What is Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream?

A rich, nourishing moisturizing cream formulated with squalane, glycerin, ceramides, niacinamide, and hyaluronic acid to hydrate and soften the skin.

Is Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream worth it?

Mostly yes. 12 of the 13 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 90%.

What is Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream's Guru Score?

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream holds a Guru Score of 90%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 13 expert reviewers we have collected. It is also Guru Certified, our mark for products that hold broad approval across many expert reviewers.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream: a Guru Score of 90% from 13 experts

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.

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Doctorly

3.58M subs

✓Yay

"Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream is a classic I always recommend for normal skin, just super balanced, kind of like a lotion cream, really nice, consistent, no frills type of moisturizer."

All 4 takes from Doctorly

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"I still reach for the Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream. I think it's a really nice moisturizer for normal skin, someone entry level into skincare that's looking for a moisturizer that is just going to be good for all skin tones, every all skin type. The Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream is still a hero for me. It keeps you super hydrated and dewy without being very heavy. So it really is just such a balanced moisturizer. If you're drier, it will leave you with moisture. If you're oilier, it won't leave you with that feeling that you don't like where you feel oily. The texture is incredible. It's a little bit more expensive, especially for a facial moisturizer, but it's one of the first ones in that budget price point."

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"I really like the Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer. I really think after trying tons of products it's a product that I always go back to. If you have normal skin, combination skin, I think you're going to like this a lot. It is going to give you a little bit more of that dewy finish because of that squalane. But this product is really interesting, it actually has an ingredient that actually boosts your own natural ceramide production, so it's really great for repairing the skin barrier. And probably one of my favorite products overall, so great, great moisturizer for combination skin."

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"Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream is a classic I always recommend for normal skin, just super balanced, kind of like a lotion cream, really nice, consistent, no frills type of moisturizer."

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"The Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream is like an all-time favorite of mine and also like a cult classic. Once you've tried some of the Kiehl's products, a lot of people like go crazy over them. This is what I live with every day. I lather this up with Kiehl's in the shower. I don't like everything that they have because some of their products do have fragrances in them that are not my favorite, but they do have some products that are absolute hero products in their category, and the Ultra Facial Cream is one of them. It has a lot of beneficial ingredients like glycerin, squalane, and hydroxypalmitoyl sphinganine, which is a ceramide that increases your own body's production of ceramide. It's going to really reinforce the skin barrier. Because I've tried so many moisturizers, it's like one of those ones that you try and you just love it. It's an amazing moisturizer."

Dr. Daniel Sugai

720k subs

✓Yay

"My favorites to pair with my retinol would be Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream. I'm also introducing peptide moisturizers into my routine as someone in their late 30s."

Top Pick: moisturizer

All 18 takes from Dr. Daniel Sugai

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"My favorites to pair with my retinol would be Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream. I'm also introducing peptide moisturizers into my routine as someone in their late 30s."

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"My favorite that I've talked about on the channel is Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream. This is a luxe feel. It's a higher price point, but I love the nourishing thicker texture of it. More occlusive. It has squalene, which will be hydrating and moisturizing, and glacial glycoprotein. Just so comfortable overnight. Feels like a hug award to Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream. And you can even use it in the summer time because when I put it on, it feels like it's been left in the fridge. It's just so cooling and it makes my face feel so smooth afterwards. So, big thumbs up to that. That's the one moisturizer I really will splurge on."

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"This is Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream. It's the highest price point out of the products mentioned. It just holds up in 2025 for good reason. It's a thicker, richer, nourishing cream. Great for those with drier skin types. It has squalane and glacial glycoprotein. All great things to moisturize and hydrate the skin this winter time. And it pairs so nicely with my retinoids. And as soon as it hits my skin, it's soothing. It [...] feels like it was left in the refrigerator every time it hits my skin. It's just great for the winter time."

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"You can moisturize with really nice fancy moisturizers. My favorite of all time, especially at bedtime after my retinol, is Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream."

