The 8 Best Lightweight Hydrating Moisturisers for All Skin Types and Budgets – Perfect for Summer Skincare
When you’re creating your perfect summer skincare routine, hydration is just as important as sun protection. While SPF shields your skin from UV damage, a well-formulated lightweight moisturiser keeps your complexion balanced, radiant, and resilient even in the face of heat, humidity, and environmental stress.
During the warmer months, skin is exposed to more extremes like dry air and increased sun exposure, causing more sweat and increased oil production. This can lead to a range of concerns, including dehydration, congestion, breakouts, sensitivity and dullness. The key to maintaining your skin's health and glow is a high-performing hydrating moisturiser that feels light, absorbs quickly, and supports your skin barrier without overwhelming it.
In this guide, we’ve rounded up 8 of the best lightweight moisturisers that deliver deep hydration without heaviness. From gel-creams to oil-free water textures, these picks suit every skin type and budget. All packed with smart ingredients like hyaluronic acid, glycerin, ceramides and antioxidants, here’s how to help your skin thrive all summer long.
Why Is Hydration So Important for the Skin?
Hydration is one of the single most important foundations of healthy, resilient skin, and it becomes even more essential during the warmer months. As temperatures rise, we naturally lose more water through the skin, a process that increases transepidermal water loss (TEWL). This refers to the movement of water from the deeper layers of the skin up to the surface, where it evaporates.
While this is a normal biological response designed to help regulate hydration levels between the skin layers excessive TEWL can become a problem. When the skin continually draws water from its deeper reserves to replenish surface moisture, it places stress on the cells responsible for producing collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid. Over time, this depletion can lead to compromised skin barrier function, increased sensitivity, dullness, and premature signs of ageing.
Dehydrated skin also struggles to carry out essential renewal processes. Cell turnover slows down and leaves the complexion looking rough, uneven, or congested. This can affect how other skincare products perform and how well your skin responds to environmental stressors.
Ultimately, hydration is not just about how your skin feels; it directly impacts how your skin functions. Whether your skin is dry, oily, or combination, ensuring it’s adequately hydrated is crucial for maintaining long-term health, comfort, and glow.
Are Lightweight Moisturisers Still Effective?
Absolutely, lightweight moisturisers can be just as effective as richer creams when it comes to delivering hydration and supporting overall skin health. Thanks to advancements in formulation technology, lightweight doesn't mean less potent. These modern moisturisers may feel thinner in texture and absorb more quickly, but they’re designed to deeply hydrate the skin without heaviness or residue.
Many lightweight formulas are packed with high-performance ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, glycerin and aloe vera, which draw moisture into the skin and help retain it throughout the day. You’ll also often find barrier-supporting ingredients like ceramides and niacinamide included in these formulas, ensuring the skin remains hydrated and protected without the need for thick creams.
This makes lightweight moisturisers ideal for warmer climates, oily or combination skin types, or if you enjoy layering multiple products without that greasy feeling. You’re not compromising on hydration; you’re just getting a more wearable, elegant formula.
Lightweight moisturisers are the perfect solution for maintaining optimal skin hydration while keeping the skin feeling fresh, balanced, and comfortable.
What to Look for When Buying a Lightweight Moisturiser
A lightweight moisturiser should feel breathable and absorb quickly but shouldn’t skimp on hydration. The key is finding a formula that delivers moisture efficiently without feeling heavy or greasy on the skin.
Lightweight moisturisers often come in gel or gel-cream textures, which are especially beneficial in warmer months or if you have oily, combination, or acne-prone skin. Gel-creams offer the best of both worlds: the fast absorption of a gel paired with the long-lasting hydration of a cream. These textures work well under SPF and makeup, making them ideal for daytime use.
If you’re prone to shine or congestion in the summer, look for oil-free formulas. These won’t clog pores or contribute to excess oil production yet still provide sufficient hydration. This is thanks to humectants that draw moisture into the skin without adding weight, including hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and aloe vera.
You’ll also want to look for added barrier-supporting ingredients like ceramides, squalane, or niacinamide, which help strengthen the skin and prevent TEWL.
