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Liquid Gold.

Stratia Liquid Gold

About this product

A barrier repair moisturizer with niacinamide, ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids designed to hydrate, soothe, and strengthen the skin barrier.

Type

Key actives

Formula notes

Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

Full ingredients

Guru Score

88%

Approved

4 experts · Moderate agreement
4Gurus
4Approved
0Mixed
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What the gurus are saying

The 5% niacinamide concentration paired with ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids earns consistent praise for strengthening the skin barrier and calming sensitivity without irritation. Experts find it hydrating enough to work as a standalone moisturizer for those with dry or compromised skin, though those with skin that does not lean dry may not need it as a dedicated step. Many gurus suggest layering it with oils to reduce thickness while maintaining barrier support.
Synthesized from 4 expert reviews · most recent take August 2026
Every take, in full

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 Approved takes Critical takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored
Approved
"Stratia's Liquid Gold is a forever favorite. I'm now on my last one and hoping it lasts until their sale, but if it doesn't I'll bite the bullet because it's not that expensive, twenty seven dollars for one point seven fluid ounces."
Top Pick: moisturizer
All 11 takes from AliceintheRabbitHole
I Quit Niacinamide. My skin got better...
"Stratia Liquid Gold is one of my most beloved skincare products of all time, and it made my skin better for years. Then one day it seemed like it wasn't working anymore and I noticed it was stinging my skin. It turns out the issue is that it contains niacinamide, and I don't do well with high strength niacinamide once it stacks up from using it in multiple products at once. So it's not that the product betrayed me, it's that I have to be careful not to overuse niacinamide, and I think that's the answer to why it seemingly stopped working for me."
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"This and my Regella Essence absolutely are my top two products of all time, just one hundred percent. This is one of those products where the more I use it, the more I love it, and that speaks for itself."
Skincare Empties! TONS of sunscreen (predictably)
"Stratia's Liquid Gold is a forever favorite. I'm now on my last one and hoping it lasts until their sale, but if it doesn't I'll bite the bullet because it's not that expensive, twenty seven dollars for one point seven fluid ounces."
BEST Affordable Skincare of 2024 (I Like Saving Money)
"For moisturizer I have a tie, and one of them is Stratia Liquid Gold. I know this is a little more expensive than most of the products in this video, but to me, as somebody with sensitive, difficult skin, this is so worth it. It's such a restorative and reparative product, I love it so much. The only catches are that you might not like the smell, it's a smell of natural oils that some people are over at this point, and even though it's called a moisturizer, I find it too lightweight for my dry skin on its own, so I use it as the first step in my adapalene sandwich."
Skincare EMPTIES! Lots of HGs to end the year!
"This is from Stratia, one of my holy grail products, it's now been renamed from Liquid Gold to Lipid Gold. It's a restorative and reparative lightweight moisturizer that I almost treat more like a serum, I like to use this as the first step in my retinoid sandwich."
Anti-Aging AND Acne-Fighting Skincare Routine: How I Use Adapalene!
"Let's do the sandwich, starting with Lipid Gold, my absolute favorite repairing moisturizer. I'll call it a moisturizer, but I treat it more like a heavier serum, a lightweight moisturizer in my mind. It's an absolutely amazing product for strengthening your skin for repair. It does have a naturally unscented smell, not as bad as some unscented products. This right here never irritates my skin, it always helps improve my skin, it's truly such a special product."
My FAVORITE Skincare Brands (& Products!)
"I love this brand so much, not only has it absolutely helped with improving my skin, Liquid Gold is by far my absolute favorite product, one of my absolute favorite moisturizers, my most favorite repairing product. Nothing has ever repaired my skin as well as Liquid Gold. Every single product this brand has ever released has had so much thought put into it, and while not every product is a perfect match for my preferences, this is still my favorite brand."
How I Save Money on Skincare: the PRODUCTS vs the INGREDIENTS I need
"This is Stratia Lipid Gold, formerly called Liquid Gold. I haven't been using it as much lately because there are new barrier boosting products I'm testing, but there is nothing else on the market quite like it. Ceramides are easy to find and there's no shortage of niacinamide in skincare, but this is special because it's the full formulation, and it's also a fully fragrance free product. I do think some people might not like the smell, since even a fragrance free product still has a smell, but for me when my barrier is compromised that's a good time to go fragrance free. It's just a product I always know I can rely on, and I won't go without it."