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"One of my favorite moisturizers out there would be Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream. This is very lightweight and it has the three essential ceramides, niacinamide, and hyaluronic acid. It's so lightweight and it works well with other actives if you want to do vitamin C again at bedtime, if you want to do your retinoid, if you want to do the prescription topicals for acne."

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"Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream, which yes higher price point but I feel is so nourishing and hydrating with it squalene and glacial glycol proteins."

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"Whether it's a moisturizer like Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream, which I'm busting out as the weather is getting colder, I splurge on this one for sure, you need an emollient to seal it all in after hyaluronic acid so that the moisture doesn't evaporate."

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"It's a great hydrator. I love how it plumps up my skin. You can use Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream to seal in that hydration."

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"My favorite moisturizer of all time has been the Ultra Facial Cream by Kiehl's. This is a little bit pricier but this is where I will splurge. It has squalane, glycerin, and [...] protein, very nice and nourishing. That would trap in the hydration but also be a nice moisturizer, not too much occlusion, just enough."

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"A thicker cream like Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream"

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"You could splurge a little bit more and like say Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream, my favorite moisturizer after a retinol."

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"Moisturize afterwards with your favorite moisturizer whether it's Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream, CeraVe PM lotion, those are great ones."

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"Kiehl's had an amazing lineup of products from acne to anti-aging. Their Ultra Facial Moisturizing Cream with glacial glycoprotein and squalene is just one of my favorite moisturizers of all time."

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"I use a moisturizing cream like Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream, which is great for applying after your retinoid."

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"In the winter time when it's a little colder and you have the heaters on, do a thicker cream like Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream. That's my favorite one to sandwich with a retinol or prescription retinoid. That one is really nice, it's cooling, it's a thicker texture than a lotion, so I go for that in the winter time."

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"My favorite moisturizer of all time has to be Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream. Great, packed with squalane, so hydrating and moisturizing. It's just a nice cool texture. You put it on your skin and it feels like the cream was left in the fridge. I like that one a lot."

Dermatologist Reviews: Holiday Skincare Picks for All Ages 2023

"My favorite still stands would be Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream so if you're in your 30s and up and you want something thicker more nourishing hydrating moisturizing cream this is great for you it has squalling glacial glycol protein this is what I want during the holidays in my stocking stuff as a stocking stuffer this is great and this is one of my favorite moisturizers works well with your retinoids your vitamin C serum so if you have um put on a retinol and you want to moisturize after it or a vitamin C serum and moisturize over that to seal it all in or over your hyaluronic acid serum my favorite moisturizer right and usually I say don't splurge on moisturizers [...] but for this I will I will break the bank for Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream"

208SkinDoc

2.09M subs

✓Yay

"This is a very popular product. It hydrates very well. [...] Definitely has a little bit thicker texture to it, but even with that thicker texture, I'm not seeing a lot of it gunk up in the beard. I do like this product."

All 2 takes from 208SkinDoc

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"This is the Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream. I wanted that, I was actually going to get that in the store."

Dr. Shereene Idriss

1.72M subs

✓Yay

"Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream hugs your skin nicely. It's extremely hydrating and I absolutely love it."

Top Pick: lightweight hydrating moisturizer

All 13 takes from Dr. Shereene Idriss

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"You don't have to. Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream literally for your whole face, you can just dab extra underneath your eyes."

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"Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream is a really good thicker moisturizer. It's a basic moisturizer, there aren't actives in here to really lock it in."

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"Ultra Facial Cream by Kiehl's is great for $39. You're not going to get any brightening effect from this and it doesn't give this glowy effect, but it is a great basic moisturizer that you can base your face with in very dry environment, especially at night."

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"Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream is a thicker moisturizer. Although they call it lightweight, it is definitely thicker in consistency and it does have more grip to it than a gel moisturizer."

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"Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream is a great moisturizer that I absolutely love especially in the winter time or if you live somewhere very dry. I use this because of the peptides, the vitamin C, and the moisturizer form on top of this."

