We’ve handpicked the best Clinique moisturiser for dry, oily and sensitive skin that helps with redness, irritation, wrinkles, hydration and more
Clinique has long been known for its super-effective, high-end skincare. It was one of the first skincare brands to sell products in sets, designed to target different skin concerns. It was also one of the first beauty brands to add skincare ingredients to its makeup line.
Yet its products don’t come cheap. In our experience, you do get what you pay for but at such a high price, it makes the range a bit of a gamble. This is made worse by the fact Clinique sells more than 30 different Clinique moisturisers all promising different things for different skin types and concerns, and in different forms – from gels, to lotions, to jellies and creams.
It’s a minefield and can be overwhelming.
To help you understand more about what each product does, we’ve tested and analysed each of the brand’s bestsellers to determine, once and for all, which is the best Clinique moisturiser for your skin type and needs. We also explain how the different ranges differ and the key ingredients within each to help demystify the whole process.
The best Clinique moisturiser for you will depend on what problems you’d like to address. You can filter this guide in a number of ways – you can explore each range as a whole, or you can select your skin type and see all the products across all three ranges that are best suited to you.
The following Clinique moisturisers are best for different skin types.
Despite the large number of Clinique moisturisers, they largely fall into a much smaller number of ranges. We explain the key differences and benefits of each below. You can then jump to the relevant sections for each, where we explain more about the individual products with these ranges.
There are then the odd products that fall into different categories, such as the Even Better and Redness Solutions which are also makeup ranges.
Range benefits: Hydration and strengthening
The Clinique Dramatically Different moisturiser range includes different formulations to suit different skin types, from lotions to gels and jellies. Each one is designed to hydrate, balance and strengthen your skin barrier. We go into detail for each below, but as a summary:
From £9 | BUY NOW
Best for: Very dry to dry skin
Clinique This moisturiser is, as the name suggestions, a lotion meaning it’s not a slimy or slippery as a gel but is not as thick as a cream.
It’s designed for very dry to dry and combination skin because it provides all-day hydration and boosts your skin barrier without feeling heavy or greasy.
Key ingredients include:
@victoria_woolly_web Average performance. 40th in the best moisturiser list, 64th overall for a product that promises “rich hydration that lasts all-day.” That said, Clinique does also say this is for very dry/dry combination skin so it will likely perform better on skin that needs it more than mine #mamabella #clinique #cliniquedramatically #cliniquedramaticallydifferent #dramaticallydifferentmoisturizinglotion #bestlotions #bestmoisturiser #bestmoisturizer❤️ #bestmoisturiserfordryskin #dryskincare #dryskinrelief ♬ Ditto – NewJeans
BUY NOW
From £24 | BUY NOW
Best for: Combination and oily skin types
Clinique This oil-free formula is great for combination and oily skin types.
It provides hydration and balances oil for smoother, healthier-looking skin and lightly hydrates to balance sebum production.
It has very similar ingredients to the Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion but is lighter on the skin.
BUY NOW
From £24 | BUY NOW
Best for: People living in cities, rosacea and sensitive skin
Clinique This water-jelly formula is designed to provide long-lasting and deep hydration and strengthening, like the gel and lotion, but comes with the added protection against pollution.
This makes it ideal for all skin types, but particularly those living in cities, and people with oily skin due to its lightweight, non-stick formula.
It may not be enough for very dry skin but it can be paired with richer creams if needed.
Key ingredients include:
Read our full Clinique Hydrating Jelly review
@victoria_woolly_web JESUS @Clinique UK’s Hydrating Jelly increased hydration by 12 points or 43.8% after 5 mins. This is the second-highest increase of any moisturiser tested, and higher than any serum. What’s more, the Dramatically Different Hydrating Jelly continued to increase hydration by a further 2 points after an hour. Giving a total rise of 44.5%. Shame it’s so expensive (applied to damp skin) #mamabella #clinique #dramaticallydifferent #hydratingjelly #hydrationtest #bestmoisturiser #bestmoisturizer ♬ Flowers – Miley Cyrus
BUY NOW
Range benefits: Targets signs of ageing and dullness
Clinique The Clinique Smart range is for people looking to address signs of ageing such as wrinkles, uneven skin tone, saggy skin and fine lines. The products in the Smart range are some of the most expensive in the Clinique range but that’s because they have ingredients like peptides, Vitamin C and retinol.
The range includes serums, moisturisers, and eye treatments designed to improve firmness and radiance. They also hydrate the skin, but this is less of a selling point compared to the Dramatically Different or Moisture Surge ranges.
We go into detail for each below, but as a summary:
£70 | BUY NOW
Best for: All skin types but particularly combination/oily
Clinique This lightweight cream helps to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles by plumping up the skin, strengthening the skin barrier and gently buffing away dead skin to reveal a brighter complexion.
Its lightweight nature makes it well-suited for people with combination to oily skin because it offers a balance of hydration without being overly greasy.
Key ingredients include:
BUY NOW
£70 | BUY NOW
Clinique A protective version of the Wrinkle Correcting Cream, this lightweight moisturiser contains SPF 30 and contains peptides and provitamin D.
The formula has been designed to help improve the look of wrinkles and prevent further damage from the sun, such as dark spots.
