HotandFlashy has worked through more than 40 dry skin products, and her record tells a pretty clear story. She approved about two in three of them and skipped fewer than one in five. A few earned her highest praise as category winners, including the RMS Beauty ReDimension Hydra Bronzer and the Lineage Lip Sleeping Mask. Her approval rate for dry skin sits at 69%.
What does HotandFlashy recommend for dry skin?
When she loves something, it usually does one thing really well: it sinks into the skin instead of sitting on top. The e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Face Cream Fragrance Free won her over because it shares a lot of the same ingredients as her other favourite night cream. It packs in glycerin, niacinamide, a peptide, and hyaluronic acid, and it feels like a gel cream rather than a heavy coat. She raves about the Lineage Lip Sleeping Mask in the same breath, saying she uses it every single night and wakes up with her lips still moisturised. The RMS Beauty ReDimension Hydra Bronzer made her winners list too, and what she kept coming back to was how easy it blends. She also praised the Cocokind Ceramide Barrier Serum for being light enough to use even on hot days when a full moisturiser feels like too much. She noted it is loaded with five ceramides alongside hyaluronic acid and glycerin. The pattern is lightweight, ingredient-packed, and comfortable to wear.
Hot and Flashy's dry skin picks, in her words
"I use every single night of my life and that is my Lineage Lip Sleeping Mask this is the best overnight lip moisturizer. I just butter up my lips with this at night and when I wake up in the morning it's still there. This really keeps my lips hydrated and feeling comfortable especially this time of year but I do use it all year round."
"The bronzer that I use most this year, which means that I loved it the most this year, is from RMS Beauty. It's their ReDimension Hydra Bronzer in the shade Tan Lines. It's just so beautiful. It's not too dark. It's not too cool. It's not too warm. This shade is just perfect for me. And it blends beautifully. I have this bronzer on this half of my face and I just put it on with a brush. [...] It just gives your face a little more dimension."
"The Peter Thomas Roth Eye Patches come in three types, one is for firming, one is for brightening, one is for de-puffing. My girls and I are getting these in our stockings this year and we're going to have a little eye patch party."
"This is their Ceramide Barrier Serum and this is so lightweight. If you're in a heat wave and you just don't even want to put on moisturizer but you still want to get your ceramides, your hyaluronic acid, your glycerin, your niacinamide in, this is packed with all those things. I think this has like five ceramides in it. It just feels really fantastic. If you kept it in your mini fridge or in your fridge and then put it on, it would be so nice and cooling for these hot summer days."
"The YSL Love Shine lip glosses are in the sale as a two pack. I discovered this earlier in the year and I love this lip gloss. It's in my handbag, and it's so pretty."
"It's their Skin Renewing Gel Oil. And I used to love this product. I stopped buying it the last couple years, but it's so good for like skin slugging, you guys. You know, winter's coming and if you're going to be slugging your skin, which is putting on a really heavy occlusive layer of something at night to keep all the hydration in, this is a really great product to do that with and it's going to be on sale."
How many products has HotandFlashy reviewed for dry skin?
HotandFlashy has reviewed 48 products for dry skin, for an approval rate of 69%. 33 approved, 7 mixed, and 8 skipped.
What has HotandFlashy skipped for dry skin?
She is honest and direct when something does not work on her skin. The Maybelline Lifter Plump and Glow Foundation was a near-complete skip for her. She said it settled into every wrinkle, looked heavy and waxy, and seemed to make pores and texture worse through the day. The ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 got a similar verdict. No matter how she applied it, with or without skincare underneath, it broke up on the surface and just would not sit right. The Ordinary Squalane + Amino Acids Lip Balm also disappointed her despite its appealing packaging. She found it thick and strange to apply, and felt it actually left her lips drier than before. The thread running through her skips is texture that sits on top rather than sinking in, which matters a lot for anyone with mature or dry skin who wants a smooth finish.