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"You can also use Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream if you're looking just to moisturize. I love this one for the face in winter. I like putting it all over my face as well at night."

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"I love this moisturizer. It is glycerin based, there is no hyaluronic acid in it. It is thick, thick, thick and has no scent, and [...] it's just so silky smooth and beautiful, allowing your face to hold on to that moisture. It has squalane which does support and nourish your skin's moisture barrier, as well as glacial glycoproteins, which is the key sort of hero ingredient for this particular product that supposedly helps to maintain your skin's moisture balance."

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"We have Kel's Ultra Facial Cream this one is also equally thick okay this is $38 it has glacial glyco proteins"

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"Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream hugs your skin nicely. It's extremely hydrating and I absolutely love it."

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"Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream, I have used in the winter time. It is heavenly when you are very dry out. Great for a dry environment, great for the winter time, great for your feet if you have very dry feet. It is a good basic moisturizer."

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"I recently discovered Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream last year. It is their classic, tried and true moisturizer with a massively large call to following. The reason I like this one is that it's very silky smooth and it doesn't have that silicone slip that a lot of products with silicone can sometimes feel like it's sitting on top of your face. It's a glycerin-based hydrating moisturizer that also has squalene, which is a very lightweight oil that helps to prevent water loss. It has glacial glycoproteins from Antarctica—pseudo alteromonas ferment extract, a fermentation of a marine bacteria that helps to protect the skin from extreme cold and is married to a glycoprotein that naturally is on the skin surface to reinforce your skin barrier and help protect it from extreme weather. This is why this particular product is a staple of mine now during the winter months when the weather dips and it's freezing out. I am prone to wind burns and lip burns, and I actually sometimes use it on top of my lip if my lip is really red or irritated. I do not like the jar, but I do like the cream itself."

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"I love their Ultra Facial Cream. It is 38 dollars, great for a dry climate, great for a cold climate. It has squalene, glycerin, and what they call glacial glycoprotein, which helps to hydrate and lock in your skin's moisture balance."

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"I love the Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream. Love it, love it, love it, love it. It is lightweight, it is hydrating, it is glycerin-based. I have used this one a lot and it's so silky smooth. I love it. It has squalene and fatty acids and antioxidants. It has glacial glycoprotein that does help to keep the moisture locked in. It's a beautiful product."

AliceintheRabbitHole

59k subs

✓Mixed

"I like the way Kiehl's has their refill system set up with the Ultra Facial Cream and the refill bags. I tried it in the past and I think it's a fine moisturizer, I like it, but it just didn't stick for me personally. Very few moisturizers actually end up in my holy grails."

No BS Beauty

89k subs

✓Yay

"I really like that one. It's regularly 39 bucks, it's not terribly expensive, it's kind of more pricey brand but it's a nice overall basic simple moisturizer. It's not super anti-aging or super brightening, it's just a simple moisturizer but it's really nice."

Alexandra Anele

1.44M subs

✓Yay

"I usually use Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream for my moisturizer. I love it, it's my favorite daytime moisturizer. It's perfect, it's simple, there's nothing in it. It's moisturizing without being too heavy. It doesn't leave me looking oily or too shiny or anything."

Top Pick: daytime moisturizer

All 4 takes from Alexandra Anele

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"The Ultra Facial Cream is my favorite daytime moisturizer now. [...] This is a moisturizer that I use daily underneath my sunscreen. [...] What I like about it is it's hydrating enough but it doesn't make my skin look wet. [...] It has squalane oil in it so it's nice and hydrating, it's not too heavy for my skin. I really really enjoy it and I like that it's very simple, no scent. It's just such a nice product. [...] I never thought that Kiehl's would be like a staple in my skin care because I used it like a long time ago and I wasn't super into it, but I really love this moisturizer. I really do and I buy it."

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"I'm finishing off with this Kiehl's moisturizer and I love it because it's just like super basic, it's simple, it's moisturizing, it's not like too silicone, it's not too creamy, it doesn't leave your skin feeling like oily or anything. It's been my current skincare prep for underneath my makeup."

