Finding the right moisturiser can be tricky (we should know — we’ve written about the best ones for dry skin and for oily skin), so to help your hunt (and to snoop a little), we’ve crowdsourced the problem. We went through our archives, and pulled together the best-loved moisturisers of various famous people who’ve spoken to us about them. Below, 16 celebrities on their favourite moisturisers, from drag queen Shangela on Eucerin, to actress Hari Nef on Weleda Skin Food.
Karina Longworth
“I have really sensitive skin that reacts to the sun and heat, and I also have eczema. This means I often get rashes and weird dry spots on my arms and legs. I discovered this cream when I was living in London — where they have Boots on every corner. I’ve found that this is the only thing that always works no matter what weird skin condition I have. I always take it with me when I travel, when my skin tends to get the most irritated.” —The Strategist, April 2020
Shangela Laquifa Wadley
“My career takes me to so many different climates, so my skin goes through a lot. In order to keep it really smooth and soft-feeling, I love a thick body cream. I had never seen a lotion with eczema relief in the name before I bought this, but I figured if it’s good enough for people who use it for eczema, then it’s definitely good enough for me. It’s like this oatmeal skin protectant that’s so moisturising to my entire body. Girl, I feel like butter.” —The Strategist, July 2020
Myriam Badault
I am a great fan of Sisley’s face-care products. I’m very taken with the history and philosophy of the brand — it was really one of the only brands to look into how to use plants in products, and which plants have which benefits. It was a completely new approach. The Emulsion Ecologique is a quite simple formulation, it’s healthy and you can blend it with other products if you’d like to.” —The Strategist, November 2019
Alexa Chung
“I use it every day. I’m obsessed with moisturising and less obsessed with drinking water. Maybe if I hydrated, I wouldn’t have to moisturise so much. This one is really dependable and a good everyday guy. It’s liquid-y and seeps in and doesn’t sit on top. Because it’s so expensive, it feels like a luxury, so I don’t use so much at a time. What I do do, though, is use it morning and night, and sometimes even throughout the day.” —The Strategist, March 2018
Yeardley Smith
“I have pretty dry skin and am starting to get a little wrinkly. The texture of my skin is pretty good, though, so I don’t need a lot of coverage. What I like about the nude finish is that it just sort of evens out the skin tone, and it’s light and has a little SPF in it. It stays where it is, and it doesn’t change or get cakey or heavy.” —The Strategist, December 2019
Pamela Adlon
“I discovered this when my daughter, my firstborn, was a baby. It’s kind of like Palmer’s Cocoa Butter, except it’s completely natural because it has the royal jelly and the bee pollen. It has so many healing properties, but, like so many things that are natural, it’s not approved by the FDA, so, womp womp. But you can put it anywhere on your body. Even if it got into your eyeball, it wouldn’t be an emergency. You can put it on your butthole, your nose — everywhere. It’s completely natural, and it’s an amazing lubricant. Wink, wink.” —The Strategist, March 2020
Maddie Ziegler
“My mom actually had this first. I never use products my mom likes so it’s actually shocking that I like this. One day I realised I really needed a moisturiser, and I asked her if she had any. She lent it to me, and I pretty much just stole it. Now it’s mine. It smells so good. Every one of my friends comments on how good it smells. The consistency is also so smooth. Some people use it as a primer before makeup, and I’ll do that, but I’ll actually put it on every night before going to bed, too. It feels so good to go to bed with a really extra hydrated face.” —The Strategist, March 2017
Hari Nef
“When I went on photo shoots, makeup artists kept pulling out this little green tube. It had this distinct fruity smell, and I remembered the bottle. Whenever they used it to prep my skin, it was just so rich — it instantly makes your skin shiny and dewy and nourished. Really, it feels the way it sounds. It’s like your face is having a meal. The medication I take makes my skin kind of dry, so I’ll slather this stuff on, especially during the winter. It’s such a great, gushy moisturiser because it’s so cheap and better than a lot of expensive ones. I’m not saying you should use only the Skin Food though. It’s not exactly a daily moisturiser because it’s so thick, but on days that I’ve just gotten off a plane or gotten out of a shower and my skin is really thirsty, nothing beats it.” —The Strategist, November 2016
Aurélie Bidermann
“I’m obsessed with it. A couple months ago I was having lunch with an editor when she told me I had to get it — she knows I’m obsessed with lipstick and hand cream — and I love the smell of it so much that I put it on at least four times a day. Usually, I’ll use it on my hands, but I’ll also put it on my cheeks to bring some light. It’s become my little thing. If I see I’m about to run out, I’ll buy two of them. The smell is like cut herbs mixed with essential oils.” —The Strategist, December 2018
