you have dry skin, you might like this more as an essence and then use a thicker moisturizer at the very end. This one is very similar to Roadkin in my opinion, but this one's a little bit thinner and not as rich and heavy. This one does a good job to reduce the look of facial redness. It calms, it soothes, and it moisturizes the skin. There's hyaluronic acid, microalgae, prickly pear, and fatty acids in here as well. I like to use this when my skin is drier, so this is one that I tend to use quite a bit in my morning routine before my serums because of how thin and lightweight it is. I love the Ilia brand and it's one of my absolute favorites."
All 5 takes from Sincerely Miss Ash
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"I consider this as a lightweight moisturizer, but in my eyes, this is an essence. It is an essence moisturizer hybrid, but this has a very thin, watery, milky consistency that is best applied after cleansing, but before your serums, and then of course your moisturizer, sunscreen. The reason why I really like this is because it contains four weights of hyaluronic acids. So again, your hctin, this is going to hydrate and plump the skin. There's also microalgae and prickly pear in here which actually helps to nourish the skin. And there's also a lot of fatty acids and lipids in here to keep your skin barrier nice and strong. And I really like this especially if my skin is feeling a little tight, more on the drier side. Maybe I'm using a lot of active ingredients that are actually irritating my skin, then this is a great option to use. But I also really like this for my morning routine because it does give that little dewiness to the skin. It doesn't look super shiny and greasy, but it does give that healthy little glow and I really like that. And I've never experienced peeling with this with any of my skincare products, with any of my sunscreens or makeup. So, this is a really nice one to use in the morning. It's actually a perfect makeup base as well. If you just wanted to use this before your makeup, then this is awesome. You don't have to go out and purchase a makeup primer. This is a perfect makeup primer, but it's also a skin care product, so you're getting best of both worlds. And I just really love how lightweight this is. And it's not heavy or greasy."
THE BEST SKINCARE TIPS 2024 | DO'S & DON'TS FOR BETTER SKIN! SINCERELY MISS ASH
"For skin flooding this is the new Ilia Base Face Milk Essence + Lightweight Moisturizer. I'm not ready to review this yet but so far I'm really enjoying it and this provides a lot of hydration. This is beautiful."
BEAUTY PRODUCT'S I'VE USED UP || SKINCARE, MAKEUP AND HAIRCARE - BEAUTY EMPTIES 2024
"I have the ILIA Base Face Milk which is like a milky essence, a milky toner but they call this a lightweight moisturizer. I do like to use this two different ways but I mainly use this after a facial mist but before my serums, a moisturizer and a sunscreen. This is very, very hydrating, very moisturizing on the skin. It's calming, it's soothing and it's exceptional for all skin types. This is going to be great for the winter months. I've already bought another one so yes, I will be continuing with this because it's that good. It's fragrance-free and it's just wonderful. I put this into the palm of my hand and then I place it all over my face, my neck and my chest. I slather it everywhere. But the other way that you can use this is as that lightweight moisturizer, which is what they say this is. So if you love that glowy, dewy complexion and you like how that shines through your foundation and your makeup, then I would recommend to use this just before you apply your foundation, so skip a moisturizer and use this instead. And this is going to create the most beautiful glowy, dewy complexion ever."
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"This is your milky essence and I like to use this right after cleansing but before my serums and my creams. If you have that tight skin barrier, you're dry, you have flakiness, this is exceptional just to add more hydration into your routine. There's fatty acids, there's lipids and sterols to really help protect and maintain a healthy skin barrier. There's hyaluronic acid in here which helps to hydrate in those deeper layers of your skin, but there is also microalgae and prickly pear which can help to hydrate the skin as well and give that comfort that we need when our skin is in a compromised state. I really love this. I love anything milky because anything that is milky truly has that comfort that we are looking for when our skin is super angry. I literally just add a few drops of this into the palm of my hand and I apply it to my skin that way. I don't put this on a cotton ball or a cotton round because I feel like you're just wasting the product that way. You want the full benefits so just put all of that into the palm of your hand, pat it across your face down your neck if you wish to, and then go in with your serums afterwards. I'm actually using this right now every day twice a day and this never ever disappoints."
