Tatcha is a luxury skincare brand that produces some of the most sought-after skincare products on the market. Among their products is The Water Cream, an ultra-hydrating moisturizer that, while effective, comes at a premium price.
If you are looking for similar results but don’t want to pay the high price for this cult-favorite moisturizer, try one of these 15 Tatcha The Water Cream dupes that are all affordably priced!
This post contains affiliate links, and any purchases made through these links will result in a commission for me at no extra cost to you. Please read my Disclosure for additional information.
My Top Picks:
- Most Lightweight: belif The True Cream Aqua Bomb
- Most Affordable/Best For Acne: E.l.f. Blemish Breakthrough Acne Calming Water Cream
- Best For Oily Skin: The Inkey List Omega Water Cream Moisturizer OR Versed Dew Point Moisturizing Gel-Cream
- Best For Dry Skin: Laneige Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Cream Moisturizer
Tatcha The Water Cream
Tatcha The Water Cream is a lightweight, oil-free water cream formulated to provide a burst of hydration and moisture. It contains Japanese and botanical ingredients to nourish and replenish your skin.
The cream feels very lightweight on the skin but intensely moisturizing. There is even a small bit of 23-karat gold in the formula to provide a glow minus the shine.
This makes it appealing to those with combination and oily skin in addition to dehydrated and dry skin that needs a boost of lightweight hydration.
Tatcha The Water Cream Ingredients
Active ingredients include:
- Hadasei-3: This is Tatcha’s anti-aging trio of green tea, rice & algae. The complex is fermented to improve performance. It contains Uji Green Tea, an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that detoxifies and prevents premature signs of aging. Okinawa Red Algae contains polysaccharides that moisturize the skin. Akita Rice contains moisturizing essential proteins.
- Glycerin and Diglycerin: Humectants that moisturize the skin.
- Sodium Hyaluronate: The sodium form of hyaluronic acid that hydrates and draws moisture to the skin.
- Houttuynia Cordata Extract: Used in traditional Chinese medicine, this antioxidant has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties and can even help with allergic skin.
- Japanese Wild Rose: Contains antioxidants and, per Tatcha, is supposed to balance the skin and improve the look of pores.
- Japanese Leopard Lily: Per Tatcha, this Japanese flower extract is supposed to minimize excess oil production and soothe problem skin while supporting cell turnover.
Please note that this Tatcha cream moisturizer contains added fragrance.
15 Best Tatcha The Water Cream Dupes
These Tatcha skincare dupes are steals compared to Tatcha’s luxury price. You can even try a few in place of one Tatcha The Water Cream.
They can easily be incorporated into your skincare routine as your morning and/or evening moisturizer.
1. belif The True Cream Aqua Bomb
Just like Tatcha The Water Cream, belif The True Cream Aqua Bomb is formulated to deliver a burst of hydration and act like a drink of water for dull and dehydrated skin.
The light-as-air gel cream instantly cools the skin and is formulated to reduce the look of pores, making it perfect for normal, combination, and oily skin types.
This Korean moisturizer contains apothecary herbs like Lady’s Mantle, an antioxidant and an astringent that can help prevent photoaging from UVB exposure.
Lady’s Mantle also helps to minimize the look of enlarged pores.
Malachite is an antioxidant that protects the skin against oxidative stress. Plaintain leaf extract, panthenol, and marigold extracts are anti-inflammatory and soothing.
This Tatcha dupe also contains a ceramide and cholesterol to support a healthy skin barrier. Oat husk draws moisture to the skin and is good for dry, itchy eczema-prone skin.
This belif cream is multi-purpose as it can be used as a makeup primer, an overnight sleeping mask, or mixed with a foundation making it a tinted moisturizer.
Please note that there is added fragrance in this cream.
2. L’Oreal Revitalift Micro Hyaluronic Acid + Ceramides Line-Plumping Water Cream
L’Oreal Revitalift Micro Hyaluronic Acid + Ceramides Line-Plumping Water Cream is my drugstore pick for a Tatcha The Water Cream dupe.