Best Moisturizers for Dry Skin | 2023 Best Skincare Products
"Lipid Gold, formerly called Liquid Gold, has been one of my favorites for years. I used to think of it more as a serum for my skin type. It has a skin strengthening, ceramide lipid rich formula. The one con I used to have with it on its own is that it looks a little yellow, not because they added dyes but because the skin strengthening ingredients in it are yellow."
Barrier Repair Routine - My Tried & True Products to Restore my Skin!
"The other product in the egg is Liquid Gold, it has a new name now, Lipid Gold. On their own these are incredible products, together I feel like you really do get the best of both worlds. I'm into the egg, I love the egg."
Best AFFORDABLE Skincare Products: What WORKED for me!
"This contains sea buckthorn, a wonderful restoring oil, rosehip oil, niacinamide, and ceramides in that golden ratio. It all comes together to make truly an incredible repairing product no matter how wrecked my moisture barrier is, and I have wrecked it a few times. This always calms it, always speeds up that process of repair. It is a phenomenal product from a small science focused brand."
Approved
"I absolutely love the Stratia Liquid Gold. This has been a favorite of mine for years, it was one of the first products I spoke about here on the channel when I set it up 5 years ago, still going strong. [...] This product has that 5% niacinamide which is perfection, but it's also got all those lipids, those ceramides, those other barrier boosting ingredients. If your skin is going through it at the moment, maybe you know we're coming out of winter here in the northern hemisphere, your skin might be dry, sensitive, and you want to get it in tiptop health for the summer, this product is a must have. It is amazing, feels beautiful on the skin, uses that niacinamide responsibly alongside some other amazing ingredients, and it's super affordable. [...] Use it as your moisturizer, this is so hydrating. Most of us can do without having a moisturizer after. Use this as like a barrier boosting niacinamide serum and a moisturizer all in one. An absolute favorite of mine."
All 3 takes from Mad About Skin
SKINCARE LIVE - Celebrating 5 Years On YouTube
"I ended up swapping out of the Stratia Liquid Gold which by the way is gorgeous. I love both of those, both are so so good."
NIACINAMIDE - The Biggest Lie In Skincare (What We Now Know)
"I absolutely love the Stratia Liquid Gold. This has been a favorite of mine for years, it was one of the first products I spoke about here on the channel when I set it up 5 years ago, still going strong. [...] This product has that 5% niacinamide which is perfection, but it's also got all those lipids, those ceramides, those other barrier boosting ingredients. If your skin is going through it at the moment, maybe you know we're coming out of winter here in the northern hemisphere, your skin might be dry, sensitive, and you want to get it in tiptop health for the summer, this product is a must have. It is amazing, feels beautiful on the skin, uses that niacinamide responsibly alongside some other amazing ingredients, and it's super affordable. [...] Use it as your moisturizer, this is so hydrating. Most of us can do without having a moisturizer after. Use this as like a barrier boosting niacinamide serum and a moisturizer all in one. An absolute favorite of mine."
SKINCARE FAVOURITES WE FORGOT - What Happened To These?
"The Liquid Gold, it's just that it's Liquid Gold in a bottle. It hydrates, it nourishes, it calms. It comes in a great pump, it looks beautiful, it's ticking every single box. If you're looking for extra hydration and calming and soothing at the same time, this is a really great moisturizer. I'd say it's kind of a moisturizer serum hybrid. It's not as thick as some moisturizers, but it definitely has a thickness that maybe doesn't align with serum, so it's somewhere in between. Definitely the standout of their collection."
Approved
"This is by Stratia, it's their Liquid Gold. [...] It's a barrier repair cream and it just happens to have some of my favorite soothing ingredients like camellia sinensis in it as well. There is niacinamide, and I suspect my skin can handle this now, and I'm right. I'm not feeling any sting or tingle from it, so that's good."
All 2 takes from Mixed Makeup
Microneedling Treatment u0026 Cosmelan Peel For My Melasma! | Susan Yara
"This is by Stratia, it's their Liquid Gold. [...] It's a barrier repair cream and it just happens to have some of my favorite soothing ingredients like camellia sinensis in it as well. There is niacinamide, and I suspect my skin can handle this now, and I'm right. I'm not feeling any sting or tingle from it, so that's good."
New Skincare Products I’m Trying: Youth to the People, Versed, and More! | Susan Yara
"I think that people with really sensitive skin could use this product. It has nice oils in it, it has niacinamide in it so you're actually even getting a brightening effect to your skin, but people don't realize that niacinamide does so much more and it actually helps to strengthen your skin barrier as well. So this is just a really nice product. It's got this beautiful gold tone to it too."
