The ultimate skin care sandwich is nothing without the *right* moisturiser to seal the deal — AKA, the bread. Designed to make the glow-giving difference between a dull complexion and radiant, healthy-looking skin, finding your moisture-locking match is always worth it in the end. As we swap out our woolly scarves and heavy formulas for frilly numbers and lightweight lotions, the turn of the season affects our skin care wardrobes, too. It’s okay if you’re the gelous type because lucky for you, we have a dew-drenching selection of skin-loving suitors just longing to be part of your everyday rituals.
REFRESHMENTS, ANYONE?
Like a thirst-quenching beverage on a hot day, gel moisturisers do a great job of replenishing your skin’s hydration, one dollop at a time. The easiest way to spot a gel formula? The first ingredient will almost always be water, which lends its dew-delivering properties to the bouncy texture. Made for all skin types (especially those prone to excess oils), this weightless alternative trades in the shine and grease — two things you’d rather leave on the sidelines when it comes to skin — for day-long suppleness. Get off to a glowing start with Biossance’s Probiotic Gel Moisturiser...
If there’s one thing Biossance knows how to do, it is combine science with skin care to create innovative staples that comfort your skin today, for improved radiance tomorrow. Offering up a soothing (and lest we forget, *cooling*) texture, this featherlight favourite puts a spring back in your skin care step thanks to potent probiotics and squalane. Ushering your complexion’s cup to runneth over with copious amounts of hydration, this gelicious hero helps reduce signs of redness to reveal a tone-balanced finish.
SHOP ALL BIOSSANCE >>>LAYER UP
Somewhat of a 10-step-routiner? If you’ve got a thing for layers, set aside the emollient, oil-rich formulas and pick up a jelly-like moisturiser to unlock day-long hydration, minus the shine. Load up on your go-to serums, eye creams, treatments and SPFs *without* possibly overdoing it and escape to radiant (skin) realms with OLE HENRIKSEN’s C-Rush Brightening Gel Creme...
Boasting a blend of skin-brightening agents and a slippery, soothing texture, this peach-tinted cream is designed to firm, re-energise and restore your complexion’s radiance. Here to help you C the brighter side, this weightless staple harnesses the power of not one, but three vitamin C sources to uncover a naturally luminous canvas.
SHOP ALL OLE HENRIKSEN >>>KEEP COOL AND COLLECTED
Had a bit too much fun with the actives recently? When your skin feels out of sorts and somewhat straddling the tightrope, adding a gel moisturiser to your routine is the perfect way to get back on track. Usually loaded with barrier-supportive properties, these ultra-gentle heroes comfort your complexion when you need it most. Made to offer a nurturing touch right before you reach the brink of you-know-what, Avène’s Hydrance Aqua-Gel Hydrating Cream-in-Gel swoops in to save your skin...
The complexion-quenching cape in question? Thanks to a fusion of antioxidant-rich provitamin E and myrtle extract, this bouncy cream bids a-dew to excess sebum and shine, while botanical extracts work to refine texture over time. If you thought that wasn’t enough, the brand’s world-renowned Thermal Spring Water grants soft, supple and seriously hydrated results. What’s more, with each sensorial glide across the face and neck, expect a cooling sensation to leave your skin looking (and feeling) ahhh-mazing.
SHOP ALL AVÈNE >>>THE BALANCING ACT
If your overworking skin could speak, it might say, “I need a spa treatment”. And so, for days when you don’t want your complexion to kick up a fuss — i.e. signs of redness and irritation — a gel-based moisturiser often does the skin-soothing trick. Enter: Kinship’s Supermello Hydrating Gel Cream Moisturizer...
Brimming with a cool-to-the-touch blend of hyaluronic acid, softening coconut water and antioxidant-rich marshmallow root extract, this refreshing gel-cream supports skin teetering on the edge of dryness. Think: ample dew-drenching benefits topped with the subtlest hint of natural vanilla extract. Now, that’s what we call cheek-to-cheek TLC.
SHOP ALL KINSHIP >>>
BARELY-THERE BENEFITS
We’ve gone on...*and on* about how lightweight gel-creams are but have we mentioned how undetectable they are? Before you raise an eyebrow, allow us to explain: imagine all the moisture you need, minus the residue or most importantly — piling. Its ability to absorb in little to no time makes these glow-giving staples the key to an enviably smooth base without stickiness. Fitting the bill (and then some) is The INKEY List’s Omega Water Moisturiser...
True to its name, this water-based gel moisturiser is designed to deliver next-level hydration while boosting your skin’s firmness. Hardly seen but always felt, this sensorial, spa-like hero is bolstered by 5% glycerin, omegas 3, 6 and 9, alongside a ceramide-rich complex to work as a moisture magnet for the good ‘stuff’. It gets better — niacinamide is the secret star ingredient, which puts in the extra shift to keep breakouts at bay, minimise shine and balance out redness.
SHOP ALL THE INKEY LIST >>>All in all, if you ever underestimated the power of a gel-based moisturiser, we hope this not-so-sappy ode to its luxuriously light texture, springy feel and dew-boosting properties serve as enough proof to fall for these must-have formulas.