It is a lightweight, quick-absorbing moisturizer that plumps the skin and helps to reduce the look of fine lines and wrinkles.
Like Tatcha, the water cream contains hyaluronic acid, but this fragrance-free moisturizer is formulated with micro hyaluronic acid (HA), L’Oreal’s lowest molecular weight HA that is up to 50x smaller than their high weight HA.
This means that it penetrates the skin deeply to deliver hydration where it’s needed most.
Ceramides, which are lipids that are naturally found in the skin, help to restore the skin’s protective barrier and lock in moisture while keeping out irritants.
Niacinamide brightens skin, helps reduce uneven skin tone, smoothes fine lines, and supports a healthy skin barrier.
The result is skin that looks and feels hydrated, plump, and smooth with a more youthful appearance.
It helps to reduce the look of lines in just two weeks, including crow’s feet, forehead, under-eye, frown lines, nasolabial lines, and even lines around the corner of your lips.
This Tatcha moisturizer dupe is suitable for all skin types, including sensitive skin types looking for a boost of hydration.
3. Neutrogena HydroBoost Water Gel
Neutrogena HydroBoost Water Gel is a nourishing watery gel moisturizer formulated with hyaluronic acid in the form of sodium hyaluronate, which enhances skin hydration.
Hyaluronic acid is a sugar molecule and humectant that attracts water to the skin, reduces flakiness, and plumps up fine lines.
It has plumping and moisturizing benefits due to its water-drawing capabilities, and it is a natural component of the skin that diminishes with age.
This award-winning oil-free moisturizer is non-comedogenic, which means it won’t clog pores. (Clogged pores can lead to acne and breakouts.).
It absorbs quickly, leaving skin soft and smooth. Wear it alone or under makeup as a makeup primer under foundation for a radiant finish.
Please note this moisturizer contains added fragrance.
For more on this moisturizer, see my comparison post: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel vs Gel Cream
4. Naturium Marine Hyaluronic Water Cream
Naturium Marine Hyaluronic Water Cream provides extended hydration thanks to a formula containing marine-based polysaccharides, hyaluronic acid, and rich phytonutrients.
Cocos nucifera fruit juice contains vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and proteins to support a healthy complexion and improve skin elasticity.
Kappaphycus alvarezii extract from red algae is, per the manufacturer, supposed to provide anti-wrinkle benefits.
Turmeric root extract has anti-inflammatory and skin-brightening benefits. Sodium hyaluronate (sodium salt of hyaluronic acid) draws water to and plumps the skin.
Alteromonas ferment extract soothes irritated and sensitive skin.
This Tatch Water Cream dupe sinks in quickly and hydrates without a greasy or oily feel. This water cream is ideal for dry, acne-prone, combination, aging, and sensitive skin, as it is fragrance-free.
5. Laneige Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Cream Moisturizer
Laneige Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Cream Moisturizer is a cooling gel cream that moisturizes the skin and provides a radiant, dewy finish.
This is the updated version of Laneige’s best-selling Water Bank Moisture Cream. The cream provides lasting hydration for up to 100 hours.
It contains micro-sized Blue Hyaluronic Acid that is fermented with deep-sea algae and undergoes a 10-step microfiltration process.
Hyaluronic acid is moisture-binding and plumps the skin, helping to smooth the look of fine lines.
Squalane and ceramide NP moisturize the skin and support a healthy skin barrier.
The moisturizer feels lightweight but is non-greasy and deeply hydrating.
Ideal for sensitive, dry or dehydrated skin. Please note that there is added fragrance in this moisturizer.
6. Revolution Skincare Hydration Boost Lightweight Hydrating Gel Cream
Revolution Skincare Hydration Boost Lightweight Hydrating Gel Cream cools dull and tired skin with its oil-free gel-cream formula.
