Review: Dr. Dennis Gross Hyaluronic Marine Hydration Booster

My first foray into the world of Dr. Dennis Gross was on a trip to Sephora about five years ago on an autumnal trip to Toronto. The leaves were golden, the air was crisp, and my face felt ready to crack. I don’t know if it was the temperature change going from Spring to Autumn, or all the air travel, but I remember my face felt a different kind of dehydrated than it had before. Enter Dr. Dennis Gross Hyaluronic Marine Hydration Booster, although back then it was called Clinical Concentrate Hydration Booster. Despite the name change, and the formulation changing slightly too, this really is a booster like no other. A few drops of this into any moisturiser or serum and I have instant results.

What Makes It Special:
The Dr. Dennis Gross Hyaluronic Marine Hydration Booster is an incredibly light formulation. It soaks in extremely quickly and yet despite the thin consistency and speedy absorption it truly does make an instant difference to the feeling of hydration in my skin. I know if I use this at night, I wake up plumper and more glowy than if I skip it, but my skin also feels instantly bouncier while I put on the rest of my routine. It also gives my skin a dewy and more hydrated appearance which makes it a great skincare prepper before makeup.

Why I Like It:
What I love about the Dr. Dennis Gross Hyaluronic Marine Hydration Booster is the consistency; the colourless liquid feels just like water. You can apply it neat to your skin after toning but I find that despite my skin soaking it all up, it actually doesn’t give me better results than when I use 2-3 drops mixed in with another serum or cream.

A few months back I did have a rather unfortunate accident (klutziest personal alive, right here!) and I gave myself a small, but rather deep, cut on my face. I gave it a day to scab over and then gently massaged a drop of this on to it every morning and night for a couple of weeks. This kept the area moisturised and soft, and it healed incredibly quickly. I’m also very happy to report that a few months on and there is no visible scar, which knowing my skin, is a pretty big deal. So massive props there.

What I Don’t Like About It:
I know it’s a popular opinion to dislike dropper bottles, but personally, I really don’t see what all the fuss is about. My only *learning* with dropper bottles is to screw them back up immediately or else I will almost always forget they’re open and knock it over. Told you I’m clumsy.

As for the formulation, there isn’t anything I dislike, but if you’re sensitive to fragrance probably best to test it out in person before buying, I find the fragrance subtle and quite appealing, simply a generic ‘fresh’ scent, however, my skin generally isn’t overly sensitive to perfumes in skincare.

Application:
As I’ve mentioned you can use this one of two ways. A few drops added into a moisturiser or serum, or straight on to the skin. Personally, if I’m specifically wanting to target one area of concern then I’d go in neat (like I did for my scar above), however normally I like to add 2-3 drops to my Vitamin B serum (Aspect Extreme B17 – you can read all about that treasure here). I’ve tried this Booster with thick creams, light serums, and even with gels and it’s always combined perfectly. I use this morning and night at the moment mixed in with a serum, but if I’m having a night off the serums (rare) I’ll mix it in with my moisturiser, which is usually the Murad Hydro Dynamic Moisture (read about that here) or the Aspect Phytostat 9 which I’ve been enjoying recently too.

Product Claims:
Moisture-boosting – absolutely!
Smooth the appearance of dry fine lines and rough texture – agree
Leaving you with luxuriously soft, dewy, plumper-looking skin – agree.

Ingredients:
Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Water/Aqua/Eau, Glycerin, Saccharide Isomerate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Caulerpa Lentillifera Extract, Yucca Aloifolia Leaf/Root Extract, Linoleic Acid, Centella Asiatica Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Ceramide AP, Ceramide EOP, Ceramide NP, Citrullus Lanatus (Watermelon) Fruit Extract, Glycolic Acid, Lactic Acid, Collagen Amino Acids, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Quercetin Caprylate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Fruit Juice, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Extract, Retinol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Symphytum Officinale Extract, Tetrapeptide-21, Copper PCA, Sodium PCA, Urea, Bisabolol, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Phytosphingosine, Zinc PCA, Butylene Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Octoxynol-9, Glyceryl Oleate, Polysorbate 20, Carbomer, Cholesterol, Xanthan Gum, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, BHT, Disodium EDTA, Citric Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Sodium Citrate, Potassium Sorbate, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Benzoate, Benzyl Salicylate, Linalool, Fragrance (Parfum)

Available From:
Mecca
Cult Beauty

Details:
Currently only available in a 30ml dropper bottle for $109 / £69.

Repurchase:
Yep. I recently finished a bottle and had my repurchase arrive just in the nick of time.