Approved
"I've been using this since 2018, when I had damaged my skin barrier and was struggling to heal it. This is the product that not only healed my skin barrier but really helped me learn about the skin barrier, the ceramides, the cholesterol, and the fatty acids, it opened up my mind and my education toward skin barrier health and healing. When you're a skin influencer testing a lot of products, not all of them are good, so sometimes I run into mild irritation from products I'm testing for content, and this is a safety blanket but also a skin rescuer. I love having this in my routine constantly, it is really a foundational part of my routine."
Sponsored
All 23 takes from Kelly Driscoll
Barrier Repair on a Budget: $50 Core Routine (+ $75 Complete Upgrade)
"Stratia Liquid Gold retails for $28, and this is really great if your skin is a little bit on the drier side. This is the product that actually helped me heal my skin barrier back in 2018, and I really do stand by this product."
GLOW UP OVERNIGHT! PM Skincare Routine for Plump, Glowing, Glass Skin in the AM!
"I have been doing some version of this barrier care step in my routine for eight years. It's been a really long time using Stratia Liquid Gold, but it really is my ride or die for my skin barrier. I love this product, and I especially like to incorporate it into my routines right alongside the exfoliation from the AHA and BHA, like [...] my retinoids. It just really keeps my skin nice and strong. The oil also helps to condition my skin, make it really nice and smooth and moisturized and supple, and that goes a long way for that glow in the morning, but also immediately as I apply this to my skin."
My End of Winter Retinal PM Skincare Routine
"It is incredibly barrier supportive, which is another thing that I keep my eye on in the winter because it will definitely go a little bit weak, especially with the retinol use. So this just keeps my skin in good shape. And I just really like the amount of moisture that it brings to my skin. [...] The Stratia Liquid Gold really does help to repair that skin when it's in that peeling state as well. Right now it's a maintenance product for me and it just feels really good, but it can also come to the rescue if your skin needs a little extra TLC, especially with barrier care."
Sick Skincare Go To's
"This is what I had, this is what I was using, and this is what got me through it. It worked perfectly. It's a bonus too that it's a really gentle, simple product. The ingredients are very minimal, and so my skin was feeling a little bit more sensitive so this really helped. I just did about two layers, so after toner I will mix Stratia Liquid Gold with the Stratia Fortify Oil."
How I Started YouTube, My 12 Year Journey | Chatty AM Skincare
"I'm doing one pump of Stratia Liquid Gold and then three drops of the Fortify Facial Oil mixed together for all that good barrier support."
My EVERYTHING Skincare and Self Care Snow Day! | AD ft iRESTORE
"Stratia Liquid Gold is all about those three ingredients, ceramides, cholesterol, fatty acids, plus there's 4% of niacinamide. I can't skip that step because this is what keeps my skin barrier strong, and keeping my skin barrier strong really helps to resist dehydration. [...] Ultimately, to resist dehydration you need to keep your skin barrier strong. This is [...] what keeps my skin really strong, resists the dehydration, keeps it really nice and moisturized."
Melt the Day Away | Calming Skincare Routine
"[Stratia] lipid gold are you surprised I know you are not so I do about a pump of Liquid Gold"
PM Routine w/ Tret | What Well-Aging Means to Me
"I love this stuff I use it every single routine. [...] I just mixed three drops of oil [...] into a pump of Stratia Liquid Gold and then I apply it that way. My skin just accepts these layers when they're mixed together a lot better than if I were to do a layer of like an emollient cream and then an oil on top it would just feel too thick for my skin. This way when I mix it I get all of that nourishing goodness and comfort but without a lot of thickness or greasiness on my skin."
Rating My Empty Skincare with Emojis! 😍💩😒
"Stratia Liquid Gold, I'm going to rate it with a heart eyes emoji because how many of these have I emptied since 2018? This has never been out of my skincare routine. [...] I tried to not buy it, I tried to use something else in its place, and I was like I'm irresponsible, I'm gonna save money, I don't need to buy it right now. Yeah no, it only lasted about three days and I put my order in."
Tips for Using Tretinoin in Winter | AD ft Dermatica
"Stratia Liquid Gold is something I've been using for so many years I swear by this product. It has ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids, which are the three main elements found in the skin barrier, so I always like to use skincare products that have these three ingredients in them [...] to keep my barrier strong."
11/10 ⭐ Skincare Empties I Recommend!
