Face moisturizer protects your skin and fortifies its natural moisture barrier, making it a critical part of your daily skin care regimen. Niche luxury beauty products, which can cost as much as $100 or more, make big, tempting promises about anti-aging, brightening or ultra-plumping properties, but are they any better than what you can find in a drug or big-box store — for far less? Skin care experts say that, in most cases, probably not. On first glance, the ingredients of three top-selling Sephora moisturizers — Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Moisturizer (1.
6 oz., $56), Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream (1.69 oz.
, $69) and Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream (1.7 oz., $39) are remarkably similar to drugstore staple Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer (3 oz.
, $13) — with glycerin, hyaluronic acid, water, cetearyl alcohol and ceramides. “The base ingredients in drugstore and luxury brand facial moisturizers are the same. The differences are additives and packaging,” says Michele Green, a cosmetic dermatologist in New York who spent five years as an industry consultant.
Even so, she adds, “luxury brands do tend to be formulated with more potent, unique skin care ingredients.” But while the quality and amounts of the active ingredients may differ, it’s not enough to make a difference for most people. The exceptions, she says, are people who have a skin condition such as rosacea or eczema.
“Fundamentally, this is all about hydrating your face and locking in moistur.