The Best Cruelty Free Hydrating Skincare

As I’ve mentioned approximately 1000 times this year, I’m in the process of transitioning to CF beauty, and I’m attempting project pan for the first time to use up some old favourites. But I realised recently that I focused my project pan on makeup alone when realistically, replacing skincare is a lot harder. I had two skincare goals at the start of this year 1) use up old favourites 2) find a replacement for everything.

Hydrating skincare is a huge part of my routine, I use a hylaluronic serum daily, and hyaluronic acid based moisturisers most days too, so I’ve compiled a list of some of the best cruelty free hydrating skincare products in my collection. And most of them are cruelty free dupes for the Clinique Moisture Surge range. 

All of these products and ranges are cruelty free but not all are vegan, so each has a note next to them explaining specifically whether the brand and products are CF/ vegan. 

Clinique Moisture Surge Dupes 

Some of you will have probably noticed that the photos include the Clinique range, and Clinique are definitely not CF. No, I haven’t made a huge mistake here. But I think I speak for a lot of people with dry or dehydrated skin when I say that Moisture Surge played a huge role in my skincare journey.

I love everything about it; it works, it doesn’t irritate my sensitive skin, it’s a simple yet effective formula, not overly expensive and the range spans so wide there’s a product for basically every step of your routine. My favourites from the range are the original moisturiser, the overnight mask and the mist, with a nod to an older discontinued member of the range – the gel concentrate.  

When compiling this list, if I used the Clinique range as my benchmark. The products have to be as good or better than the Clinique equivalent. I’ve tried to include some products for every budget, so I may not love some of these as much as the others mentioned, but they’re all great products that do the job well.  

Hydrating Skincare Christmas Gifts 

While this isn’t officially a Christmas gift guide, some of these products do come in sets and bundles that would make great gifts, so there may be a mention of products that can be bought together if you’re looking for a little gift for someone who doesn’t use products tested on animals, or a little treat for yourself.  

The best Cruelty Free Hydrating Skincare

Cruelty Free Hydrating Serums 

Let’s be honest, everyone has a HA serum. They’re a basic in most skincare lines, some of them have added ingredients to soothe sensitive skin, some have added oils, some are really basic HA serums. I prefer the ones with the soothing and calming ingredients in them too, but that’s a personal preference and some of the others on the list may fit your needs better.  

Cheap & Basic   

Revolution Skincare 2% Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Serum (Brand CF/ Product Vegan) 

Boots Ingredients Hyaluronic Acid Serum (Brand Vegan/ Product Vegan) 

I’m lumping the two above together because I have pretty much the same opinion of them both, they’re both accessible easily online and available in stores. One is £5, the other is £6. They’re essentially the same.  

I mainly use the cheaper ones as mixers for foundations that are a little too drying rather than as the serums they’re intended to be. But both absorb quickly when used alone, both have a very fluid texture. These ones are great for travel as they’re in sturdy packaging (and affordable in case anything breaks in transit). One thing to note, the Boots Ingredients HA comes in a white bottle whereas the Revolution comes in frosted glass, so there’s less risk of sun exposure with the former.  

Mid Tier  

Indeed Labs Hydraluron (Brand CF/ Product Vegan) 

If you’ve used hydrating products for a while, there’s no way you haven’t heard of this one. It’s a thicker serum, and I do find that this one leaves a little residue on my skin, but it’s very good at its job and makes skin feel lovely and bouncy and freshly hydrated the next morning. My only major negative about this one is the packaging. This tube explodes whenever it’s in a higher-pressure environment like a plane and can leak slightly. It’s a great product, but not the most convenient sometimes. But if you’re only keeping it in a drawer at home, none of that matters and it’s purely about how good the product is. 

SOS Serum (Brand vegan/ Product Vegan) 

This ‘serum’ doesn’t feel a lot like a serum to me. It’s a gel, rather than a liquid and feels more like a light moisturiser. Personally, I don’t use this as the serum step in my routine. But this product established its very own niche location in my routine that I don’t use any other hydrating product for, so it warrants a mention here.  

It claims to be hydrating, cooling and repairing and for a simple serum, I would agree with all of that. This is my favourite product post-run. When my skin feels tight, irritated, dehydrated and has a flush, this calms the redness and refreshes my skin instantly. This would be great for anyone with any skin conditions that cause sensitivity. 

