These top-tier finds from La Mer and Tatcha will perk up your complexion.
Being an Allure editor most definitely has its perks: The most obvious one is the chance to try just about any of the best luxury moisturizers, treatments, and face creams on or coming to the market. Just about every Allure staffer has a desk chock full of splurge-worthy skin care, which is why we have the very important task of test-driving them — and then deeming their worthiness for your skin-care routine.
Sure, there are countless lotions, potions, and creams out there, many of which are high-end with steep price tags attached. Still, our team (and some of the best board-certified dermatologists in the country) has sifted through them all to find the facial moisturizers that deserve a precious spot in your medicine cabinet. As the old saying goes, “You get what you pay for,” and these top-notch moisturizing creams are prime examples of that.
We’re aware that face moisturizers are not a “one formula fits all” concept, so we’ve found prime picks for a variety of skin types and complexion concerns. They’re pricier than drugstore options, no doubt, but from the experts’ perspectives, they’re worth every pretty penny. Ahead, find luxe concoctions from La Mer, Augustinus Bader, and Tatcha that’ll leave your skin feeling oh-so pampered.
Best Overall: La Mer Creme de La Mer
Are you surprised that La Mer’s Creme de La Mer tops this list? We most certainly are not, considering that it’s both dermatologist- and Allure editor-approved. Kara McGrath, Allure’s deputy digital director, and New York City-based board-certified dermatologist Brendan Camp, MD say this rich cream is a classic for its dense, custardy texture and impressive formulation.
The main ingredient in this cream is the brand’s Miracle Broth, a proprietary complex that contains antioxidant-rich algae extract to stave off environmental aggressors, provide much-needed moisture, reduce irritation, and brighten your complexion. “That Miracle Broth really lives up to its name, calming any the irritated, red patches that ail me in just a couple nights of using the stuff,” says McGrath.
Best Tinted Moisturizer: Revision Skincare Intellishade TruPhysical
New York City-based board-certified dermatologist Marisa Garshick, MD says Revision Skincare’s Intellishade TruPhysical is one of the best moisturizers for its subtle universal tint and broad-spectrum SPF 45 sunscreen protection against harsh sun rays. “It contains antioxidants to help fight free radical damage and protect the skin from other environmental stressors while simultaneously brightening and hydrating,” she says. “It also contains iron oxides which can help to provide added protection against blue light.”
Allure Readers’ Choice Award Winner: Tatcha The Water Cream
Tatcha’s The Water Cream is a must-have for oily skin types, but don’t just take our word for it. This oil-free formula won an Allure Readers’ Choice Award in 2023 for its moisture-replenishing cocktail of Japanese wild rose and leopard lily extracts and lightweight, gel-cream texture.
Derms’ Pick: SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Repair Cream
Both Dr. Garshick and New York City-based board-certified dermatologist Blair Murphy-Rose, MD, say the Allure Best of Beauty-winning SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Repair Cream is a dryness-reducing skin savior that’s worth every penny. “Containing ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids, this rich face cream is the perfect fix for dry skin types or irritated, sensitive skin to use as a day cream,” says Dr. Murphy-Rose.
Best for Sensitive Skin: Dermalogica Stabilizing Repair Cream
Many of the sensitive skin-friendly moisturizers on the market only provide moisture replenishment, but Dermalogica’s Stabilizing Repair Cream goes above and beyond conditioning measures. Sure, it contains a moisture-sealing ceramide complex to support your skin barrier, but this lightweight face cream also contains cica, soothing ingredient that targets redness, irritation, and sensitivity when your skin needs comfort the most.
Best ight Cream: RéVive Intensite Creme Lustre Night
For an intensive firming treatment overnight, Dr. Garshick recommends slathering on RéVive’s Intensite Creme Lustre Night. She notes that this night cream contains two forms of elasticity-boosting peptides that’ll firm the appearance of sagging skin while smoothing the look of fine lines and wrinkles. “It also includes a biorestorative firming complex, containing peptides, glucosamine and pea extract which helps to boost collagen production,” she says.
Best for Hyperpigmentation: L’Occitane Immortelle Divine Cream
Another one of McGrath’s go-to luxury products is L’Occitane’s Immortelle Divine Cream, an indulgently rich cream she says she recommends to just about anyone asking for splurge-worthy beauty recommendations. “It’s rich and creamy, but not heavy, so it works just as well during the day as a nighttime treatment,” she says. This best-selling face cream is powered by antioxidant-rich immortelle extract, a botanical that’s known for its moisture-replenishing and dark spot-reducing abilities.
Best for Dry Skin: Lancôme Absolue Soft Cream
If your skin is feeling bone-dry, we see the Lancôme Absolue Soft Cream in your future. This decadent moisturizer features a trifecta of moisturizing heavy-hitters, including meadowfoam oil, shea butter, and rose extract.
New and Noteworthy: Charlotte Tilbury Magic Water Cream
The Charlotte Tilbury Magic Water Cream is a newbie, yet Allure editors are already waxing poetic about it. Allure commerce editor Sarah Han gives this light yet hydrating moisturizer her seal of approval for its well-rounded formulation, which tackles dryness, sagging, and dullness in one cream. As hydrating hyaluronic acid plumps skin, peptides in the formula boost skin elasticity and antioxidant niacinamide brightens your complexion.
Packed With Antioxidants: Sisley-Paris Black Rose Skin Infusion Cream
Antioxidants is basically a group can-all, do-all group ingredients (hey, vitamin C), and Sisley-Paris’s Black Rose Skin Infusion Cream is chock full of them. That’s all thanks to the additions of alkekengi calyx, padina pavonica algae, and black rose extracts, all of which are rich in antioxidants that provide a brightening boost, environmental aggressor protection, and moisture barrier support.
Best Gel Cream: Augustinus Bader The Light Cream
Like every product under Augustinus Bader’s lineup, The Light Cream contains the brand’s proprietary TFC8. In case you weren’t aware, New Jersey-based cosmetic chemist Ginger King previously told Allure that this isn’t a single ingredient, but a mixture of “amino acids, vitamins, and synthesized molecules naturally found in the skin” that triggers skin cells to repair damaged material and signals stem cells to regenerate healthy skin. But that’s not the only ingredient worth shouting out: this luxe gel-textured moisturizer also contains soothing aloe vera and lemon myrtle extract, which is abundant in skin-softening, free radical-fighting vitamin C.
The Splurgiest of Them All: La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Cream
Sure, the La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Cream may be the priciest pick of the bunch, but Allure shopping market editor Angela Trakoshis says it’s oh-so worth it. “Not only does this moisturizer feel absolutely divine on the skin, but it plumped up my skin like I just left a lavish facial on the Upper East Side,” she says.
Like the original, Allure Best of Beauty-winning Skin Caviar moisturizer, this pick contains protein-rich caviar extract to plump skin and boost collagen production, but what makes Skin Caviar Luxe stand out is algae extract, which is rich in antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E that’ll assist with hydration, fine lines, and radiance.
Best for Mature Skin: Dr. Barbara Sturm Super Anti-Aging Night Cream
Mature skin types should grab Dr. Barbara Sturm’s Super Anti-Aging Night Cream. Its intensive blend of hydrating hyaluronic acid, skin-firming peptides, and antioxidant vitamin E work together to basically hit the reset button on your skin. And did we mention this pick also contains a plumping, moisture-replenishing mix of avocado, argan, sweet almond, and sunflower oils?
