Cerave Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Face Serum Review & Swatches

Cerave Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Face Serum ($18.99) is a new ceramide and hyaluronic acid that a few weeks ago that sounded very exciting. As we all know, hyaluronic acid has become the gold standard in drugstore skincare releases lately (as well as a across the board in many mid and high-range skincare launches) and why shouldn’t it be? It’s a great way to hydrate skin as it plumps it while helping to retain moisture.

Considering what a trusted brand Cerave is and how they always pack their skincare with ceramides as well as as always have a short yet effective ingredient list made this a point of purchase for me. I did purchase it online and at the time no ingredients were listed anywhere. So, this was a blind buy of sorts but considering how great Cerave is in general I decided to purchase it without seeing the ingredients.

That was a mistake.

Cerave Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Face Serum arrives in a hygienic 1 oz pump that’s around $16 to $18 depending where you buy it. I thought it was a smidge expensive for such a small size considering products like CosRX Hyaluronic Acid Hydra Power Essence is nearly 4 oz in size and around $15-$18 dollars (not to mention has a way better texture and ingredients).

I have to admit I always find it annoying when serums aren’t really serums but lightweight creams. That’s the case with this formula. It’s not really your traditional serum texture as it looks like a lightweight lotion. It’s fragrance-free and it applies quite easily and does absorb quickly but almost immediately my skin felt very tight after using it that would be because it contains more denatured alcohol than it does hyaluronic acid and even the mix of great ceramides and glycerine don’t make up for this. Way to kill a great formula!

I read a few reviews that said this was prone to billing but I didn’t experience any such issue nor the graininess that some reviewers described. I did however, feel very tight after applying it and didn’t experience the bouncy plump feel that a serum that has hyaluronic acid should leave behind.

Although it made me tight I continued using it for one solid week to test it out but after that week was over I was pretty much done testing it. I typically like to give skincare a month before reviewing it and deciding if it is something I’d recommend and also, something I’d add to my own routine. Sadly, this was tossed after a week. It just left my skin feeling very dehydrated and wasn’t doing much else.

I feel like Cerave should know better considering their great reputation but little thought went into the Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Face Serum formula in my opinion! Why alcohol!?

Cerave Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Face Serum is available now!

Where to buy

Ulta