"This foundation, it's not funny, because I'm sure they were trying to make a good product, but this looks terrible already, terrible. It settled in every wrinkle on my face, and it just looks heavy, waxy, makeupy. [...] Today is almost a complete fail, [...] just save your money on this. I was really, really disappointed in this foundation. It just felt like foundation sitting on the surface of my skin all day, and I didn't really think it did anything for me."
"I don't like anything going on on this side of my face. I have combo skin so I am oily through the T-Zone but not super oily, just a little bit through the T-Zone. I have some dry patches around my mouth and my temples and the rest of my face is fairly normal. I tried the Aquaphor concealer hack three days in a row just wanting to make this work, but for me I could just never get it to work no matter what I tried. I don't love it by itself with my regular stuff. I don't love it with this."
"I tried this and I didn't like this at all unfortunately. I was kind of psyched about this but I was also a little bit nervous about it because it does contain coconut derived surfactants and all the cleansers that have like the coconut derived surfactants don't agree with my skin they make my skin feel dry and tight. My eyes stung which I wasn't happy with. I do like it that it is fragrance-free but then afterwards my skin felt so dry and tight."
"This is a tinted runny liquid that feels like a lightweight lotion. It rubs in easily, but it only comes in one shade, which is way too warm and too dark for me. And it goes on very splotchy and very unevenly. [...] But aside from the color, the other reason that I can't recommend this one is because it never dries back after 20 minutes. It is just coming off on everything. So, this one got a zero out of five for me as a standalone sunscreen."
What should you take from HotandFlashy's picks?
HotandFlashy is a useful guide for dry skin because she tests things properly and tells you plainly what flopped. She leans toward lightweight, multi-ingredient formulas that feel comfortable all day, and she is quick to call out anything that reads as heavy, waxy, or prone to settling. If you have dry or mature skin and want to know which hydrating products actually perform, her record on this category is a solid place to start.
Watch HotandFlashy say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- CeraVe Invisible Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50Named a winnerWatch at 19:00
- RMS Beauty ReDimension Hydra BronzerNamed a winnerWatch at 23:54
- Lineage Lip Sleeping MaskNamed a winnerWatch at 11:17
- NuFACE Hydrating Aqua GelNamed a winnerWatch at 22:21
- Maybelline Lifter Plump and Glow FoundationSkipped itWatch at 17:39
- Aquaphor Lip Repair StickSkipped itWatch at 12:49
- Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Moisture 5.5 Soft Cleansing GelSkipped itWatch at 23:41
- Avène Mineral Multi-Defense Sunscreen Fluid SPF 50Skipped itWatch at 8:43
- NYX Face Glue Gripping PrimerSkipped itWatch at 19:15
- DRMTLGY Daydream Broadspectrum SPF 40 Moisturizer/SunscreenSkipped itWatch at 5:54
- IT Cosmetics Do It All Sheer Tinted Face BalmSkipped itWatch at 25:25
- La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle CleanserSkipped itWatch at 2:37
- Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Hydrogel Eye PatchesRated itWatch at 16:59
- Cocokind Ceramide Barrier SerumRated itWatch at 14:20
- YSL Loveshine Plumping Lip Oil GlossRated itWatch at 7:07
- CeraVe Skin Renewing Gel OilRated itWatch at 6:28
- CeraVe Hydrating Facial CleanserRated itWatch at 1:56
- Round Lab 1025 Dokdo CleanserRated itWatch at 7:19
- CeraVe Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Water GelRated itWatch at 27:28
- Pacifica Vegan Ceramide Barrier Repair Face LotionRated itWatch at 8:31
- Olay Micro-Sculpting Cream Fragrance FreeRated itWatch at 12:21
- Maylove Hydro Relief Amino Acid and Peptide CreamRated itWatch at 13:24
- Prequel Barrier Therapy Skin Protect Face and Body LotionRated itWatch at 8:07
- Sukoyaka Suhada Urea Moisturizing TonerRated itWatch at 18:09
About this expert
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This guide reflects what HotandFlashy said across her videos about 48 products for dry skin, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The approval rate is the share of these products she approved. It is general information, not medical advice.