Call them the creams of the crop.

Moisturizers are the constructing blocks of skincare, a hero product for brands and consumers alike. To find the true medicine cabinet mainstays, Beauty Inc asked nearly 400 executives, founders, editors, financiers, retailers, chemists and influencers to share their top products.

Promised confidentiality, among the industry’s most influential voices forged their votes. (The complete list of those willing to be identified as electors appears on this story, though the content of their ballots stays confidential.)

The outcomes span price points and channels, and run the gamut from an almost 60-year-old cream to at least one launched just last yr. On the ingredient front, several boast proprietary components; others include among the category’s hottest humectants and occlusives. One winner reports 10 years of research into niacinamide (hint: that one is available in an immediately recognizable red jar). Here, in alphabetical order, the 20 most iconic moisturizers in beauty, as voted on by beauty industry insiders.

Augustinus Bader The Cream, The Wealthy Cream

Launched: 2018

Augustinus Bader took the wonder industry by storm when it launched in 2018, but its hero ingredient, TFC8, was many years within the making. The compound, used to treat burn victims in Bader’s clinic in Germany, has garnered fans spanning Hollywood elite and the wonder industry’s power brokers.

Results oriented: In 2022, sales of The Cream and The Wealthy Cream exceeded 1,000 units a day.

Belif The True Cream Aqua Bomb

Launched: 2010

When K-beauty was still nascent, Belif unveiled the most effective of Korean skincare innovation (think ceramides and glycerin) with tried-and-true apothecary ingredients like Lady’s Mantle.

Results oriented: Belif has sold greater than 10 million units of Aqua Bomb and sister stock keeping unit Moisturizing Bomb because the products’ launches.

CeraVe Each day Facial Moisturizing Lotion

Launched: 2005

From dermatologists’ offices to TikTok, one in every of CeraVe’s first skus remains to be garnering street cred — and sales — with consumers. The product is devoid of oils but includes three key ceramides, making it an early player within the skin barrier conversation.

Results oriented: One among the brand’s top sellers, Each day Facial Moisturizing Lotion boasts greater than 72,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Clark’s Botanicals Deep Moisture Mask

Launched: 2019

This double-duty mask was founder Francesco Clark’s first launch after buying back the brand, and despite no points of sale at the moment, has garnered cult status amongst makeup artists and red carpet heavyweights due to its clear dry-down and calming effect on the skin.

Results oriented: One actress called the brand’s founder Francesco Clark during a sellout asking to purchase the office stock — and even paid overnight shipping — before a movie premiere.

Clé de Peau La Crème

Launched: 1996

Meant for overnight use, platinum golden silk is the hero ingredient of La Crème, whose claims include 24-hour moisture and firming and brightening advantages.

Results oriented: This cream’s creation requires greater than 60 ingredients and 100 steps to formulate over the course of three days.

Clinique Moisture Surge 100H Auto-Replenishing Hydrator

Launched: 1988

One among beauty’s first matte moisturizers can be one in every of its most enduring. First launched by brand cofounder Carol Phillips, the fan favorite gained a latest iteration in 2020, featuring two different molecular weights of hyaluronic acid and biofermented aloe extract, lactobacillus and activated aloe water.

Results oriented: Clinique sells one unit of Moisture Surge every five seconds.

Dieux Easy Angel

Launched: 2022

On the nexus of social media street cred and science, Dieux’s clinically backed moisturizer satisfies scientists and web denizens alike. Easy Angel couples skin-restoring lipids with an amino acid for collagen synthesis, along with a spread of ceramides, phytosterols and free fatty acids. True to the brand’s ethos of creating lipid-rich moisturizers more accessible, the $45 price tag keeps retention rates high.

Results oriented: Greater than 10 tubes sell on the brand’s website every hour.

Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin Skin Barrier Moisturizing Cream

Launched: 2013

Ceramides and panthenol power Dr. Jart+’s hero product, which is claimed to lead to 100 hours of moisture following a single use. That payoff keeps consumers coming back — the product boasts high retention rates and consistent sales increases. Not bad for a product marking a decade in existence.

Results oriented: The moisturizer has hit triple-digit sales growth within the U.S. over the past few years.

Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream

Launched: 2018

Long before barrier strength was buzzed about, Drunk Elephant founder Tiffany Masterson looked to her each day protein smoothie for inspiration for a nourishing, strengthening moisturizer. The result includes nine signal peptides to spice up barrier function, along with amino acids, synthetic growth aspects and pigmy water lily.

Results oriented: Drunk Elephant sells one Protini Polypeptide Cream every minute.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream

Launched: 2009

Versatility is the secret for First Aid Beauty’s top seller. Ultra Repair Cream is meant for head-to-toe use and doubles as an eczema treatment, given the cocktail of calming colloidal oatmeal, ceramides and shea butter.

Results oriented: Ultra Repair Cream has been First Aid Beauty’s top seller for greater than a decade, with one sold every 10 seconds.

Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream

Launched: 2006

Combining squalane and glacial glycoprotein, Kiehl’s mainstay moisturizer has stood the test of time. The result’s a dependable and deeply moisturizing formula that’s been on top of the world since its launchn — literally. Kiehl’s supplied climbers for the primary ascent of Mount Everest’s East Face without supplemental oxygen with the product to assist them brave the weather.