"Stratia Liquid Gold, I've been using this since 2018. There's not much I can say, it's definitely an 11 out of 10. I do find their products to be on the gentler side, but there is something about this one that is very robust, very effective, and works very fast. I have mad respect for this product, it's probably one of my favorite products."
4 Steps to Glowing Skin in Winter
"I really landed on Stratia Liquid Gold. This is really the product that I credit for really helping me get back on track. They're using ceramides, cholesterol and fatty acids. They've also included other helpful ingredients like 4% niacinamide as well as sea buckthorn, which can be really moisturizing and very strengthening for the skin. I personally like to use this like a serum or an emulsion in my skincare routine. I top it off with another moisturizer because it's not enough to protect my particular skin type, it's too light, but I use it like a treatment step or a serum in my skincare routine to keep my barrier strong and then I put another moisturizer on top. So it's pretty flexible on how you use it, but it is really just the special Goldilocks formula that really helped me heal my skin, and I'm very passionate about this product."
THIS is What I Do Weekly for Bright & Glowy Skin!
"Stratia Liquid Gold is all about keeping your skin barrier strong with ceramides, cholesterol, fatty acids, some niacinamide, and some sea buckthorn, which is where it gets that golden color from. I've been doing this mixture of Stratia with some form of oil, often their oil, since 2018 because it keeps my barrier really strong. Back in 2018 I damaged my moisture barrier very badly, and that was probably the worst skin I've ever had because my barrier wasn't functioning, my skin was really dull, really red and inflamed because it was so dehydrated. These types of ingredients and products can actually make the difference between just merely clear skin and really healthy, youthful, dewy, glowy skin."
Only 5 Products? Skincare I'm Taking to a Deserted Island
"I have been using this, I legitimately have not stopped using this since 2018. [...] I originally started using it when my barrier was damaged and it really helped my skin heal up. [...] I keep it in my routine to keep my barrier strong. Absolutely ceramides, cholesterol, fatty acids, my skin thrives on them. [...] I really like to have that foundation of ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids in any product in my routine. This is a great one, but it also has some other great ingredients in here that are fantastic for well aging, with a really heavy focus on antioxidancy. Buckthorn in here really brings the beautiful golden color but also it brings that antioxidant protection and also has some capabilities for helping with the complexion and brightening it up just a little bit. This also contains four percent of niacinamide, so talking about brightening benefits, but it's also the percentage that's great for stimulating collagen production on the skin. It's also the percentage that's great for supporting your skin's moisture barrier."
My Most Repurchased Skincare | 2024 Edition
"I have been loving this product since 2018. [...] I bought this when my moisture barrier was super duper messed up, it was incredibly damaged. I had used way too many actives, I had thrown way too much new stuff at my skin, I was pushing my skin way too hard and my skin was like enough. My barrier was so damaged, my skin was so irritated, it was so red, it was so inflamed. I was getting the worst breakouts and my skin just looked terrible too. It felt worse than it looked but it looked really bad."
I'm Breaking Out! Routine for Breakouts and Hyperpigmentation
"Liquid Gold is a formula that's really emollient, it's got some great moisture in it, and it really does promote healing and barrier strengthening. I've been doing this for my skin for years and it really works. It's not going to be for everybody, and it isn't necessarily a big part of an acne treatment routine, but my skin has been accepting it really well."
5 HG's for Eczema Flare-Ups! | AD ft Stratia
"The formula delivers so many beautiful lipids, ceramides, cholesterol, fatty acids right into our skin to really help fortify that moisture barrier. I do always talk about Liquid Gold in the context of how it can help to strengthen or heal a weak or damaged moisture barrier. When you do have eczema-prone skin you are probably more prone to a weak moisture barrier, and I have personally made that link between the times where my barrier is feeling more weak where my flareups are more likely to happen. So part of my strategy to managing my eczema skin and helping to prevent flareups is keeping that moisture barrier really strong. [...] For me personally, as we're going into the colder drier temperatures, [...] those fluctuations and that dry cold air really do test my moisture barrier, really do increase that transepidermal water loss. When my skin is dehydrated, when it is dry, when that barrier is not helping to keep all of that hydration into my skin, I am more prone to having flareups. The majority of my flareups do happen in the wintertime, so I do like to make sure that I'm building in those beautiful lipids again, ceramides, cholesterol, fatty acids to keep my barrier strong."