The ideal lightweight moisturiser should absorb quickly, feel fresh on the skin, and still deliver deep, lasting hydration with barrier support. The goal is comfort, hydration, and balance, not just minimal texture.
Humectants: The Unsung Heroes of Skin Hydration
Humectants are essential for restoring and maintaining skin hydration. These powerful ingredients work by drawing moisture from the environment or deeper layers of the skin into the uppermost layers, delivering immediate and long-lasting hydration.
One of the most well-known humectants is hyaluronic acid (HA), a naturally occurring molecule in the skin responsible for keeping it plump, smooth, and well-hydrated. However, our natural levels of HA begin to decline as we age. By your 30s, it’s estimated that you’ve already lost around 50% of your skin’s natural hyaluronic acid reserves, leading to visible signs of dehydration and a loss of firmness.
The good news? Hyaluronic acid can be reintroduced topically! High molecular weight HA sits on the skin’s surface, attracting water and giving an instant plumping effect. Low molecular weight HA penetrates deeper and may even help stimulate the skin’s own production of hyaluronic acid over time, supporting hydration at a cellular level.
While your skin continues to produce hyaluronic acid naturally, sun exposure, pollution, and free radical damage can impair this process, making topical replenishment even more crucial.
Other exceptional humectants include glycerin, panthenol (provitamin B5), aloe vera, and urea. These ingredients are effective in attracting moisture to the skin, improving suppleness, and enhancing the performance of other hydrating products in your routine.
Incorporating humectants into your skincare, especially through serums and moisturisers, is one of the fastest, most effective ways to boost hydration, support the skin barrier, and restore a healthy glow.
Best Under £15
e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Face Cream
e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Face Cream delivers optimal results and is packed with powerhouse ingredients. This lightweight, silky-soft moisturiser combines some of the most sought-after skincare actives to deliver hydration, barrier support, and anti-ageing benefits in one fuss-free formula.
Central to this cream is a high-performing trio: hyaluronic acid, peptides, and niacinamide.
Hyaluronic acid works to attract and retain moisture, leaving the skin plump and hydrated without any greasy residue.
Niacinamide (vitamin B3) helps to even skin tone and strengthen your skin barrier, making it ideal for all skin types including combination to oily skin during the warmer months.
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 and Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7 are wrinkle-fighting peptides that really set this moisturiser apart. Together, they support collagen production, reduce the appearance of fine lines, and improve overall skin elasticity.
To further enhance hydration and strengthen the skin barrier, the formula includes squalane; a lightweight emollient that mimics the skin’s natural oils to prevent moisture loss. As well as Vitamin B5 (panthenol), renowned for its soothing and conditioning benefits.
The texture is creamy but light, absorbing quickly and leaving the skin feeling smooth, supple, and perfectly prepped for SPF or makeup. Whether you're dealing with dryness, dullness, or early signs of ageing, this is a brilliant summer moisturiser that proves great skincare doesn't have to come with a luxury price tag.
Good to know: Vegan and cruelty-free, includes fragrance
Best Under £30
L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Filler Micro-Epidermic Hyaluronic Plumping Water Cream
If you’re after a lightweight moisturiser that delivers deep, long-lasting hydration and a visible plumping effect, L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Filler Micro-Epidermic Hyaluronic Plumping Water Cream is a standout. With its refreshing water-cream texture, it absorbs seamlessly into the skin, making it ideal for both hot summer days and dry winter months.
This formula is powered by dual-weight hyaluronic acid. Combining high molecular weight HA for surface hydration with low molecular weight HA that penetrates deeper into the skin to visibly plump and rehydrate from within. The result is smoother, bouncier skin with a fresh, dewy finish.
These ingredients not only support natural ceramide production, but also help reinforce the skin barrier, locking in moisture and preventing TEWL. This is especially beneficial if your skin is prone to dryness or dehydration.
The formula also features niacinamide, a multitasking ingredient known for brightening the complexion, improving texture, and soothing inflammation. This blend of hydrating and barrier-repairing ingredients makes the cream suitable for all skin types, even sensitive or compromised skin.