Results oriented: Ultra Facial Cream is Kiehl’s’ top-selling moisturizer.

La Mer Crème de La Mer The Moisturizing Cream

Launched: 1965

Fifty-eight years, three various textures and billions in sales later, the O.G. luxury cream — and the hero behind La Mer’s billion-dollar brand status — stays as relevant as ever. La Mer calls its secret sauce “miracle broth,” a fermentation of sustainably harvested sea kelp, which takes three to 4 months, but consumers come back for the clinically tested softening of superb lines and wrinkles.

Results oriented: La Mer sells one jar of the product every 40 seconds.

Neutrogena HydroBoost Water Gel

Launched: 2015

This gel was among the many first to take prestige beauty’s hydration darling, hyaluronic acid, to mass market shelves. The result was an ensuing range of products with advanced delivery mechanisms for optimal penetration and a quick-absorbing texture.

Results oriented: The water gel spawned the U.S.’ top hyaluronic acid facial care line, in accordance with the brand.

Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream Facial Moisturizer

Launched: 2007

Olay’s Micro-Sculpting Cream holds its own against the posh competition. In response to the brand, 10 years of research proves its hydration levels beat those of greater than 130 competing premium products. It catalyzes cell growth due to its amino-peptide complex, hyaluronic acid and niacinamide. A winning combination, indeed.

Results 0riented: Fifty million jars later, Olay still sells 20 jars per minute.

RéVive Moisturizing Renewal Cream

Launched: 1997

Biotech is all the fashion in beauty now, but RéVive founder, plastic and reconstructive surgeon Gregory Bays Brown understood the potential of epidermal growth factor peptides many years ago — hence this cream’s endurance. The brand’s signature bio-renewal peptide is clinically proven to assist with superb lines, while glycolic acid adds a brightening boost.

Results oriented: Moisturizing Renewal Cream is RéVive’s bestselling moisturizer.

Rose Ingleton MD Signature Moisturizer

Launched: 2019

Dermatologist Rosemarie Ingleton’s namesake moisturizer takes the identical approach as a each day multivitamin, coupling its moisturizing advantages with peptides, antioxidants, ceramides and superfruit extracts.

Results oriented: Signature Moisturizer is Rose Ingleton MD’s top seller by revenue.

SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2

Launched: 2016

This moisturizer’s name is derived from its formula, which is a cholesterol-dominant ratio of two percent ceramides, 4 percent cholesterol and a couple of percent fatty acids. Those ceramides mimic the configurations of how they naturally occur in human skin for speedier nourishing and pore-refining results.

Results oriented: SkinCeuticals’ Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2 is the brand’s top-selling corrective product.

SkinFix Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Peptide Cream

Launched: 2016

Derms rave concerning the high levels of actives — lipids, peptides and glycerin — that give this moisturizer its name. One among the very first products catering to barrier health, it’s a key engine behind Skinfix’s surging sales at Sephora and an excellent salve for in-office procedures and sensitized skin alike.

Results oriented: Triple Lipid-Peptide Cream is a top-selling moisturizer at Sephora, where it’s earned greater than 1,000 five-star reviews.

Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask

Launched: 2018

Call it the Swiss army knife of skincare. The brand’s mega-moisturizing bestseller works as an overnight mask, a each day moisturizer, a hand cream and a watch cream, due to hyaluronic acid, glycerin and niacinamide. Getting the word out at launch was a cinch for influencer-cofounder duo Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Ireland, who’ve since remained authorities within the influencer brand realm. 

Results oriented: One Jet Lag Mask is sold every two minutes.

Tatcha The Dewy Cream

Launched: 2019

No stranger to modernizing ancient remedies, Tatcha founder Vicky Tsai looked to Japanese purple rice for The Dewy Cream’s hero ingredient, which has a centuries-old popularity for enhancing vitality. In skincare, it’s a wealthy source of anthocyanin, a polyphenol with antioxidant properties.

Results oriented: One jar of the lilac moisturizer sells every 60 seconds.

The voters

Voters were asked to submit ballots with their top skincare selections. While the products they voted for are confidential, participants got the choice to stay anonymous or be identified as a part of the general electorate. Nearly all of voters opted for confidentiality, but here, listed alphabetically by first name, are those that agreed to be identified.

Ada Polla
Alicia Sontag
Alicia Yoon
Andrea Mennella
Dr. Anthony Nakhla
April Uchitel
Bee Shapiro
Charles Rosier
Cristina Nuñez
D’Andre Michael
Emily Dougherty
Emily Parr
Francesco Clark
Gwen Flamberg
Holly Thaggard
Ian Michael Crum
Jane Lauder
Jasmina Aganovic
Jessica Richards
Jill Kargman
Dr. Joyce Park
Kelly McPhilliamy
Leslie Blodgett
Lily Garfield
Linda Wells
Marianna Hewitt
Marla Beck
Nyakio Grieco
Oliver Garfield
Penny Coy
Wealthy Gersten
Robin Coe Hutshing
Romain Gaillard
Ron Robinson
Sarah Brown
Sarah Lee
Stephanie Morimoto
Susan Biegacz
Suzie Wokabi
Tarang Amin
Tera Peterson
Troy Surratt
Vennette Ho