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"I have been using this for several years. Every year I like to purchase a new one because I love how thin and lightweight this is. I like using this as an essence, even though they say this is a lightweight moisturizer. You could totally use this as your moisturizer replacement, especially if you're someone that has normal combo oily skin. If you have dry skin, you might like this more as an essence and then use a thicker moisturizer at the very end. This one is very similar to Roadkin in my opinion, but this one's a little bit thinner and not as rich and heavy. This one does a good job to reduce the look of facial redness. It calms, it soothes, and it moisturizes the skin. There's hyaluronic acid, microalgae, prickly pear, and fatty acids in here as well. I like to use this when my skin is drier, so this is one that I tend to use quite a bit in my morning routine before my serums because of how thin and lightweight it is. I love the Ilia brand and it's one of my absolute favorites."
~Mixed
"I don't know if I like that ILIA Base Face Milk Essence + Lightweight Moisturizer just saying I think it's kind of unnecessary and I think it's like adding a little too much underneath my eyes."
~Yay
"It's a lightweight like toner type essence, fragrance-free with squalane, [allantoin], and argan oil in it. It looks pretty nice and I've heard some comments from lots of you saying you really enjoy it. The smaller size is 1 oz for 28 bucks, but they also have a full size. 1 oz isn't very much and it'll go quite fast."
All 2 takes from No BS Beauty
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"One I haven't tried yet, the ILIA Base Face Milk Essence and Lightweight Moisturizer with hyaluronic acid. It's a milky fragrance-free essence with squalane, argan oil, fatty acids, [allantoin]. They have a full size, which is really expensive, I thought 58 bucks, or they have the smaller size. I think that's what I'm going to end up getting is probably the smaller size. It's 1 oz versus the 5 ounce because I'd like to try it first. 60 bucks ends up being a little bit of money. Although a lot of these are in that price range, but getting on sale helps."
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"It's a lightweight like toner type essence, fragrance-free with squalane, [allantoin], and argan oil in it. It looks pretty nice and I've heard some comments from lots of you saying you really enjoy it. The smaller size is 1 oz for 28 bucks, but they also have a full size. 1 oz isn't very much and it'll go quite fast."
~Yay
"The Ilia The Base face milk also won an award and it's fabulous. It's a little more lightweight than the Rhode one, which is more rich. If I had to choose between the two, my heart is with Rhode, but this is also a great one that I really love and I think it deserves an award as well."
All 3 takes from Allie Glines
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"It's sinking in really beautifully and it leaves like a buttery finish to the top of the skin that feels really nice. My skin feels like immediately hydrated I really like that so far. I really like the texture. I am definitely impressed with how this went on and immediately like my skin looks and feels so refreshed which is really nice."
I Tried The HIGH-END 2024 Winners 😱 Makeup, Skin & Body!!
"The Ilia The Base face milk also won an award and it's fabulous. It's a little more lightweight than the Rhode one, which is more rich. If I had to choose between the two, my heart is with Rhode, but this is also a great one that I really love and I think it deserves an award as well."
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"It's been a while since I've tried a new Ilia product besides the face milk, which I really like."
~Mixed
"This is the Ilia The Base Face Milk. This is a beautiful product, it feels very hydrating as well as moisturizing, which is what you should expect in this category of milky toners. It's cosmetically elegant, it feels great to use, and it works beautifully under makeup. I honestly think if that fifty eight dollar price tag doesn't bother you, you'll like it. However, you also don't need to pay fifty eight dollars for this category, we have a whole video on milky toners, mostly Korean, that are all a fraction of the price of this one. It's also worth pointing out that the box itself calls this a lightweight moisture product, so at what point have you moved from a milky toner into simply a lightweight moisturizer, an emulsion. I see why it's viral, it really is a nice product, but I also think that maybe people should know that you can also just stack moisturizers instead."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Alpha hydroxy acids

Alpha hydroxy acids loosen the bonds holding dead cells at the surface. The evidence supports smoother texture and more even tone over time, and they can leave skin more sensitive to sun.

Source: NIH, National Library of Medicine

Humectants and emollients

Ingredients like these draw water into the surface layers and slow how fast it leaves. The evidence is for comfort, softness and hydration rather than for changing the structure of the skin.

Source: DermNet

Frequently asked.

What is ILIA Base Face Milk Essence + Lightweight Moisturizer?

A lightweight, milky hydrating essence designed to plump and nourish skin, formulated with multiple weights of hyaluronic acid, microalgae, prickly pear, and fatty acids.

Is ILIA Base Face Milk Essence + Lightweight Moisturizer worth it?

The gurus mostly approve it, but with enough reservations to keep it in the middle at a Guru Score of 70%.

What is ILIA Base Face Milk Essence + Lightweight Moisturizer's Guru Score?

ILIA Base Face Milk Essence + Lightweight Moisturizer holds a Guru Score of 70%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 5 expert reviewers we have collected.

Who is ILIA Base Face Milk Essence + Lightweight Moisturizer best for?

ILIA Base Face Milk Essence + Lightweight Moisturizer is generally suited to dry skin and sensitive skin.

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