Whether your skin is dry from air conditioning, sun exposure, or seasonal changes, this Revitalift Filler Micro-Epidermic Hyaluronic Plumping Water Cream from L’Oréal delivers instant comfort and a healthy, hydrated glow. It’s a great choice for anyone seeking the plumping power of hyaluronic acid in a featherlight formula that still packs a punch.
Best Under £40
Belif The True Cream Aqua Bomb with Hyaluronic Acid and Niacinamide
Cooling, refreshing, and instantly hydrating, it’s no surprise that Belif’s True Cream Aqua Bomb has achieved cult status as the brand’s best-selling moisturiser. This gel-cream formula delivers an intense burst of hydration without any heaviness, making it ideal for warmer weather, or for anyone who prefers a lightweight texture without compromising performance.
Formulated with hyaluronic acid to attract and retain moisture, and niacinamide to help support the skin barrier and reduce redness, this moisturiser offers far more than a superficial hydration boost. It’s clinically proven to increase skin hydration by an impressive 231.4%, leaving skin feeling plump, dewy, and visibly more radiant.
With a silky, water-light texture, it melts into the skin and absorbs instantly, leaving no trace behind. It layers well under sunscreen and makeup, and is perfect for combination, oily, or dehydrated skin types that need deep hydration in a featherlight formula.
Whether you're prepping your skin for summer or just looking for serious hydration without weight, The True Cream Aqua Bomb is a standout option.
Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream
A true icon in the world of moisturisers, Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream is a fan favourite for a good reason. Reminiscent of the much-loved original Decléor Hydra Floral in terms of texture, this cream delivers lasting hydration and skin comfort in a beautifully lightweight formula.
What sets this moisturiser apart is its thoughtful blend of hydrating and barrier-strengthening ingredients, starting with olive-derived squalane. Known for being one of the most skin-compatible oils, squalane helps deeply moisturise the skin while reinforcing the lipid barrier to reduce moisture loss. Kiehl’s was one of the first brands to spotlight squalane, and its presence here continues to be one of the cream’s hero benefits.
Also featured is glacial glycoprotein, a unique ingredient rich in proteins, vitamins, and minerals. Helping to protect and nourish the skin even under extreme conditions, this moisturiser is ideal for year-round use.
The texture is both beautifully light and fast-absorbing, leaving the skin soft, smooth, and comfortably hydrated without any greasiness or residue. It layers well under SPF and makeup, and perfect for those seeking everyday hydration, barrier support, and a balanced, non-clogging finish.
Reliable, effective, and adored by many, The Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream is a must-have in any skincare wardrobe.
Suitable for all skin types including sensitive, fragrance-free.
Best Under £50
Clinique Moisture Surge 100H Auto-Replenishing Hydrator'
When it comes to lightweight, oil-free hydration that truly lasts, Clinique’s Moisture Surge 100H Auto-Replenishing Hydrator is a firm favourite. This gel-cream is a go-to for anyone who struggles with layering multiple products, deals with humidity, or finds excess oil to be a recurring skincare concern.
Alongside its superlight texture, it delivers serious hydration thanks to a potent blend of hyaluronic acid and aloe vera bio-ferment. The fermentation process supercharges the aloe, making the extract more concentrated and effective at delivering moisture deep into the skin. The result? Skin that feels instantly refreshed, plumped, and comforted without any greasy residue
This formula also has an “auto-replenishing” effect, helping the skin rehydrate throughout the day. This makes it especially well-suited for those in dry, hot, or urban environments, where skin can easily become dehydrated due to heat, pollution, or air conditioning.
It’s also fortified with Vitamin C and Vitamin E, two powerful antioxidants that help defend the skin from environmental stressors and radical damage, helping maintain a healthy-looking glow and enhance skin resilience. Because it’s completely oil-free and non-comedogenic, it won’t clog your pores or feel heavy, even on oily or acne-prone skin types.
