James Welsh has looked at more than 50 moisturizers. Only one earned his top praise as a category winner. His approval rate on moisturizers sits at 52%, which puts him on the selective side. The picks he approves tend to share one thing: they are built to support the skin barrier and honest about what they actually do.
What does James Welsh recommend in moisturizers?
He looks for creams built on ceramides, squalane, and fatty acids. Those ingredients rebuild the outer skin layer that keeps moisture locked in, and they are the first thing he checks. Texture matters just as much to him. He praises creams that feel rich but sink in quickly, and flags anything that sits heavy or waxy on the skin. He has little time for big claims, and he tends to trust brands that promise less and actually follow through.
James Welsh's moisturizer picks, in his words
"It's a simple looking balm that heals, soothes, and protects the skin, according to countless customers over the decades since its launch. It works. It does. It's good. It's still the brand's bestselling product to this day, and it's earned an endless list of celebrity fans."
"I don't care what anyone says or what your opinion is on Hailey Bieber as a person. This is good. This is a proper occlusive style balm moisturizer, kind of their version of the La Roche-Posay Cica Plast, but [...] in a much more cosmetically elegant way. It has a hyaluronic acid complex and polyglutamic acid which is [...] so nicely hydrating, murumuru butter, and ceramides for barrier support. It's designed to seal everything in overnight and it's really not that heavy as it sounds."
"Their Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion became an instant hero product of theirs, loved for its lightweight, non-irritating formula. Today it's still one of Clinique's bestselling products worldwide."
"If you're a fan of CeraVe, Aura, Illiyoon, I think you will love this brand, their real barrier Extreme Cream is an award winner of course, improving barrier function, barrier strength, in turn improving hydration, with ceramides and other essential ingredients for your skin barrier to penetrate quicker for faster healing and deeper moisturization."
"This has been amazing mainly as a daytime moisturizer saving my skin from that real dryness now we're going into much colder weather. [...] I believe it's because of peptides in general, my skin is loving peptides for so many different reasons, but teamed up with ceramides, my skin barrier feels stronger in the sense that I'm breaking out less, my skin is less prone to irritation, my rosacea has [...] calmed down, my flushing doesn't tend to happen as much."
"This is one of the best gel cream textured moisturizers I've ever used. I have combination skin and it's perfect for the most driest parts of my skin and for the oiliest parts. There's ceramides, glycerin, and niacinamide in here so our barrier and hydration levels are cared for. It targets everything that needs to be targeted but it's just super super quenching. I would call it if you haven't tried it already give it a go, I'm pretty sure you'll love it."
How many moisturizers has James Welsh reviewed?
James Welsh has reviewed 58 moisturizers, for an approval rate of 52%. 30 approved, 10 mixed, and 18 skipped.
What has James Welsh skipped in moisturizers?
He skipped about a third of the moisturizers he tried. Most came down to formulas that did not deliver, or products leaning on their name rather than their results. The SKKN Face Cream gave only surface moisture and left skin looking crepey and oily, which he said was hard to justify at $85. His sharpest concern was the Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Whipped Cream. He flagged a preservation problem after some batches were found to contain yeast and bacteria.
"It didn't do that, it didn't even heal my barrier in a month. It contains peptides and Salix alba extract which I'd usually enjoy, but it also contains limonene and linalool, two fragrant ingredients known to be irritants, and I don't think fragrance [...] belongs in skin healing and repairing products. What's even weirder is it doesn't even have a nice smell, it just smells like off tea. This is the worst barrier healing product in my opinion."
"It's going to deal with the aftermath of exposure potentially, but there's nothing in here that's actually stopping it. If blue light from screens wasn't a real issue, I wouldn't even recommend this brand to be honest with you because there's no protection in here. It's like sitting out in the sun all day with no sunscreen on, going back home and applying an antioxidant serum and thinking it's going to reverse all the damage you did. That's what this product is doing."
"Clinique's Moisture Surge moisturizer has been a bestseller for them for years, but they have competition now and so many better products. There are plenty of brands offering more effective formulas at a lower price."
"When my research had a look at the reviews, the most recent eight reviews gave it a one-star rating. The ninth rating wasn't even that good, they gave it three stars. The next one was straight back to one star. The majority of those reviews even claimed that the product made their eyelid swollen and itchy, or they even suffered some kind of chemical burn from using it. Those definitely aren't the kind of results that you'd expect from a luxury skincare product you paid hundreds of dollars for."
What should you take from James Welsh's picks?
For James Welsh, a moisturizer's main job is to support the skin barrier. Price matters far less to him than what is actually in the formula. He named the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion his category winner. It shows most clearly what he looks for.
Watch James Welsh say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing LotionNamed a winnerWatch at 15:01
- Murad Cellular Hydration Barrier Repair CreamSkipped itWatch at 21:48
- RFLCT Screen Shield Defense MoisturizerSkipped itWatch at 19:38
- Clinique Moisture Surge 100H Auto-Replenishing HydratorSkipped itWatch at 24:00
- La Mer Eye Concentrate CreamSkipped itWatch at 28:55
- Clinique Clarifying Lotion OneSkipped itWatch at 3:38
- Pacifica Future Youth Daily Turnaround Hydrating MoisturizerSkipped itWatch at 8:18
- Herbivore Botanicals Pink Cloud Moisture CreamSkipped itWatch at 12:12
- First Aid Beauty Coconut Water CreamSkipped itWatch at 11:27
- Purito Dermide Relief Barrier MoisturizerSkipped itWatch at 12:42
- First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair CreamSkipped itWatch at 11:14
- BYOMA Moisturizing Gel CreamSkipped itWatch at 46:49
- Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré (Radiant Complexion Cream)Skipped itWatch at 14:00
- The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HASkipped itWatch at 9:53
- Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide CreamSkipped itWatch at 8:58
- SKKN Face Cream Firming MoisturizerSkipped itWatch at 10:13
- La Mer Crème de la Mer Moisturizing CreamSkipped itWatch at 3:44
- Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Whipped Cream Rescue & Recovery MoisturizerSkipped itWatch at 8:58
- Tatcha Water Cream Oil-Free Pore Minimizing MoisturizerSkipped itWatch at 9:21
- Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour CreamRated itWatch at 25:35
- Rhode Barrier Butter Intensive Moisture BalmRated itWatch at 12:45
- Real Barrier Extreme CreamRated itWatch at 19:08
- Kate Somerville Peptide K8 Power CreamRated itWatch at 21:40
- The INKEY List Omega Water CreamRated itWatch at 13:35
About this expert
See everything James Welsh has reviewed
Expert rankings
Related guides
This guide reflects what James Welsh said across his videos about 58 products in moisturizers, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The approval rate is the share of these products he approved. It is general information, not medical advice.