Skincare Essences: The Missing Piece From Your Hydrating Routine

Essences are the hidden gem that’s missing from your skincare routine. These lightweight products are made with mostly water and packed with additional powerful ingredients to hydrate and soothe the skin right after cleansing.

At first glance, adding yet another product onto your skin might seem excessive. But we’d argue that overdoing your skin with product is exactly what essences are trying to prevent. They’re meant to give you a boost of hydration and prep your face to ensure the rest of your products get absorbed properly.  

There’s a lot of confusion about what makes essences different from toners, and even some serums. The truth is that some brands use these terms interchangeably. Still, all three types of products have differences that you can keep an eye out for. 

Essences usually have a water-y consistency with soothing and hydrating ingredients, nothing too active or exfoliating, they’re not sticky, and they’re absorbed quickly into the skin. Toners still have a liquid consistency, but are usually exfoliators with active ingredients. Serums are thicker in texture and consistency, will usually leave your skin sticky or tacky, and they have the most active ingredients. 

IYKYK, using an essence before the rest of your routine is a great way to soothe your skin and protect your skin barrier. Shop top-rated essences below.

Rating: 4.6/5 stars with 5,974 reviews.

This Korean essence is made with 80% ginseng water, a herbal root with a rich history in Asia dating all the way back to the 1500s, that promises to support elasticity, hydrate, and brighten.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars with 2,734 reviews.

This Japanese essence promises to calm cleansed skin with its non-irritating formula that’s safe for sensitive skin. Plus, it’s fragrance-free, pH-balanced, and made with no artificial colors. 

Rating: 4.4/5 stars with 2,552 reviews.

Tatcha’s essence promises to deeply hydrate, soften, and plump your skin with its impressive formula that features Hadasei-3, a trio of fermented Japanese superfoods.

DERMALOGY by NEOGEN Real Ferment Micro Essence

Rating: 3.9/5 stars with 1,790 reviews.

This beloved Rhode product might need no introduction. Made with the brand’s signature ceramide trio formula, the essence promises all-day hydration while soothing and supporting your barrier. 

Rating: 4.7/5 stars with reviews.

This essence from K-Beauty brand Peach & Lily is formulated with lotus extract, niacinamide, and hyaluronic acid to help reduce inflammation, improve the appearance of dark spots, and hydrate. 

Rating: 4.8/5 stars with 1,385 reviews.

The Fresh Essence delivers long-lasting hydration and protection from environmental stressors with its formula of double-fermented kombucha, hyaluronic acid, and artemisia flower extract.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars with 1,029 reviews.

Formulated with malachite extract, this pH-balanced essence from cult-classic brand EltaMD promises to hydrate and soothe, while detoxifying and repairing your skin barrier.

Rating: 4.8/5 stars with 1,019 reviews.

This creamy, antioxidant-rich essence from Farmacy delivers soothing and calming hydration with its formula of Hawaiian white honey, ceramides, and chamomile. 

Rating: 5/5 stars with 305 reviews.

While it might not have the sexiest name on the market, this essence is a staple for its fast-absorbing formula infused with pure mugwort extract, which promises to calm irritated skin and leave it radiant. 

The E! Insider Shop editors and writers search the internet to find the best products out there. We interview expert sources, comb through customer reviews, and use our own personal experiences to make shopping easier for our readers.

As an editorial team, we independently create content and determine coverage based on research, reporting and what we think our readers would like to read about. The goal of our content is to provide a service and inform readers who are on the hunt for the latest products to help make their life better. Items are sold by retailer, not E!. Pricing and availability are accurate as of publish time.