Rachel Antonoff
”Kiehl’s Creme de Corps, the classic moisturizer, the yellow one. I hate things that are perfumed, and it’s just the right amount of thickness. I have a big one at home, and then a little one that I take with me on planes to slather on my feet in front of horrified passengers.” —The Strategist, October 2014
Amber Rose
“Literally, I feel like La Mer’s facial cleanser and moisturising creams are the best products out there for your face right now. It’s really expensive, I’m not going to lie, but what I’ll do is I’ll wash my face with the cleanser in the morning and at night; and then before I go to bed, I use the moisturiser really thick on my face and fall asleep with it on; and then I’ll wake up with a fresh glow. It’s amazing. Before I could afford that, I would just use African Shea Butter. I still use it sometimes — I’ll put it in the microwave till it turns to oil, just smother myself in it, and put a robe on that’ll absorb the excess oil. And then wake up in the morning so smooth.” —The Strategist, March 2017
Pete Wentz
“I’m one of the driest people. From being constantly on airplanes, I think that moisturisation has been the key to everything for me. I’m trying to get carded at least one time when I’m 40, and La Mer may be the way to get there. It’s not fragrant, so even as a man you can kind of rock it, and even though you can use it anywhere on your body, it’s priced like gold, so it’s really not to be wasted. You don’t want to blow it on spots that take up a lot of real estate. I go for the face usually.” —The Strategist, February 2018
Tamara Mellon
“I just love the texture of this stuff. I don’t like to use anything too heavy on my face, and this will give me a bit of colour in spite of my pale Irish roots. Plus it has sunscreen built in.” —The Strategist, May 2019
Lily Aldridge
“I’ve been using Tata Harper for years. Their Reparative Moisturiser works amazingly well, smells great, and it’s in a beautiful package. It was easy to add to my routine when I got pregnant, and I still use it every day. I love taking care of my skin, and sometimes if I don’t have time to do makeup, just reapplying moisturiser works. If you have a great moisturiser your skin looks really healthy and glow-y.” —The Strategist, October 2019
Eileen Fisher
“This is pretty much the only thing I use on my face. I use a variety of body lotions, but for my face, I’m pretty consistent about this one. It’s the simplest thing. A friend introduced it to me, and I just fell in love with it because it moisturises my skin (it can get dry) without feeling heavy all day. And maybe my nose doesn’t work because it doesn’t have much of a quince smell, but supposedly it’s quince.” —The Strategist, October 2018
Phoebe Robinson
“I’m in my early 30s and people are like, “You gotta care about your skin now.” But I’m like, “I’m Black,” and they’re like, “Girl you still gotta care.” I had a makeup artist who told me this was the absolute best cream. I put this on, and it goes so clear and smooth that I forget I’m wearing it. It’s not a lot of junk because my skin can be very sensitive and oily and combination and break out, and no matter what it wants to do, this doesn’t upset it. It’s a bit on the pricey side, but it will last three or four months.” —The Strategist, March 2018
Elettra Wiedemann
“I was introduced to Kat Burki’s product line on a photo shoot by a makeup artist — she makes these products using a cold-pressed process, so they retain the nutrients of the ingredients used. Everything is really gentle, and I’ve found that it’s made a real difference on my skin. I modeled for 12 years, and all that makeup made my skin sensitive, so I always look for products that don’t make me break out. I love the face cream because it’s so potent and nourishing. She’s also got this marine collagen gel that’s like a serum that I swear by, too.” —The Strategist, June 2017
Courtney Love
“Shiva Rose is a healer and wellness specialist with a blog called the Local Rose. She also makes the best moisturiser ever called the Glow Face Balm. It’s roses mostly, with other mystery ingredients. It just makes my face feel fantastic and so soft. I take it with me everywhere. It’s a staple of my kit.” —The Strategist, October 2017
Jay Ellis
“I do this Kiehl’s motorcycle ride for amfAR every year, and on one of the rides we went on, Gilles Marini, the French lover himself, came at me with this cream on his finger, and he was like, “You have to try this,” and gently rubbed the cream on my face. And I was like, “Is this how you get all the girls?” The cream is just so amazing because it’s light and fluffy, but also has weight, so your skin feels covered. I would like to think I haven’t aged a day because of it.” —The Strategist, September 2017
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