'Tis the season to tuck away your heavy cream and slather on a lighter, water-based moisturizer instead. These hard-working hydrators work to satiate thirsty skin, but do so without feeling heavy or greasy, making them a true godsend throughout the hot and humid months. Given their lightweight consistency, water-based creams, serums, and sprays are also ideal for those with oily skin. Today we're rounding up a handful of tried-and-true faves as well as some product newbies that have made a major splash since their shelf debut.
We'll start this roundup off with one of the most iconic water gel creams on the market: Belif's The True Cream Aqua Bomb. This product actually put the beloved K-beauty brand on the skin care map — and it helped to inspire a whole line, including the Aqua Bomb Sleeping Mask, $34, and Aqua Bomb Jelly Cleanser, $28, (both amazing, by the way). At any rate, the mega-popular gel moisturizer is made with antioxidant-rich lady's mantle and malachite, plantin to seal moisture, and oat husk to attract moisture from the air.
This one comes to you fresh off the Guerlain assembly line and, true to the brand, it's hella splurgy but damn good. The nifty gel cream can be used on its own instead of a cream, or you can layer it with your favorite moisturizer. It utilizes the same aqua complex that's in the line's other Super Aqua products, which helps bolster the skin's barrier function, locks in moisture, and plumps up the skin to nix fine lines all day long.
If Guerlain feels too bougie for your bank account, you'll probably love this budget-friendly gel moisturizer, a major drugstore favorite. It's a super lightweight formulation that boosts hydration, locks in moisture, and keeps skin feeling soft and hydrated, without any of the greasy stuff.
We'd be remiss to not include this cult favorite moisturizer from PTR. The Water Drench contains a whopping 30 percent hyaluronic acid that helps flood your face with moisture to fill in fine lines and leave you looking luminous AF for up to three days. Yeah, this is one you'd bring with you on a deserted island.
