Clinique Moisture Surge, the 1988 Gel-Cream That Keeps Being Rewritten

Clinique Moisture Surge, the 1988 Gel-Cream That Keeps Being Rewritten

Clinique Moisture Surge started in 1988 as an argument that a light gel could rival a heavy cream. Here is the story behind the line, from the classic jar to the tinted, eye and body versions.

Clinique launched in September 1968 at Saks Fifth Avenue, and it grew out of an August 1967 Vogue article called Can Great Skin Be Created, in which editor Carol Phillips interviewed the dermatologist Dr. Norman Orentreich. It was billed as the first allergy-tested, fragrance-free, dermatologist-developed beauty brand. Twenty years later Phillips had another idea. Clinique credits her with the vision for Moisture Surge, launched in 1988: a gel-cream that felt light on the skin yet held its own against a rich cream. That is the story of Clinique Moisture Surge in a sentence, and the formula has been rewritten many times since. Clinique says the original was upgraded in 2008 after ten years of research, and the 72-hour version added caffeine and activated aloe water, alongside two forms of hyaluronic acid. This edit walks the whole family, from the classic gel through tinted, eye and body versions, and ends with three creams from elsewhere in the house. I like that a moisturizer from 1988 still gets rebuilt instead of retired.

Twelve boxes on a pale grey page, one for each product in this edit, each with its brand and name printed below: Clinique Moisture Surge 100H Auto-Replenishing Hydrator Gel-Cream Moisturizer with Hyaluronic Acid, Clinique Moisture Surge Intense 72H Lipid-Replenishing Hydrator Cream Moisturizer, Clinique Moisture Surge Hydrating Supercharged Concentrate Gel Serum, Clinique Moisture Surge Active Glow Serum with Hyaluronic Acid, Clinique Moisture Surge Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF 28 Sheer Hydrator Moisturizer, Clinique Moisture Surge Sheertint Hydrator Broad Spectrum SPF 25 Tinted Moisturizer, Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream Hydrating Color Corrector Broad Spectrum SPF 30, Clinique Moisture Surge Eye 96-Hour Hydro-Filler Hydrating Concentrate, Clinique Moisture Surge Body Hydrator Lotion with Hyaluronic Acid, Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Face Cream with Hyaluronic Acid, Clinique Smart Clinical Repair Wrinkle Correcting Anti-Aging Cream with Peptides and Clinique Redness Solutions Daily Relief Cream with Microbiome Technology.
Clinique Moisture Surge

Hydration in gel, cream and serum

Daytime layers with sunscreen

Grid two is where a gel-cream moisturizer starts working for the daytime. The Sheer Hydrator with SPF 28 is the cloud-like one, meant to hydrate and protect in a single step. Sheertint has SPF 25 and a little color, and Clinique says it provides up to 12 hours of hydration, so it suits the days I want something between bare skin and foundation. The CC Cream carries SPF 30 and is the simplest morning step in the group: it moisturizes, corrects tone and protects. The Eye 96-Hour Hydro-Filler is a cushiony water-gel, ultra-light, made for the thin skin around the eyes. My tip is to treat the sunscreen ones as the last skincare step, and to be generous with them, because a sunscreen only works in the amount you actually put on. I press the eye gel in with a ring finger and stop there, since more is not better under the eyes.

Four lighter takes on hydration

Beyond the gel

Grid three steps away from the gel. The Body Hydrator Lotion brings the same idea to arms and legs, light and refreshing, and I put it on right after a shower while skin is still slightly damp. Dramatically Different Moisturizing Face Cream is the older Clinique idea: a dermatologist-developed cream that this version pushes toward richer, all-day moisture, and it is the one for winter or for skin that runs dry. Smart Clinical Repair is an anti-aging cream with peptides, made to help strengthen skin and visibly smooth lines. The Redness Solutions cream is an extra-gentle, oil-free moisturizer with microbiome technology. What I would skip is buying it to fix redness that a dermatologist should look at, because it is a calm moisturizer and not a treatment. If your face flushes often or stings, get it checked and use the cream as a gentle base on top of that advice.

Four creams and lotions

The one I keep coming back to

I keep circling back to the plain gel. It is the least dramatic product in this edit and the one I can picture in every bathroom I have ever been in. The line has grown to cover sunscreen, eyes and body, but the idea Phillips had in 1988 still fits in one sentence. Start with the classic, add the version your day asks for, and change the texture with the season. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer and the Base Makeup Around It and Clinique Lipstick, From Black Honey to Pop. Still deciding on texture, I wrote out how the Clinique lotion vs gel question plays out for dry and oilier skin.