Lumene (Brand CF/ Product Vegan) 

Back to the ones that have a traditional serum texture. This one is more liquid rather than a gel, as you’d expect. Gives that instant bounce and plumpness that you expect from a hydrating serum. The lower end in mid-range in terms of pricing and fully vegan.  

Luxury  

Sarah Chapman Skinesis Hydrating Booster 

This product is by far the most expensive item in this post today. Does a hydrating serum really need to be nearly £70? Absolutely not. Does this product feel amazing on the skin? Without a doubt. If you’re looking for a simple boost in your routine for the colder months, you do not need to splurge on something like this.  

But the advantages of the heftier price tag? On my skin, this one absorbs the quickest and I always know I’ve applied a good serum the following morning when it comes to the bounciness in my skin, and it would always make a great gift if you didn’t want to splurge on yourself. This one also comes in packaging that prevents the ingredients being exposed to air. Oxygen exposure can reduce the performance of several products/ active ingredients. I know people say packaging isn’t everything, but this premium does come with benefits.  

Cruelty Free Hydrating Sleep Masks 

Boots Ingredients Hydrating Sleeping Mask (Range Vegan/ Product Vegan)

If I’m brutally honest, I don’t find this to be anywhere near as nourishing as the Clinique version. But it has an extremely lightweight gel texture, not dissimilar to the original Moisture Surge Moisturiser. It’s Boots’ own brand, so it’s very easy to source and it’s only £6 a tube. If you’re looking for something to see you through until you find the one, a cheaper one for now, or an introduction to an overnight mask if you’re not sure if you want one in your routine, this product is great. But I don’t think this is the one if you only want one in your collection longer term.  

Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask (Brand CF – one product contains honey/ Product Vegan) 

This one is different, yes, it’s a hydrating gel overnight product, but this one also contains some AHAs to exfoliate your skin. So, if you want a basic gel overnight hydrator, this isn’t it. But if you like lazy skincare and want something that could be a two in one, this one is for you.  

The exfoliation in this isn’t too strong that it particularly irritates my sensitive skin, although it can if I’ve used another exfoliator recently, so this isn’t going to be your everyday product if you already have an advanced routine. But the gel texture doesn’t leave any residue and absorbs extremely quickly, more like a moisturiser. So, it’s great if you prefer thinner feeling formulas.  

Lumene Oxygen Recovery 72h Hydra Gel Mask (Brand CF/ Product Vegan) 

A thicker gel that’s exactly what I think of when I think of a hydrating mask. It isn’t creamy and nourishing, but it is deeply hydrating. This product can be used as an overnight mask, or applied as a thicker layer and rinsed off after 10 minutes depending on your needs.  

Cruelty Free Hydrating Moisturisers  

Lumene Nordic Hydra (Brand CF/ Product Vegan) 

I love this range from Lumene, and they have pretty much a like for like product for everything in the Moisture Surge range, it’s relatively easy to source in the sense that the majority of the big online beauty retailers stock them, but it’s harder to find in stores. Oh, and it’s cheaper than Moisture Surge too.  

Texture wise, I think this product is very similar to Moisture Surge, but this product is not oil free, and the original Moisture Surge is. I don’t find this to be at all heavy or oily and I have dry skin, so the oil doesn’t bother me, but I know some people will have an issue with that.  

Aqua Auto-Replenish Gel Hydrator (Brand CF/ Product CF) 

This was the first moisturiser I tried that I thought did the same thing for my skin as Moisture Surge, and it came just at the time when I thought I wasn’t going to find another moisturiser that did it for me. For that reason, it makes the cut on the list. It’s reasonably priced and gains a bonus point for being able to repurchase refills and having slightly less plastic waste, but this isn’t the easiest product to source. And the other one on this list is slightly cheaper.  

Ranges that offer everything 

If you like the sound of the products listed above and were, like me, a fan of the full Clinique range, the following brands have a like for like for essentially everything in the range from basic moisturisers, sleep masks all the way to hydrating mists:  

• Indeed Labs Hydraluron  
• Lumene Hydra Range 
• Boots Ingredients – they don’t have everything but they do have a moisturiser, serum, sleep mask and eye cream that are all available in a set for less than £20, so it’s a great budget friendly starter pack. 

Have you used any of these cruelty free hydrating skincare products before? Or did I miss your favourites? 

Until next time, 

Sophie 

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