Given that combination is probably the most common skin type, it’s frustratingly under-served, especially when it comes to moisturisers.
In practice, day creams, lotions and gels marketed for those with a combination of dry, balanced and oily areas often only play to the latter condition. They add no oil and shine to the chin, nose and forehead, but offer only fleeting comfort to tight, parched areas around the cheeks.
A thoughtfully formulated combination skin moisturiser that gives lasting, soothing hydration without becoming greasy and clogging is consequently rare – but it does exist, usually in a hybrid gel-cream texture.
I’m not entirely sure why Caudalie’s VinoHydra Gel Moisturiser is (at £20 for a 60ml tube) so much cheaper than the rest of the luxury French skincare brand’s line, but I assume it serves as a metaphorical gateway drug to get you hooked. Don’t loiter and fill your basket, is my advice. This contains soothing aloe, hydrating glycerin and fine, lightweight oils that sink in fast and behave well under makeup.
Bioderma’s Hydrabio Gel-Cream Moisturiser (£18) does its job so well that even dry skins will like it. I was shocked by how long my naturally very low moisture levels remained topped up underneath this fresh, lightweight, cloudy gel – even in cold weather. The key is likely the inclusion of squalane, which feels and moisturises like an oil, but isn’t technically one and therefore doesn’t clog congestion-prone pores. The men in my life enjoyed using it too, and didn’t balk at the price.
I’ve long admired the textures in Summer Fridays’ skincare line. Lightweight but luxurious, they’re fast and faff-free. So while their new Cloud Dew Gel Cream (from £17) is too slight for my own skin, I could instantly feel why a combination type without any significant problems with breakouts will love it. Like all my favourite moisturisers, it contains the humectant glycerin, combining it here with hyaluronic acid and skin barrier-comforting ceramides, all in a juicy but quickly absorbed gel-cream. And it’s eczema friendly.
I can’t fail to mention Simple, whose rebooted skincare line is extremely good, especially the Smooth+ Soothing Water Cream (£9.99, but frequently on offer). Its very fine gel-cream texture will delight anyone with an aversion to grease – even those with balanced skin – as well as those who are easily irritated by fragrance. Its long-lasting hydration and fresh, cooling aloe feel even won me over. And I like my face cream like lard.
