The case for bringing your moisturizer everywhere you go

It’s no secret that moisturizing is a key component of a glow-inducing skin-care regimen. Hydration is essential for quenched skin, the product works as an outer layer to lock in the serums and other skin-enhancing steps used before it, and the moisture-boosting ingredients in your cream of choice keep your complexion nice and supple.

But it’s even more than a must-have beauty product—your moisturizer is doing a whole lot of glow-inducing magic. Case in point? It’s working as a humectant to pull even more moisture—straight from the air—onto your skin. “Humectants keep your skin moist at all times,” says Ginger King, cosmetic chemist and founder of Grace Kingdom Beauty. “Ingredients like glycerin and hyaluronic acid are examples.”

This is why you may want to keep your moisturizer of choice on hand wherever you go, as model and actress Elizabeth Hurley does (and trust me, after seeing her in person, you can bet that I’ll take any beauty advice she divulges). “To me, it’s always about hydrating [your skin] whenever you can,” says Hurley, who’s helping The Estée Lauder Companies in their Breast Cancer Campaign. “I find as I get older, I need to use more and more moisturizer on my face, on my eyes, on my hands, my body—your skin just gets really dry, so I think it’s important to put a lot of really nutritious things onto your skin.”

“It’s always about hydrating [your skin] whenever you can.” —Elizabeth Hurley

As the temperatures dip and fall-into-winter winds pick up, your complexion has even more of a tendency to dry out—even if you put on a moisturizer in the a.m. “It’s really important to use a lot of moisturizers at this time of the year,” says King. Opt for lightweight ones (gels, whips, etc.) that you can slather over makeup without totally needing a touch-up and then you’re on your way to a hydrated hibernation season.

To keep that skin supple, slather on some hyaluronic acid and a moisturizer that is water-based.