This is a fantastic option, no matter if you're looking for a summer-friendly moisturiser, a lightweight hydrator, or simply something that provides long-lasting hydration without adding shine.
This formula is best for all skin types, including sensitive, oily and combinations, and is completely fragrance-free.
Best Under £60
Skin Rocks The Light Moisturiser
When it comes to summer skincare, Skin Rocks The Light Moisturiser is a standout. This beautifully formulated gel-cream is not only the lightest of all the moisturisers on this list, but it also feels silky, glides effortlessly over the skin, and absorbs quickly. Despite its light texture, it delivers impressive hydration and leaves behind a radiant, moisturised finish that’s neither heavy nor greasy.
Ideal for those who enjoy layering skincare or need a breathable moisturiser during the summer, it keeps the skin feeling soft, supple, and balanced throughout the day. This formula has a multi-functional approach; it’s packed with moisture-boosting plant extracts to enhance the skin’s water retention, and it supports natural vitamin D production.
For those concerned with barrier health or lipid depletion, it includes ceramide precursors and a lipid complex to help mimic the skin’s natural lipid structure, locking in hydration and reinforcing resilience. It’s a brilliant option for anyone seeking a light, non-comedogenic moisturiser that still offers meaningful hydration, barrier support, and ingredient credibility.
Best Under £70
Tatcha The Water Cream
The Water Cream by Tatcha is one of those moisturisers that immediately invites hydration. Although it's specifically marketed towards oily and combination skin types, this innovative formula earns a spot in any summer routine, especially when heat, humidity, and congestion are high on the list of skin concerns.
This formula boasts "water burst" technology. The cream starts off as a gel and upon contact with the skin, breaks into a featherlight, water-rich texture that feels more like a cooling, hydrating serum. This quick transformation allows the product to absorb rapidly and evenly, offering intense hydration without clogging pores or leaving behind any residue.
The formula is enriched with Japanese botanicals known for their balancing and clarifying properties. Leopard lily extract works to calm overactive oil production and soothe inflammation, while wild rose helps refine skin texture and visibly tighten the appearance of pores. This makes it an ideal choice for those prone to shine, uneven tone, or congestion.
At the core of Tatcha’s formulation philosophy is Hadasei-3™, a proprietary trinity of fermented Japanese superfoods: green tea, rice, and algae. This antioxidant-rich complex helps nourish, protect, and restore radiance to the skin.
Beyond its performance, the texture of this cream is, in true Tatcha fashion, divine. Luxurious yet lightweight, elegant yet effective! It turns daily moisturising into a sensorial ritual. Whether you're facing high humidity, visible pores, or simply craving a fresh, breathable finish, Tatcha The Water Cream is a brilliant choice for achieving hydration without heaviness.
Kate Somerville HydraKate Recharging Water Cream
In the world of lightweight moisturisers, the Kate Somerville HydraKate Recharging Water Cream is a true standout. Known not just for its elegant, skin-quenching texture, but also for the science-backed innovation behind it. This luxurious gel-cream melts effortlessly into the skin, delivering immediate and lasting hydration while leaving your complexion visibly smoother, radiant, and refreshed.
HydraKate uses advanced hydration technology inspired by the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of Aquaporins, microscopic water channels within skin cells that play a key role in distributing moisture across all layers of the skin. By supporting and mimicking this natural cellular hydration system, HydraKate helps ensure water is efficiently delivered where your skin needs it most, resulting in a more balanced, deeply hydrated complexion.
The formula is packed with hydrating powerhouses like hyaluronic acid and glycerin, which attract and retain moisture, along with skin-conditioning agents that help maintain a smooth, soft texture. This results in dewy and plump skin, without that greasy, weighed-down feeling.
Suitable for all skin types, including sensitive, this moisturiser is particularly ideal for anyone battling dehydration or dullness. Whether due to weather changes, stress, or overexposure to environmental aggressors, it works beautifully on its own or layered under SPF and makeup, making it a versatile addition to any skincare routine.
If you're looking for a moisturiser that combines intelligent formulation with visible results, HydraKate delivers hydration at a cellular level, and your skin will feel the difference.
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