Ideal for all skin types, this moisturizer uses hyaluronic acid in the form of sodium hyaluronate to hydrate and plump the skin, helping to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines.
Shorea stenoptera seed butter deeply moisturizes and helps improve skin elasticity.
It’s great for combination and oily skin, and it doesn’t leave your face feeling greasy, just hydrated, soft, and smooth. Very affordable, too!
Related Post: Revolution Skincare Review
7. Klairs Fundamental Water Gel Cream
Klairs Fundamental Water Gel Cream is formulated with Jeju green tea water and panthenol to hydrate and soften skin. Panthenol also acts as a humectant that helps skin attract and retain moisture.
The fragrance-free gel cream also contains green tea extract from Jeju Island, South Korea. Green tea is a potent antioxidant that protects the skin against free-radical damage and environmental stressors.
Centella asiatica extract soothes and has healing benefits for the skin. Rosemary leaf extract is an antioxidant that has antibacterial and astringent benefits.
Phytosphingosine is an antimicrobial lipid that can help with acne.
This Water Gel cream dupe is ideal for all skin types, including sensitive skin.
8. First Aid Beauty Hello FAB Coconut Water Cream
First Aid Beauty Hello FAB Coconut Water Cream is an oil-free water cream moisturizer formulated with coconut water that contains electrolytes filled with amino acids, enzymes, antioxidants, and phytonutrients to nourish your skin.
This fragrance-free moisturizer targets dullness, uneven skin texture, fine lines and wrinkles, and dryness for a smoother, softer, and healthier complexion.
Sodium hyaluronate (sodium salt of hyaluronic acid) is a humectant that improves the skin’s moisture content and plumps fine lines and wrinkles.
Apple fruit extract offers brightening and mild exfoliation.
Alteromonas ferment filtrate is a bacteria found in seawater that helps the skin retain moisture.
Licorice root, feverfew, and white tea extracts work together as an antioxidant booster to protect the skin from free radical damage and environmental aggressors.
This Water Cream dupe is suitable for normal, combination, and oily skin.
9. Philosophy Hope In A Jar Hyaluronic Glow Moisturizer
Philosophy Hope In A Jar Hyaluronic Glow Moisturizer is a lightweight water cream formulated with Norwegian glacial water, enhanced hyaluronic acid, and pineapple extract to improve skin hydration by 86%.
Hyaluronic acid is a moisture-binding sugar molecule that can attract 1,000 times its own weight in water, acting like a sponge soaking up moisture.
Ananas sativus (pineapple) fruit extract moisturizes and provides a gentle exfoliation. The cream also contains acetyl dipeptide-1 cetyl ester, a molecule that targets wrinkles and expression lines.
This fast-absorbing and lightweight cream and Tatcha Water Cream dupe gives your skin a cooling burst of 72-hour hydration and is ideal for dull, dry, and aging skin.
10. Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Cream Hydrating Moisturizer
Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Cream Hydrating Moisturizer is like a liquid cloud of lightweight moisture, as it contains a concentrated 30% Hyaluronic Acid Complex. Hydrolyzed silk leaves the skin soft and silky.
Pentavitin is an ingredient that provides up to 72 hours of hydration, per a 28-day study applying a 1% Pentavitin formulation.
This weightless moisturizer contains three different weights of hyaluronic acid in the salt form of sodium hyaluronate. This provides extended hydration in multiple levels of the skin.
This fragrance-free moisturizer leaves skin soft and smooth with a reduction in the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines.
11. Versed Dew Point Moisturizing Gel-Cream
Versed Dew Point Moisturizing Gel-Cream is a lightweight gel cream with a jelly-like texture that melts into your skin.
The gel cream contains ingredients like sodium hyaluronate, which is a salt form of hyaluronic acid that helps to draw in and retain moisture in the skin. It also contains aloe leaf juice to help hydrate the skin.
But what sets this moisturizer apart is its antioxidant-rich formula. Green tea extract, which contains natural antioxidants like polyphenols and catechins, helps soothe your skin and reduce inflammation.
