A few months ago, I needed an emollient-rich moisturizer for my dry, peeling (retinoid-induced) skin which is originally oily. So I placed an order for the Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Cream and hoped it would not disappoint. How do you think it fared? If I had to summarize, it worked!
In today’s review, I’ll discuss everything there is to talk about the Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Cream and my experience with it as an oily and sensitive skin type as well as its performance on dry skin!
Disclosure: Contains affiliate links. I receive a small commission for purchases made via them.
KLAIRS RICH MOIST SOOTHING CREAM REVIEW
While my original skin type is oily, when I started using prescription retinoid my skin turned into dry-combination for the first few months.
Having a slightly richer cream also helped me to buffer tretinoin and reduce irritation. You can read my retinoid skincare routine that I used to deal with acne & hyperpigmentation.
Price: $25/ INR 1,670 for 60ml
Availability: If you’re in India, buy it from Nykaa. For the rest, try ULTA or Yesstyle.

Packaging
One of my favourite things about this dear, klairs moisturizer is the clean and minimalist packaging. It has a white tube with a flip-open cap that comes inside a cardboard box. The outer packaging mentions all the product details and detailed ingredient list.
Texture & Smell
The Rich Moist Soothing Cream by Klairs has a very light, balmy texture that bursts into a lotion-like consistency on massaging. It doesn’t sit over your face, instead, it sinks into the skin and leaves it softer and bouncier. It spreads easily and you need a pea-sized amount to cover the entire face. It’ll last you a long time.
I’m not someone who enjoys the presence of fragrance and essential oils in my skincare, but not everyone feels the same. I like how it smells, it’s mild and not at all overpowering!
Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Cream For Dry Skin
If you’ve ever been on retinol, you’d know how bad the initial peeling and dryness is. It didn’t spare me – an extra oily skin goddess – either. But massaging just a small amount of the rich moist soothing cream was enough to make it disappear.
It really became my go-to moisturizer for dryness. Mind you, I went on tretinoin during winters and had to deal with seasonal dryness too. Yes, I am dumb. Can we talk about the cream now?
The moisturizer would just sink in without giving the heavy or greasy feeling. A layer of the Klairs cream and all those dry patches and peeling skin would vanish. It also made my skin feel really soft and supple and it works great as a makeup base too!
So this was my brief experience as a person dealing with dryness which makes me feel that the Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Cream will be perfect for people with dry and dry to combination skin.
Related: Best Cruelty-Free Korean Skincare Products
Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Cream For Oily Skin
Even though the product says that it’s for ALL SKIN TYPES, I strongly believe that oily skin types should only use it in winters.
I tried this cream after my skin recovered from the horrors of retinoid and went back to its original oily state and it felt a lot richer than what my skin needs.
While the light, balmy texture feels amazing to apply, I would notice that the oils on my face would start showing up within an hour. A lighter gel-based moisturizer or a slightly richer serum like the By Wishtrend Propolis Ampoule would be a much better choice if you have oily skin.

Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Cream For Sensitive Skin
The brand also claims that this moisturizer is perfect for sensitive skin! Good news for you, I have sensitive skin too! One human, several skin types. Am I a con woman?
While I didn’t see any bad reaction from the usage of the rich moist soothing cream, this product has a few essential oils (towards the end of the list) and many of them are known allergens.
So if you are someone with very sensitive skin, history of bad experiences with essential oils, or have skin conditions like Rosacea or Eczema, make sure you do a patch test or avoid it completely.
Additionally, I didn’t see it do anything special immediately after I applied it on my irritated (redness/sensitized/raw) skin but it did not worsen the situation either. However, the ingredients might have more long term benefits for sensitive skin.
Ingredients Overview
The ingredients list is a mile long and if I start talking about them all, you’re probably going to exit this page. But here a few that caught my attention:
Good Ones: Glycerin (humectant), Sodium Hyaluronate (humectant), Shea Butter (emollient), Jojoba Seed Oil (emollient), Ceramide NP (skin barrier strengthening), Arginine (anti-oxidant).
It also has Aloe Vera and Centella Asiatica somewhere in the middle of the list, possibly in a very small amount.
Now onto the potentially irritating/sensitizing ingredients that the rich moist soothing cream has (attention: acne-prone/sensitive skin),
Nasty Ones: Lavender Essential Oil, Lemon Peel Oil, Orange Peel Oil, Rose Geranium Flower Oil, Eucalyptus Oil, Ylang-ylang Oil (Cananga odorata), etc.
How To Use Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Cream?
It has an impressive ingredients list that includes skin-strengthening and hydrating ingredients. If you’re concerned about whether you can use it with retinol or Vitamin C or AHAs, etc, you don’t have to worry at all. There’s absolutely no conflict.
You can use the rich moist cream both in the morning and night in the moisturizer stage (obviously), i.e, before SPF in AM and before oil (if any) in PM. Make sure you take a small quantity and apply it on damp skin!
CONCLUSION
If you have dry skin that’s not too sensitive, the Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Cream would be perfect for you. For other skin types, it’d be a great moisturizer for winters or to buffer strong skin treatments.
Pros:
- Takes care of dryness
- Rich in texture
- Leaves skin soft & bouncy
- Has a cocktail of skin repairing ingredients
- Cruelty-free & Vegan
- Didn’t break me out
- Only a small quantity is required
Cons:
- Has essential oils
- Not for oily skin
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Lott says
I find that it’s not good on my oily skin for daytime use. I love using it at night though.
Rifat Yaseen says
I agree with you! It’s a little heavy for daytime use. Great when your skin needs extra moisture. 🙂
Manisha dabral says
Loved the review. Con woman Wala part mein I laughed a lot 😘
Rifat Yaseen says
Haha, thank you so much!