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The Style and Beauty Doctor

221k subs

✓Yay

"The Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream, which we just talked about in the set, so this is the full size. That's one of [...] three honorable mentions to also look at if you're looking to buy a new moisturizer."

All 2 takes from The Style and Beauty Doctor

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"I love that moisturizer. Moisturizers, [...] they're easy to give as gifts because you know who doesn't love a moisturizer, and I feel like you're not offending anyone by giving them a moisturizer."

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Hyram

4.34M subs

✓Yay

"I use Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream. It's a nice gel cream, which is great when you have oily skin. Using a thick cream on your face will only accentuate the oil production that's going to happen anyway. Serums and cleansers are the best for helping to keep your skin balanced and basically signaling to your skin like hey, no need to create this much oil, you're fine."

Dr. Jenny Liu

321k subs

✓Yay

"Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream is a lightweight cream texture-wise. It absorbs really nicely. It layers very nicely under sunscreen. [...] It does not make you look super shiny or feel greasy."

All 2 takes from Dr. Jenny Liu

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"Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream is a lightweight cream texture-wise. It absorbs really nicely. It layers very nicely under sunscreen. [...] It does not make you look super shiny or feel greasy."

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"This is just all around a great moisturizer if you're looking for a good one that hydrates without feeling heavy but is also fragrance-free so can be utilized or used by everyone. Ingredient wise it contains glycerin and glacial glycoprotein which act as great humectants. What I love most about this moisturizer is the fact that it really helps to hydrate but also moisturize and keep your skin hydrated throughout the day but yet absorbs really quickly because it's more of a gel cream light lotion formula and does not leave a lot of heaviness, stickiness or shininess. I personally feel like if you have oily combination skin, and right now during the winter, this would be a great one to use morning and night. I loved using it morning and night during the summer and then have been using it mostly in the morning in the winter time. For those with more dry skin, I think that would be the best and most suitable for your skin type. I am more on the dry side but yeah, I think it's just a great all-around moisturizer for pretty much everyone."

Dr. Vanita Rattan

1.23M subs

✓Yay

"This is one that I like, it's Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream. It's literally the only product I like from this entire brand. [...] I mean, I was looking at Kiehl's the other day, it's the only one. It's fragrance free, it doesn't have all the alcohol and all the rest of it. This is one I like, and you can see it's fatty, so that's the kind of thing that you want to look for. You want to go for one with a consistency like this or more."

All 2 takes from Dr. Vanita Rattan

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"I generally don't like Kiehl's as a brand I've done a video on this but there's one product that I do like and it's the Ultra Facial Cream with squalane. The second ingredient here is glycerin but it does contain myristyl myristate which is comedogenic so if you have dry acne prone skin don't use this product. If you have oily acne prone skin don't use this product. But if you have dry skin that is prone to eczema then I would recommend you this product."

RETINOL MISTAKES

Dr. Sam Ellis

882k subs

✓Yay

"The Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer will always hold a very special place in my heart because I pretty much exclusively used this moisturizer during the winter when I lived in Colorado during my interim year. This Ultra Facial Cream falls in the category of could be used day or night or both because it is a quite light texture while still being very rich and moisturizing. So it is one of those products where I was able to layer my makeup on over it and not have any issues with it melting off during the day. I also loved wearing this moisturizer when I was going to be out skiing for the day. In the morning I would put the moisturizer on, follow it up with sunscreen, and then I would be out on the slopes all day long with wind, UV light from the sky, UV light reflecting off of the snow, and at the end of the day my skin was still doing pretty well. It didn't feel overly stressed. My rosacea flares were kept at a minimum. And that is a testament both to the value of sun protection but also the ability for this moisturizer to just lock in hydration into my skin so that my skin didn't feel depleted even when it was under a lot of environmental stress."

Allie Glines

829k subs

✓Yay

"This is the Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream. I've seen makeup artists using this underneath makeup so I wanted to give it a go. [...] That cream actually feels really nice on the skin."