The 10 Absolute Best Moisturizers to Use During Winter
It happens like clockwork: every winter, I’ll be at the sink, removing my makeup, and there it is—the undeniable realization that something’s off with my skin. Two or three weeks into the season, I start overanalyzing the situation. Could the culprit be my all-chocolate diet? Too much wine? Not enough sleep? But deep down, I know the truth. Wintertime has simply sucked the life out of my face. While hydration starts from within (electrolyte drinks are your best ally, never forget that), your skin also needs a more potent topical solution in colder climes. Enter W magazine’s handpicked selection of excellent face creams. These high-performance, top-tier moisturizers are the very best to restore, replenish, and protect, so your face can survive the season without looking like it’s been through a blizzard.
Crème de La Mer is the number-one choice for luxurious, all-day hydration, especially when cold weather depletes the skin’s natural moisture. While countless “rich” and “ultimate” creams have come and gone in the past few years, none can rival the formula powered by La Mer’s proprietary Miracle Broth, a true skincare staple. One application delivers lasting results, making it the ultimate indulgence for day or night.
Sublimage is like the ultimate winter coat (couture of course,) for your face: luxurious, protective when the cold hits, and always impossibly chic. Packed with the brand’s miracle vanilla planifolia extract, this product hydrates, strengthens the skin’s barrier, and keeps your complexion plump and youthful.
You’ll savor every bit of this moisturizer, ensuring not a speck of the luxurious cream goes to waste. Dior Prestige La Crème is worth its weight in gold, because each precious pat of moisturizer delivers deep hydration thanks to a powerful formula comprised of rose peptide.
Beauty editors love this moisturizer for good reason. Skinceuticals’s Triple Lipid Restore Cream will be your winter skin’s new best friend. Think of it as a healing yet protective fortress for your face. The ratio of ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids helps restore your skin’s natural barrier, locking in moisture and keeping out the cold. Ceramides and cholesterol are essential for maintaining the skin’s structure and hydration, so this moisturizer isn’t just a quick fix—it’s a long-term solution to keep your face smooth, protected, and ready for whatever winter throws your way.
Simply put, this product is very good, and we were very impressed, quite honestly. Here is proof you can find excellent skincare that doesn’t break the bank: Rhode’s Barrier Restore Cream is light, contains effective peptides, and glides on the skin. As an added bonus, niacinamide in the formulation gives a nice, even texture to your face.
This Sisley cream is basically an insurance policy for your face—one you’ll gladly renew every winter, because the results are worth it. While the price might make you pause, this product is more than worth it. It shields skin from environmental stressors, keeping you hydrated and protected from the grime left on skin that can build up during the winter months. Sisley uses its highest-grade formulation of marshmallow polysaccharides (for moisture and an even skin tone), dandelion (for anti aging and UV protection, though technically not a sunscreen, thanks to U.S. regulations), and white willow, one of the best botanical extracts to soothe the face.
Here’s some straight talk: this is one of the best face creams, and once you’re hooked, nothing else compares. SK-II’s face cream is globally revered for its unparalleled hydration, with the highest concentration of their signature Pitera, a potent yeast ferment derived from rice water that nourishes the face, accelerating skin renewal, and helping you maintain a luminous complexion all year long. (We love to apply it on long flights for added hydration in a dry atmosphere).
A hidden gem, Vivoderm’s luxurious cream has been a favorite for over 65 years, yet it remains the best-kept secret in skincare. Formulated by dermatologists, this is a masterful blend of nature’s most potent botanicals—chamomile, comfrey root, and aloe vera—that work together to deeply hydrate, soothe, and heal, making it ideal for post-laser care and other skin treatments. Its rich yet lightweight texture absorbs effortlessly, leaving the skin soft, calm, and rejuvenated without feeling heavy.
The latest skincare technology relies on all of the gifts our earth has to offer. Sweet Chemistry’s face cream utilizes naturally derived regenerative peptides extracted from bones. These peptides have superior bioavailability compared to synthetic ones, and have been clinically proven to support tissue regeneration and repair. Paired with the brand’s Oil-Serum Infusion, your skin looks fuller and bouncier, yielding a luminous glow during the colder months, when skin tends to appear lackluster.
This face moisturizer delivers instant and rich hydration without the hefty price tag (your skin deserves the best, and your wallet needn’t struggle.) The formula acts as a humectant for your dermal layers, and also works nicely with a retinol.