This Versed moisturizer is non-comedogenic, meaning it won’t clog your pores. It’s perfect for all skin types, especially combination, acne-prone, and oily skin.
12. The Inkey List Omega Water Cream Moisturizer
The Inkey List Omega Water Cream Moisturizer is an oil-free moisturizer that delivers intense hydration without feeling heavy on your skin.
The key ingredients in this moisturizer include 0.4% ceramide complex, which contains Omega 3, 6, and 9 to improve hydration and the look of skin texture. Glycerin, a humectant, helps retain moisture, while betaine rebalances skin’s hydration levels.
The 5% niacinamide in this moisturizer helps minimize excess oil production and brighten skin tone.
The moisturizer is suitable for all skin types, including sensitive skin, dry skin, and oily skin.
13. Tonymoly The Chok Chok Green Tea Watery Cream
Tonymoly The Chok Chok Green Tea Watery Cream is a watery gel cream that contains pure fermented green tea extract instead of water. This antioxidant-rich cream is gel-based, providing intense hydration without feeling sticky or heavy on your skin.
This Korean moisturizing cream contains over 63% fermented green tea extract to help strengthen your skin’s moisture barrier.
Rosewood oil is this moisturizer and has a calming effect on the skin while also providing a very light, refreshing scent. Lemon seed oil offers antibacterial and antifungal properties, making it a great ingredient to help with acne-prone skin.
You can even use this moisturizer as an emergency moisture mask. Just apply for 5 minutes and remove with a tissue.
14. CoverGirl Clean Fresh Skincare Weightless Water Cream
CoverGirl Clean Fresh Skincare Weightless Water Cream is a lightweight, breathable moisturizer that provides 72 hours of hydration.
The formula contains TruClean Cactus Water and hyaluronic acid to lock in moisture and leave your skin looking plump and hydrated.
This 2-in-1 water cream can be worn alone or under makeup as a primer, making it perfect for everyday use.
The water cream has a light and fluffy texture and fresh scent.
15. e.l.f. Blemish Breakthrough Acne Calming Water Cream
E.l.f. Blemish Breakthrough Acne Calming Water Cream is a lightweight acne moisturizer that treats and prevents blemishes – the perfect Tatcha Water Cream dupe for acne-prone skin!
The moisturizer contains 1% salicylic acid, a powerful acne-fighting ingredient that helps to clear pores and prevent new blemishes from forming. Zinc PCA helps to control excess oil production and keep skin clear.
A 4% concentration of niacinamide in the formula improves skin tone and reduces redness.
The water cream also contains n-acetyl glucosamine, a hydrating ingredient that works well with niacinamide to brighten and even out skin tone. Tranexamic acid helps to further even out skin tone and fade dark spots.
This water-based formula is lightweight and non-greasy, making it perfect for oily and acne-prone skin. As a bonus, it’s super affordable!!
If you are a fan of Tatcha, don’t miss these posts:
The Bottom Line: Tatcha The Water Cream Dupes
Although Tatcha The Water Cream provides a luxurious skincare experience, these drugstore skincare dupes will brighten, smooth, and leave your complexion more radiant without breaking the bank.
The best part is that these Water Cream dupes are ideal for many different skin types. They are ideal for combination, oily, or acne-prone skin looking for lightweight, non-greasy hydration.
Dehydrated and dry skin types will also appreciate the deep hydration and dewy glow these Tatcha dupes provide.
For more skin care dupes, check out these posts:
- The Best Drunk Elephant Dupes
- Clinique Moisture Surge Dupes
- Creme de la Mer Dupes
- Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream Dupes
- Mario Badescu Drying Lotion Dupes
- Glossier Futuredew Dupes
- Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Dupes
- Brazilian Bum Bum Cream Dupes
- Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream Dupes
- SK-II Facial Treatment Essence Dupes
- Paula’s Choice BHA Dupes
Until next time, thanks for reading!