Stress-Free AM and PM Summer Skincare Routine
"At night time it's really not negotiable, I really love this product so much. I [...] use one pump of this, and it's ceramides, cholesterol, fatty acids, with four percent niacinamide in here, sea buckthorn, that's where you get that really beautiful golden color, [...] which is a fantastic antioxidant for your skin. It's all about protecting your skin, strengthening your skin, and of course helping with some well aging too."
If I was repairing my skin barrier today I'd use...
"Stratia Liquid Gold has got to be the first one that I mentioned because that is actually truly the product that I used in 2018. This is the product that helped me through when my barrier was like non-existent and completely damaged. It is a really good mix of barrier strengthening and healing ingredients: the ceramides, the cholesterol, the fatty acids, we also have some niacinamide in here, we have panthenol, we have squalane, we have sea buckthorn. There's a lot of really great emollient ingredients in here that offer a lot of that comforting moisture and nourishment to the skin. If you're feeling very dry, that really helped to ease that discomfort from moving my face and my skin, but it really did help to strengthen my moisture barrier as well. This is like a serum lotion hybrid product you can use it a couple of different ways. If your barrier is damaged though, I would highly suggest you use this as a serum, not as a lotion or a moisturizer. You need something more occlusive on top of this because your barrier is not working the way it's supposed to. You need something to act as a temporary barrier."
Sensitive Skin SOS: When My Skin Isn't Broken But It's Not Happy (What I Do)
"This is Stratia Liquid Gold and I'm going to be combining that with The Ordinary Rose Hip Oil. Now, longtime viewers know I've been using this product from Stratia since 2018. [...] Why this product works so well? It is the combination of the ceramides, cholesterol, fatty acids, the three essential lipids that make up your skin barrier that are depleted when your skin barrier is weak or damaged or even slightly depleted when your skin is kind of reactive. You know, it healed my broken barrier, but I've also kept it in my skincare routine because I never want to go back because my skin is sensitive and can lean towards being reactive. It's very, very helpful in those situations, but I got to be real with you, it's a little bit of a safety blanket for me as well."
Full Day of Skincare! My Summer Weekend Skin, Hair and Makeup Routine! ☀️🌙
"I mix Stratia Liquid Gold with rose hip oil in the morning, even in summer, and [...] it really works for me. The barrier care aspect of the Liquid Gold, with its ceramides, cholesterol and fatty acids, really helps strengthen my skin when I am prone to dehydration. I am not recommending everybody use extra creams and oils in the morning, it is just what works for me."
How to Heal a Damaged Skin Barrier | The Complete 2026 Guide
"Stratia Liquid Gold is the product that healed my skin barrier back in 2018, the product that taught her what ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids are all about, the one she's trusted for eight years. It's built around the specific ratio that research supports for genuine barrier repair, ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids together in proportions that mirror what your skin actually needs. It's the backbone of her barrier repair routine and has been for eight years. It's a hybrid product that can be used as a serum or lotion, but if your skin barrier is damaged, you need to use it as a serum, not as a moisturizer, since it does not replace the moisturizer step."
8 Years of Skincare Testing These Are the Only 10 Products I'd Keep
"I've been using this since 2018, when I had damaged my skin barrier and was struggling to heal it. This is the product that not only healed my skin barrier but really helped me learn about the skin barrier, the ceramides, the cholesterol, and the fatty acids, it opened up my mind and my education toward skin barrier health and healing. When you're a skin influencer testing a lot of products, not all of them are good, so sometimes I run into mild irritation from products I'm testing for content, and this is a safety blanket but also a skin rescuer. I love having this in my routine constantly, it is really a foundational part of my routine."
Common questions

Frequently asked.

What is Stratia Liquid Gold?

A barrier repair moisturizer with niacinamide, ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids designed to hydrate, soothe, and strengthen the skin barrier.

Is Stratia Liquid Gold worth it?

Yes. All 4 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 88%.

What is Stratia Liquid Gold's Guru Score?

Stratia Liquid Gold holds a Guru Score of 88%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 4 expert reviewers we have collected. At least one expert has named it a Top Pick in its category.

Who is Stratia Liquid Gold best for?

Stratia Liquid Gold is generally suited to dry skin and sensitive skin.

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