Bobbi Brown Hydrating Gel Cream

Bobbi Brown Hydrating Gel Cream ($50.00 for 1.7 oz.) is an incredibly moisturizing cream with the texture of a gel/cream hybrid but all of the hallmarks of a water-based gel. It absorbs within a coupleof minutes, and it never feels greasy or heavy. I have normal-to-dry skin, and especially in the fall/winter, I do tend towards moderately dry. I used this for a month and a half (usually both in the morning and evening, which is why I finished it so quickly), and my skin drank it in.

It wore beautifully under makeup, because it dries down to a near matte finish and doesn’t have any slip, slide, or residual greasiness after application. The texture is more like a cream than gel, but it lacks the density of cream, so it also lacks the heaviness when applied–it has a comfortably lightweight feel. I was so pleased that it worked well in the mornings, though, because it is often the easiest for me to tell just how enduring a moisturizer is–some will leave my skin feeling parched by early afternoon, but this moisturizer worked around the clock. The Hydrating Gel Cream comes in a screw-top jar made out of a hard plastic. It has a clean scent–light herbal-citrus; just very fresh and subtle.

ingredients: Water, Capric Triglyceride, Tribehenin Peg-20 Esters, Butylene Glycol, Cyclohexasiloxane, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Dimethicone, Imperata Cylindrica Root Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender), Elettaria Cardamomum (Cardamom), Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary), Rosa Canina (Rose) Fruit Oil, Coriandrum Sativum (Coriander) Seed Oil, Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine), Cholesterol, Trehalose, Hydroxyproline, Proline, Caprylyl Glycol, Phytosphingosine, Phytantriol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Cyclopentasiloxane, Acrylates Copolymer, Linoleic Acid, Dimethiconol, PEG-8, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopherol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Glycine, Sodium Carbomer, Ascorbic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Citrate, Phenoxyethanol

By the by, are we not in the year 2011? Isn’t it about time beauty brands started listing ingredients online? I’m so beyond frustrated when I inquire via email/live chat only to be told to call some 1-800 number. Really — you think the best way to handle this is reading off a laundry list of hard-to-pronounce ingredients?

final thoughts: I love this for morning or evening, really. It makes for an excellent daytime moisturizer (assuming you use a separate SPF, of course!) for those with drier skin types that don’t want to wear a heavy cream underneath their makeup. For those with oilier skin with drier patches or still want a more hydrating moisturizer for the evening (but without the heaviness of true evening creams), I think this would work quite nicely.  This moisturizer strikes a good balance between hydration and texture.

where to buy: Bobbi Brown

Bobbi Brown Hydrating Gel Cream

Bobbi Brown Hydrating Gel Cream