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e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Face Cream.

e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Face Cream
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Moisturizers
About this product

A peptide-based face moisturizer from e.l.f. designed to hydrate the skin, sold in both fragranced and fragrance-free versions.

Full ingredients

Water (Aqua), Isohexadecane, Stearyl Heptanoate, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Isopropyl Isostearate, Niacinamide, Cetearyl Olivate, Trehalose, Squalane, Dimethicone, Stearic Acid, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Silica, Sodium Hyaluronate, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Panthenol (Vb5), Sorbitan Olivate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Polyethylene, Disodium EDTA, Polyacrylate-13, Polyisobutene, Polysorbate 20, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Fragrance (Parfum), Carbomer

More from e.l.f. 58 products · Guru Score 89% →

Guru Score

81%

Yay

7 experts · Moderate agreement

What the gurus are saying

Texture is what gurus keep returning to. It feels thick but rubs in easily and isn't greasy, which helps it hold its own against pricier creams. Nearly every take is warm about it for the price, and the fragrance-free version gets extra praise. The one caution is that some people broke out and got an itchy chin, so those prone to breakouts may want to try it on its own first.
Synthesized from 7 expert reviews · most recent take December 2024

What they liked

  • Lightweight, not greasy
  • Fragrance-free option available
  • Affordable price

What they flagged

    Nothing. None of the experts who reviewed it raised a problem.

    Best for

    Type

    MoisturizersCream

    Formula notes

    Contains fragranceNo drying alcohol

    Where to buy

    Opens a store search. We may earn from these links.

    Scan it in the shopFree iPhone app. Scores in the aisle.

    What the gurus are saying.

    Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

    All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored
    Caroline Hirons
    Caroline Hirons
    250k subs
    ✓Yay
    "Elf, I love elf. [...] elf completely, 100% that Holy Hydration range is amazing and they do great dupes."
    All 2 takes from Caroline Hirons
    S2 Ep12: Nadine Baggott and Caroline Hirons Answer Your Questions
    "I love elf. [...] elf completely 100% that Holy Hydration range is amazing and they do great dupes."
    Listener's Questions w/ Nadine Baggott!
    "Elf, I love elf. [...] elf completely, 100% that Holy Hydration range is amazing and they do great dupes."
    Robert Welsh
    Robert Welsh
    1.11M subs
    ✓Yay
    "The e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Face Cream is beautiful because it's not too heavy."
    HotandFlashy
    HotandFlashy
    1.23M subs
    ✓Yay
    "There's also this E.L.F holy hydration cream which contains niacinamide, glycerin and hyaluronic acid as well. These are three great things to add to your skin care."
    All 9 takes from HotandFlashy
    Top Tretinoin Tips! 5 Ways To Use Tretinoin Without Irritation!
    "My current favorite heavier weight moisturizer is elf holy hydration. I love this one. It has got so many really great ingredients in it but it is so mild and soothing and gentle."
    EASY 3-Step Anti-Aging Skincare Routine! For Mature Skin, Beginners, Over 50!
    "Very similar but at a lower price point is the Elf Holy Hydration Face Cream. Both of these are available in a fragrance free version, so I love both of those."
    Talkin' Trash! Love IT or Leave IT Skincare, Haircare, & Makeup!
    "This is the fragrance-free version and this has many of the same ingredients as the BodyMary and also most of the same ingredients as the Olay Regenerist, which are niacinamide, a peptide, glycerin, and hyaluronic acid. This is a really lovely cream."
    Top 6 Tips for Reducing Wrinkles! Skincare, Devices, Lifestyle, Procedures!
    "There's also this E.L.F holy hydration cream which contains niacinamide, glycerin and hyaluronic acid as well. These are three great things to add to your skin care."
    Best BUDGET Anti-Aging Skincare from the Drugstore!
    "My current favorite peptide niacinamide glycerin cream to use is from E.L.F. It's their Holy Hydration Face Cream. I love that it comes in a fragrance-free version. This is my night cream that I use every night. It is so soothing and so nice feeling on the skin, and it doesn't make any of my other products ball and pill. This is pretty much the last step in my nighttime skincare routine, and it's very, very inexpensive."
    DRY Winter SKIN Tips! These SAVED My Skin! Body + Face!
    "Two of my favorites for a really emollient night cream [...] are the Elf Holy Hydration Fragrance Free Space Cream. They're both very very hydrating."
    Anti-Aging EVENING Skincare Routine | Over 60 | Fall 2022
    "I have been using the E.l.f. Skin Holy Hydration Face Cream, [...] fragrance-free version. This is a really great face cream that has all the same things in it that the Olay does. It's got niacinamide, a couple of peptides, green tea, and hyaluronic acid, so it brings everything to the table that the Olay did but much much cheaper. It's a really great feeling cream and I love that it's fragrance-free."
    Faves + Fails | ILIA Skin Tint, L'Oreal Balm, Vegan Lipstick, The Greatest Face Cream of All Time?!?
    "It feels more watery and liquidy when you're rubbing it in than the Olay creams do. So I would recommend this more for people who have more oily skin, normal skin, combo skin as an overnight moisturizer. People with drier skin might not love this as an overnight moisturizer, but I think it's a really good product. It's fragrance free."
    Top Skincare Products for Spring & Summer 2022! Lighten Up for Spring!
    "If I wanted to lighten that up for the spring and summer what I would switch to is the e.l.f. Holy Hydration Face Cream. This is more of like a gel cream consistency. It's very lightweight, a lot lighter weight than the Olay but it has all the same ingredients. It's got niacinamide, peptides, hyaluronic acid, and glycerin. This is an awesome lightweight cream that you could use as your night cream."
    Doctorly
    Doctorly
    3.59M subs
    ✓Yay
    "It's interesting, it's just like, subjectively the texture is dynamite. It matches very closely those very fine, more like middle, higher end facial moisturizers that you can find. So texturally I just think it delivers, it blows it up. It has hydrating ingredients, it has peptides, and for the price point it just nails it for me. It's been something I've been obsessed with for a little bit here. I'll probably get bored with it, but right now I love it, it's so good."
    All 3 takes from Doctorly
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    "It's interesting, it's just like, subjectively the texture is dynamite. It matches very closely those very fine, more like middle, higher end facial moisturizers that you can find. So texturally I just think it delivers, it blows it up. It has hydrating ingredients, it has peptides, and for the price point it just nails it for me. It's been something I've been obsessed with for a little bit here. I'll probably get bored with it, but right now I love it, it's so good."
    Skincare Splurge/Save? Glycerin the New HA? Selena Gomez & TikTok Culture | Doctorly Unhinged EP #5
    "Elf is a good example where their hydration moisturizer is really nice. [...] You can get a very nice moisturizer for that dry skin."
    Skincare Dupes, Medical Tourism, Ramadan Benefits, & Allergen of the Year | Doctorly Unhinged EP #6
    "The e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Face Cream is a peptide cream that I'm obsessed with. I've had it on my shelf for years and I'm just obsessed with it. It comes in both fragrance and fragrance-free versions, and the fragrance-free one is amazing."
    Cassandra Bankson
    Cassandra Bankson
    2.46M subs
    ✓Mixed
    "I do like it and it's really good for the price. I didn't even know the ELF had skincare. Although it wasn't bad for me, some people they know likey likey, like not at all. One reviewer said if you want to break out, buy it. [...] I used it and thought that it was so good but I couldn't quite pinpoint what was making me break out until I used it by itself. I ended up with so many pimples on my forehead and my cheeks and on my nose. On top of that, it made my chin itch like crazy."
    Dr Dray
    Dr Dray
    2.69M subs
    ✓Yay
    "e.l.f. also makes a Holy Hydration Face Cream that is pretty affordable."
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    "e.l.f. also makes a Holy Hydration Face Cream that is pretty affordable."
    NYC | Skincare at Glowbar 😊 The Roxy Hotel 🏨 Manhatta 🍽 Boat tour 🗽@DrDrayzday
    "I brought this e.l.f. Holy Hydration Cream with me. It's a great budget friendly find, it has hemp seed oil in it which [...] may have some antioxidants, and I also like that it's fragrance free. [...] I really like it a lot, and it's really affordable."
    MIND BLOWN BY SKIN CARE AT ULTA IN TARGET 🛍 DERMATOLOGIST
    "I like the Holy Hydration cream, it's quite good."
    How to fix DRY WRINKLES ON FACE, UNDER EYES, LIPS, & HANDS | Dr Dray
    "If you put a blindfold on and put this on your face you would think you were using some really expensive moisturizer, but you don't need to be blowing through your bank account on expensive moisturizers. [...] You can tap it around the delicate skin of the eyelids to improve the look of those little fine wrinkles."
    How to STOP GETTING SHINY SKIN | Dr Dray
    "It also has some peptides in it which are good for plumping up the skin, and it's got aluminum starch which can help in degreasing the skin and absorbing excess oil. It has dimethicone too, so this is a really good moisturizer for people who have oily skin prone to looking shiny. It is a thick cream though, and [...] some people find that thicker creams make them feel overheated, which can [...] make your skin [...] look shiny right away."
    The Budget Dermatologist
    The Budget Dermatologist
    724k subs
    ✓Yay
    "e.l.f. has the Holy Hydration Face Cream in the fragrance-free version and that's amazing and very affordable."
    Sponsored
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    "e.l.f. has the Holy Hydration Face Cream in the fragrance-free version and that's amazing and very affordable."
    Skincare Under $15! | The Budget Dermatologist
    "This is really hydrating, it's [...] a cream form, [...] it's thick but it rubs in really nicely and easily, it's lightweight and it's not greasy. Really all skin types can use this but I like to use it for the nights when I'm feeling a little more dry. It's great for the fall and the winter or year-round if you just have dry or sensitive skin. This is an incredible product and it's only twelve dollars."
    My Top BUDGET Sunscreen Pick! | The Budget Dermatologist
    "Another current favorite moisturizer that is super effective for an extremely good price is the E.l.f. Holy Hydration Face Cream. This is what I am currently using at night right now and I highly recommend this one."

    What the evidence says.

    Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

    Niacinamide

    Niacinamide has evidence behind it for redness, uneven tone and supporting the skin barrier, and it is usually well tolerated even by skin that reacts to most things.

    Source: DermNet

    Humectants and emollients

    Ingredients like these draw water into the surface layers and slow how fast it leaves. The evidence is for comfort, softness and hydration rather than for changing the structure of the skin.

    Source: DermNet

    Peptides

    Peptides are short protein fragments meant to signal repair. The evidence for them is thinner than for retinoids or vitamin C, and it varies a lot by the specific peptide, so the category is more promising than proven.

    Source: NIH, National Library of Medicine

    Frequently asked.

    What is e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Face Cream?

    A peptide-based face moisturizer from e.l.f. designed to hydrate the skin, sold in both fragranced and fragrance-free versions.

    Is e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Face Cream worth it?

    Mostly yes. 6 of the 7 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 81%.

    What is e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Face Cream's Guru Score?

    e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Face Cream holds a Guru Score of 81%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 7 expert reviewers we have collected.

    Who is e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Face Cream best for?

    e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Face Cream is generally suited to dry skin.

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