Key ingredients include:
BUY NOW
£70 | BUY NOW
Best for: Dry, very dry, and menopausal skin
Clinique This is a thicker, richer version of the original Wrinkle Correcting cream.
As a result, it’s better suited to dry and very dry skin and is particularly helpful if you skin is dry and dull as a result of perimenopause.
The richer cream also helps nourish the skin and target more severe signs of ageing, including deeper wrinkles and loss of elasticity.
Key ingredients include:
BUY NOW
£65 | BUY NOW
Best for: All skin types looking for SPF protection
Clinique This is technically part of the Clinique Smart range, rather than Smart Clinical, but it’s still designed to be an anti-ageing product at a slightly more affordable price.
This cream is a day moisturiser with SPF 15.
It offers hydration while protecting against premature ageing caused by the sun, and free radicals, thanks to the addition of antioxidants like Vitamin E.
Key ingredients include:
BUY NOW
£70 | BUY NOW
Best for: Dry and very dry, dull skin with deep signs of ageing
Clinique This is the night version of the Smart moisturiser above.
It’s richer and thicker and has been formulated to target all major signs of ageing while you sleep.
It’s particularly good for dry, and dull skin.
FURTHER READING: Everything you need to know about your skin barrier
BUY NOW
£72 | BUY NOW
Clinique Whereas the majority of the Clinique Smart range is designed to hydrate and nourish mature skin, to help with the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, the Smart Clinical Repair Lifting Face + Neck Cream is formulated to target loss of elasticity and sagging.
It contains peptides to boost skin firmness, jojoba oil to smooth texture and hyaluronic acid to hydrate.
Key ingredients include:
BUY NOW
Range benefits: Hydration, nourishment and protection
Clinique The Clinique Moisture Surge range is designed to hydrate, soothe and protect the skin. Its products contains hyaluronic acid and aloe water and are particularly beneficial for dehydrated skin. The main moisturisers have a gel-cream texture that’s cool and calming on the skin and absorbs quickly, ideal for delivering a moisture boost at any time of the day. A number of the products can double up as face masks, due to their high level of hydration.
There is also the Moisture Surge Hydro-Infused Lotion but this acts more like a toner than a lotion or moisturiser.
£26 | BUY NOW
Best for: Combination and oily skin
Clinique This oil-free gel-cream is designed to hydrate the skin for a promised 100 hours, even after cleansing your face.
It’s suitable for all skin types but is particularly good for combination and oily skin because it keeps hydration balanced, while protecting the skin from free radicals.
Key ingredients include:
Read our full Clinique Moisture Surge review
@victoria_woolly_web This is a first. Not only did @cliniqueuk Moisture Surge increase hydration by 4.2 points after 5 mins. It continued to increase hydration after an hour, rising a further 2.2 to give a total of 6.4! Not a single product has continued rising I’m shook. I’ve tagged as many ppl as I can @ruxandrdra @pffftttttttttlol @ssitaa01 #mamabella #bestmoisturizer #bestmoisturizerforthisseason #moisturiser_for_dryskin #hydration #clinique #cliniquemoisturesurge #moisturesurge100h #moisturesurge ♬ Unholy – Sam Smith & Kim Petras
BUY NOW
£42 | BUY NOW
Clinique Despite promising hydration for a lower number of hours, compared to the 100H Hydrator, the 72H Lipid-Replenishing Hydrator is a richer cream-gel that is better suited to dry and very dry skin.
It helps strengthen your skin barrier and offer soothing hydration with lipids and cica.
Key ingredients include:
BUY NOW
£28 | BUY NOW
Clinique This lightweight, oil-free moisturiser combines the hydration benefits of the Surge 100H and Surge 72H creams with SPF 25.
It’s good for all skin types when used on its own, or as a primer before makeup.
Key ingredients include:
BUY NOW
£29 | BUY NOW
Best for: On-the-go hydration
Clinique This oil-free face spray is designed to hydrate and soothe the skin throughout the day.
It’s particularly good for dehydrated and combination skin, and you can wear it under makeup or use it to refresh your look throughout the day, to keep your foundation looking dewy and fresh.
Key ingredients include:
@victoria_woolly_web I’ve put the @Clinique UK Moisture Surge spray in my best toner list but I don’t think that’s right – what do you think? hydration wise, an increase of 31% is massive & even after dropping so many points, its hour-long hydration score was still higher than a lot of others. So much so it sits in 16th place overall of ALL products tested #mamabella #moisturesurge #moisturesurgespray #cliniquereview #cliniqueskincare #dehydratedskin #dryskin #facialmistspray #hydrationtest #hydrationnation ♬ Flowers – Miley Cyrus
BUY NOW
£40 | BUY NOW
Clinique This creamy, oil-free mask boosts hydration and soothes the skin as your sleep so you wake up looking dewy and fresh, with less skin barrier damage.
It’s suitable for all skin types but is particularly good for balancing combination skin, and soothing dry and irritated skin.
Key ingredients include:
BUY NOW
Victoria is founder and editor-in-chief of mamabella, freelance journalist and Mum. She has a passion for empowering people to feel beautiful whatever their age, size, skin type and budget
