Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel Review

I was so happy to receive this in my BR Beauty Box and immediately started using it. I wasn't initially sure how to use it as it doesn't really say if it's a straight up moisturiser or a serum or a mask. Thankfully BR Nat gave me some tips on how she used it, so I've now used it as a serum, mask and moisturiser.

I adore the look of this product, the glass jar makes it look and feel super expensive. The gel is cool to the touch and quite slippery. The scent reminds me of soap, which I'm not a huge fan of. But did it double my skin's hydration in one hour? Well, I'm not sure.

Initially I found I had to use a lot of this product on my skin (a grape sized amount) as my skin just soaked it up (my skin is quite dry). If I used a less amount my skin felt dry still. However since using it my t-zone has become oilier and I've had more breakouts (this is the only new product I've added to my regime). So I do wonder if I've been using too much, and if a little amount is all you need as it does in fact double skin's hydration - even if you can't feel it at the initial moment of application? This will take further investigation, however I've ceased using this until my skin clears a bit more. If/when I start using it again I will re-review.

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The packaging of this moisturizer is really appealing. It's fresh, blue, even luxurious to feel. I tend to have dry and dehydrated skin and wasn't sure if gel moisturizers are for me. But one thing's for sure. I'm impressed by how it held up. The water gel is easily absorbed. You'll instantly feel the hydration. As for the claims, I think that is overrated. I had to reapply after a few hours in order for my skin to stay hydrated. I'd suggest this to normal to oily skin types as it is lightweight. Drier types will need to go somewhere else. Overall, I think it's a good moisturizer, but it's just not for me.

Dehydrated skin is the quickest way to look less than fresh - for an immediate boost to your moisture levels, this product is fantastic. It's definitely something I would have loved in my beauty arsenal in my early twenties (particularly in summer, after a long day at the beach). However, now I'm in my early thirties I'm looking for anti-ageing ingredients in my products, which this doesn't have.

I have combo skin (sigh) so I can suffer from dry cheeks and forehead and then have an oily nose and chin.

This makes finding skin care products that work on all areas of my face a bit of a challenge. Add the seasons in to the mix and somedays I'm just fighting battles to keep my skin evenly moisturised. In the winter my dry patches need more attention and in the Summer my oil prone areas can feel like a slick by midday!

The Neutrogena Water Gel screams luxury - a heavy glass jar, a high quality box. When you open the jar it smells lovely - not overly fragranced, just nice and fresh.

The product itself is less like a gel than I thought it would be and more like a thick lotion (but not quite a cream).

It's easy to apply and readily absorbed into the skin, yay! And yes, my skin did feel really moisturised.

My skin felt really smooth and I really felt my oily patches were more balanced through the day than they had been recently.

However in a really weird way, it didn't leave the same nice feel my usual moisturiser did so while I will continue to use this (and probably buy again) I'm still following up with my regular moisturiser.

All in all this is a nifty little product, the price is about right,

The look of this product is on point. Well packaged, sleek and clean look. Great choice of colours for this product, calming and fresh looking. The gel itself has a great mild scent. The gel texture is very different to general moisturizers. Took me a few days to get used to. It is absorbed very quickly without any feeling of over application. Its quite good at making your skin feel smooth & soft to touch. I have unbalanced skin and found it beneficial for the oily parts of my face, not so much for the normal/dry parts. It doesn't offer enough moisture for me, but it's light and fresh for the days my skin is more balanced.

I had just run out of moisturiser when this little promise of ultimate hydration landed on my door step (literally!) I was immediately impressed by the packaging, clean simple yet hinting at the luxurious oasis of moisture inside. Unfortunately that's where the ooh's and the ahh's stopped. The first thing that struck me was the strong fragrance. While I'm not opposed to my moisturiser having a nice smell, I found this to be slightly over powering at first. Smelling more like a cleaning product than a beauty item. The second thing I notiiced was that while the light gel like texture felt nice to touch, it left my skin (oily combination) feeling very dry and in need of hydration. I experimented with using different cleansers before applying , and did notice there was a slight difference between using a make up wipe to remove make up etc or my usual oil based cleanser. On a positive note I did find that my skin remained more matt in appearance throughout the day ( very important when you suffer from the dreaded shine factor!) So all in all, an ok result. I will definitely keep using the pot I have but am not sure id be rushing out to buy a replacement.

Overall, I found that the 'Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel' a great product but probably not one for me.

Firstly I found the packaging attractive and simple. The promise of 24 hour hydration unrealistic. The smell subtle, pleasant and 'fresh'. It went on my skin beautifully and really felt amazing on, unlike any moisturising product I have used before (it actually felt like one of the high quality primers I use).

However despite how nice the product looked and felt to used I didn't feel like it did much for my skin, perhaps it's not for my skin type. I feel like this would be a brilliant product for a teenager or young adult as it's light on their skin and it only focuses on hydration, which I think would be perfect. In regards to the claim of 24 hour hydration, it fell very short. I put it to the test on this promise and felt the it worked well for up to 8 hours but then started to fade and defiantly not the 24 it claims.

I may use it again, but I would recommend that it's a good product for the right person.

I liked the blue pot the creme was packaged in. The creme has a lovely soft feel to it and is easy to apply to the skin.It is light but a little tacky to start with but this soon disappears leaving a nice smooth feel to the skin. My skin definitely felt hydrated after using this product. It is has a lovely fresh fragrance but this may be a problem for people who are allergic to fragrance.I was pleasantly surprised with this creme because I was a bit worried about the list of ingredients in it especially the methylisothiazolinone which causes a lot of allergic reactions.It worked well for both evening and morning and was great under foundation. I would use this product again

I love hydrating and gel formula moisturisers as my skin can get dehydrated, so was looking forward to trying Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel.

For reference, my skin type is fairly normal though it can be combination at times - and I would always rather err on the side of dewiness rather than matte, so hydration is something I look for in moisturisers. I typically do use a gel formula moisturiser or serum layered underneath something thicker or an oil (the specific products vary a lot, but for example I often use Antipodes Joyous serum with argan oil layered on top).

During my trial of Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel I used it twice daily for approximately two week. I didn’t use any other moisturisers but did still use a sunscreen in the mornings.

The immediate effects of HBWG are fairly pleasant (provided you don’t mind the scent, as it’s fairly strong for a skincare product) - it’s quite cooling, refreshing and does visibly reduce dryness when applied. However I didn’t find that it kept my skin moisturised throughout the day the way that my usual serums and moisturisers do, and this is more of a priority than the immediate effects for me.

Overall after a couple of weeks of use my skin actually seems a bit drier than with my usual routine, but perhaps this is a good option for people with oilier skin or who prefer very light moisturising products. For me HBWG was okay, but probably doesn't quite live up to its claims and I wouldn't use it again as I already have other products that work better for my skin.

I found the Hydro boost gel made my skin feel lovely and soft. Most of the time I could just use the gel as my only moisturiser and some days I had to put another moisturiser over the top. I really liked the clean smell of the product.