The Hands-Down Best Face Moisturisers of All Time, No Matter Your Skin Type

Don't let its price fool you: The Ordinary's Natural Moisturising Factors + HA ($6) is rich when it comes to texture (super creamy) and ingredients (loaded). In the fight against flakes and dry patches, heavy hitters like hydrating glycerin, amino and fatty acids, and hyaluronic acid make this formula the ultimate winner.

As beauty editors, we've tried somewhere in the ballpark of 9,847 face creams (um, but who's counting?), and a big takeaway is this: sometimes it's better to skip the fancy ingredients and scents in lieu of something simple that works hard and still feels good on skin. That's exactly what Dr. Brandt Hyaluronic Facial Cream ($72) is: a no-frills formula that has everything you need — like a dose of hyaluronic acid to keep skin hydrated, plus peptides to minimize the appearance of fine lines — and nothing that you don't.

If you've ever imagined what a cloud might feel like on your skin — pillowy soft, lush with moisture, oh so comforting — then you'll appreciate how the Drunk Elephant F Balm Electrolyte Waterfacial ($52, available in January) delivers exactly that. Meant to be used at night, the mixture of hydrating niacinamide plus vitamin F (an essential fatty acid that can help plump and hydrate) means your face will be in heaven when you wake up.

There's a very simple explanation as to why we reach for the SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2 ($139) every single Winter: no other cream on the market feels as luxurious or deeply moisturising. If you can swing the cost (which is, admittedly, higher up there), its blend of ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids will reward you with the softest skin of your life.

We can't sing enough praises about the La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturiser ($20) — it works for anyone with a face, but especially those with sensitive skin. Noncomedogenic, oil-free, and packed with hydrating ceramides and niacinamide, this formula is almost too good to be true (but luckily, it's not).

If mint leaves and bubble gum had a baby, it would smell exactly like the Origins Clear Improvement Pore Clearing Moisturiser ($34) — only it wouldn't feel nearly as good on your skin. It's not just the scent, either; the formula itself works like magic by hydrating all the right parts and letting the acne-fighting salicylic acid and bamboo charcoal take care of the rest.

The Primera Alpine Berry Water Cream ($40) feels incredibly lightweight and hydrating on contact but soaks in quickly enough to apply makeup or head to bed moments afterward.

We'd be remiss to write about the 3Lab Brightening Oil Complex ($400) without mentioning that it is unconscionably expensive — a sticker price of $400 boils down to $200 an ounce, or 40,000 cents. Then again, it is loaded with four different molecular sizes of hyaluronic acid, plus brightening antioxidants and peptides, and has completely changed the texture of our skin. It's so creamy and decadent that smearing it on feels like little baby angels are hugging your face, blessing you with less redness and fewer dark spots practically overnight. Who said love don't cost a thing?

If the luxurious purple vat of Tatcha's The Dewy Skin Cream ($68) isn't enough to sway you, its decadent texture will. The formula is packed with antioxidant-rich Japanese purple rice bran, skin-softening algae, and hydrating amino acids — all of which are just a fancy way of saying it's really, really moisturising.

Not too light, not too heavy — the Dr. Jart Ceramidin Cream ($48) hits just the right balance someone with combo skin would want in a face moisturiser. It's also got a potent dose of ceramides to help strengthen and protect the skin's barrier from harsh climates, not to mention a holy-sh*t-this-smells-good scent.