I Don’t Think You’re Ready For This Jelly: The Battle of The Face Gels

In case you have lived under a rock since May 20, 2001 (18 years and 73 days ago but who’s counting) and have never had a dance party in your best friend’s room with Destiny’s Child blasting from the boombox, the title of this blog post is a reference from one of the great songs ever made, Bootylicious.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, we can move on to the lesser important discussions in this blog post: which face gel/jelly comes out on top when faced against each other? I know, I know, I have said countless times on ze blog that I much prefer a cream texture instead of a gel texture when it comes to moisturizers. I swear I’m not a hypocrite, my skin is just changing. Usually with age skin gets drier as your oil glands stop producing an abundance of oil. However, I am the Benjamin Button of the skincare world. In a year, I have gone from having dry, flaky skin that I needed to pile layers of moisturizers on to having skin that is practically dripping from a layer of oil at all times. That may have been a bit of an exaggeration but you get my point. Now the reason why my skin is becoming oilier is a story for another post (in short, I went off birth control) but for now, we will focus on how I have changed up my skincare routine to accommodate this recent chance.

So yes, I like a gel texture for my moisturizers now. But that poses the question that must be on everyone’s mind right now, which is the better gel moisturizer? I have been trying out two different ones for the past six months: the Clinique Dramatically Different Hydrating Jelly ($28USD/$36CAD) and the Strivectin Multi-Action Stress Defense Hydrating Water Gel ($59USD/$65CAD). For this review, we will do an old school comparison-style review. So let’s start with the similarities. Both are a gel texture (thank you Taylor). Both are an almost clear, transparent fluid that breaks down into a liquidy, watery texture on the skin when you pat it in. And both are incredibly hydrating and feel like you just gave your skin a tall glass of water on a hot summer day.

But that might just be where the similarities stop. The Clinique DD Jelly is scentless while the Strivectin water gel smells like a sweaty Abercrombie boy who just got back from surfing in the ocean (in the best way possible). If you don’t like scented skincare products or have sensitivities to fragrance, the Strivectin gel might not be for you. Second, while both gels have an extremely liquidly texture when you pat them onto the skin, they’re not the same. The best way I can describe it is the Clinique DD Jelly is Sprite (or 7-Up if you prefer). And the Strivectin Water Gel is, well, water. Where am I going with this, you might ask. Well, both are drinks. Both are clear liquids. Both will cool you down on a hot summer day. But only one will really quench your thirst. The Clinique Jelly almost dries to a sticky finish on the skin. It doesn’t quite absorb in all the way. The Strivectin Gel, on the other hand, sinks into the skin immediately with a cooling effect and leaves your skin feeling incredibly hydrated.

In addition, I find the Strivectin Water Gel does so much more for the skin than it’s cheaper (half price) counterpart. It contains a blend of antioxidants and amino acids to help protect and repair the look of skin stress and aging while it’s patented NIA-114 technology strengthens the skin’s moisture barrier to help prevent vital water loss. The Clinique Dramatically Different Jelly does provide protection to the skin from pollution but I just don’t find the hydration levels are quite the same in these two gels. It’s as simple as that. So, if I haven’t made it clear yet, The Strivectin Stress Defense Hydrating Water Gel wins the Battle of the Bands face gels.

I was just about to sign off on this post and publish it, but as I was reading it back, I realized I was quite the debbie downer when talking about the Clinique Dramatically Different Hydrating Jelly. So here is a bit of a disclaimer for y’all. The Clinique Jelly is not a bad product whatsoever (and you best believe I will be using up this entire bottle). It effectively hydrates the skin and is a great price point for someone who wants higher end skincare without the hefty price tag. The Strivectin Water Gel is just one of my all-time favorite skincare products, so when you compare a good product against a great product, obviously that great product is going to come out on top and overshadow the good product. But the good product is still… good. You feel me?

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Check out my other “Battle of The …” posts: The Battle of The Sunscreens