I tried nine supermarket face moisturisers – Tesco’s £2.70 cream makes you glow

Supermarkets have become one of the most convenient places to pick up everyday skincare, making it easier than ever to throw one into your weekly shop. And it’s no longer just the familiar names on offer. As own-brand beauty continues to grow, ingredients once reserved for premium skincare – like ceramides, peptides and hyaluronic acid – are now appearing in supermarket own-label creams at a fraction of the price. As someone who tests and recommends beauty products for a living, I wanted to know whether supermarket moisturisers have genuinely caught up with premium brands, or if you might still be better off spending more. Over several weeks, I tried out a selection of supermarket and budget options, paying attention to texture, how well they hydrated, whether they sat under makeup, whether they left my skin feeling congested, dry or shiny and how comfortable they felt throughout the day. These are some of my favourites. Shorts Tesco Kind & Pure Vitamin C Radiant Skin Moisturiser Tesco, £2.70 Vitamin C is an antioxidant ingredient to look out for if you want brighter-looking skin, which this product does deliver, over more intensive hydration. The lightweight cream sinks in quickly and leaves a healthy glow without feeling sticky. I’d usually prefer my vitamin C in a serum as they tend to have higher concentration and more targeted delivery deeper into the skin, so don’t expect dramatic changes with a moisturiser, but the formula does make skin look fresher immediately. It’s quite light, so on oily skin it performs well during warmer weather, but drier complexions or more mature skin like mine might prefer something a bit richer. 2.5/5 Best for: Combination skin and daytime wear Tesco’s own-brand cream costs £2.70, while Simple SPF50 Peptide Moisturiser and Nivea Soft Moisturising Cream can be found in most supermarkets Nivea Soft Moisturising Cream Ah, the all-rounder skin favourite that has maintained its status for decades (and not without good reason). Nivea Soft is still one of the best all-purpose moisturisers there is. It feels instantly nourishing, but it sinks in quickly and manages to thoroughly moisturise without feeling too rich. This one may not be packed with buzzy actives, but I think that’s part of its appeal. It’s a no-nonsense, uncomplicated option, reliable and nostalgic, and is an all-over multi-tasker, working just as well on your face as your hands or body. If I had to mark it down, I’d say very dry skin may need extra hydration in winter months, and you’re not getting any skin frills, but it’s an excellent bathroom-cabinet must-have. 4/5 Best for: Normal skin and families Simple SPF50 Peptide Moisturiser Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Boots, Superdrug, £7.99 This is arguably the cleverest product of the lot because it combines moisturiser and SPF50 and skin-loving, barrier-strengthening peptides in one step. I’d say this is a legitimate competitor to some of the much higher-end skincare favourites I have in my usual arsenal. It’s a moisturiser first – the texture is lighter and more hydrating than most facial sunscreens and, crucially, it leaves no white cast. But it’s packed full of additional skincare benefits – the peptides are included to support and strengthen the skin, while antioxidants help protect against environmental damage. Most importantly, it doesn’t feel like wearing sunscreen, which means you’re much more likely to apply it every morning. If you’re only buying one daytime moisturiser, this would be my pick. 5/5 Best for: Daily use Aldi Lacura Rejuvenate Night Cream Aldi, £3.85 Aldi has built an entire reputation around skincare “dupes”, and this anti-ageing cream does indeed feel more expensive than it is. The texture is richer than many of the others I tested, which I find makes it really comfortable, especially on more mature or dry skin. It leaves a soft, moisturised finish, so my skin felt like it was getting a proper “drink” before bed. This one is also packed with actives – a pro-retinol that works on smoothing fine lines and is very hydrating. Plus, a texture-smoothing silicone that works to “fill” bumps and irregularities, but I feel that is unnecessary (and potentially pore-clogging) in an overnight cream that you wash off when you wake. Those with oily skin may find it slightly heavy during summer, but it’s a solid option for more mature skin types. Aldi’s Lacura Rejuvenate Night Cream is £3.85, while Sainsbury’s The Edit Hydrate Hyaluronic Acid Moisturiser and Asda’s Glow Theory Cream Moisturiser are both £5 Asda Glow Theory Cream Moisturiser Asda,£5 If you prefer your moisturiser to feel light rather than rich, this is a great new everyday option. It absorbs really quickly, plus it sits well under makeup and left my skin looking fresh and, yes, glowy, rather than shiny. Ingredients including all-round hero niacinamide and vitamin C are both aimed at boosting radiance over time, plus glycerin, which provides plenty of hydration, so it packs a punch. All in all, it’s an impressively elegant formula for the price, and one I’d be happy to recommend for “normal” skin to wear every day. 2/5 Best for: Normal to combination skin and daytime wear Sainsbury’s The Edit Hydrate Hyaluronic Acid Moisturiser Sainsbury’s, £5 Hyaluronic acid is a non-negotiable in my personal skin repertoire; it’s amazing for hydration because it attracts water into the upper layers of the skin, and whilst I usually prefer it in a serum, I’m happy to double up and layer more on! This gel-cream texture feels really fresh and lightweight, so it is especially welcome during hotter weather. It disappears almost immediately and doesn’t leave skin looking greasy at all. I do think it benefits from extra skincare boosting with targeted serums underneath – it’s not going to provide enough nourishment for drier skin overnight, for instance, but it’s an excellent daytime moisturiser for combination or oily skin types. 3.5/5 Best for: Summer and oily skin Cien Q10 Intense Day Cream SPF15 Lidl, £1.79 Lidl’s anti-ageing cream is undeniably good value and contains coenzyme Q10, an antioxidant that’s long been associated with anti-ageing skincare. The cream itself feels quite “traditional”. It’s rich and the scent is slightly more old-fashioned than some of the newer formulas in this test. It leaves a bit of a sheen, which dry skin may enjoy but combination and oily skin types could find a little much. The SPF15 is a good addition but no longer high enough to rely on for daily sun protection, so you’d still need a separate SPF30 or SPF50 over the top. 2/5 Best for: Dry skin on a budget Lidl’s Cien can be bought for just £1.79, M&S’s Fresh Elements is £12.50, while Boots’ own brand is £4.80 and perfect for sensitive skin M&S Fresh Elements Hydrating Rich Moisturiser M&S, £12.50 Firstly, I love the branding on this; it looks the furthest from a supermarket own brand, and it feels like a step up from a basic moisturiser. The easily absorbed cream combines hyaluronic acid, urea and squalane to seriously hydrate and support the skin barrier, leaving skin soft and comfortable without feeling overly heavy. But my favourite part is that, by sticking to these gentle, effective ingredients that focus on hydration, barrier support and keeping skin balanced- which is exactly what most younger skin actually needs- it’s perfectly formulated for tweens and teens (as well as their parents!). An all-round winner for me. 4/5 Best for: Younger skin, no complicated routines Boots Ingredients Ceramide Barrier Support Moisturiser Boots, £4.80 Ceramides have become one of skincare’s biggest buzzwords for good reason. They’re lipids naturally found in the skin that help keep the moisture barrier intact, making them particularly useful if your skin feels dry, tight or irritated, as mine tends to in the colder months or in air conditioning. Boots’ own version does hit well above its price point. The cream feels rich but crucially, not greasy. It absorbs quickly and left my skin comfortably hydrated for most of the day. It also layers really nicely beneath makeup, with none of the pilling that some richer barrier creams can cause. This feels particularly well suited to autumn and winter when central heating and cold weather can leave skin dehydrated. 5/5 Best for: Dry, sensitive or compromised skin