Dupe report / Gel moisturizers
Clinique Moisture Surge 100H dupes, ranked by ingredient list and price
The best Clinique Moisture Surge dupe is Cetaphil Deep Hydration Water Gel: $17.99 vs $36.00 for the same 1.7 oz. Like Clinique it has no added fragrance, and it shares hyaluronic acid, glycerin, trehalose and urea. None of the gels we checked has Clinique's aloe or caffeine.
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Buy on Amazon $17.99Closest fragrance-free match
Cetaphil Deep Hydration Water Gel $17.99 Amazon, Nov 3, 2026
Shares 8 of Clinique's ingredients, incl. hyaluronic acid and trehalose. No fragrance. 1.7 oz, $10.58/oz.
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Buy on Amazon $14.19Lower price, with niacinamide
CeraVe Ultra-Light Moisturizing Gel $14.19 Amazon, Nov 3, 2026
Fragrance-free, with niacinamide and ceramides. 1.75 oz, $8.11/oz.
Quick answers
- Is the blue Hydro Boost Water Gel a dupe?
- It is the one most dupe lists name, but it has added fragrance, and Clinique is fragrance-free. The fragrance-free Hydro Boost Gel Cream is the closer Neutrogena.
- Does any dupe have aloe like Moisture Surge?
- None of the cheaper gels we checked. Clinique has aloe leaf extract, aloe leaf water and aloe polysaccharides, plus caffeine and green tea.
- What is the cheapest alternative?
- CeraVe Ultra-Light Moisturizing Gel: $14.19 for 1.75 oz ($8.11/oz), about 62% less per ounce than Clinique, and fragrance-free.
- Does it really hydrate for 100 hours?
- That is Clinique's claim, from two of its own small tests (19 women and 27 women). No dupe here makes the same claim, and no independent test compares them.
01 / The ranking
The 4 Clinique Moisture Surge dupes, ranked
How we rank: fragrance-free gels come first, because Clinique is fragrance-free. Then we count how many of Clinique's 42 listed ingredients each one shares. Even the best shares only 8, so none is a copy; the counts show which is closest. If two tie, the cheaper one per ounce ranks higher.
How Clinique Moisture Surge 100H Auto-Replenishing Hydrator feels: A bouncy pink gel-cream that feels cool going on and sinks in fast. It leaves a soft glow, not a greasy shine, and goes on well under light to medium foundation.
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1. Cetaphil Deep Hydration Water Gel
Shares 8 of 42 Clinique ingredients · fragrance: none listed · $17.99 for 1.7 oz ($10.58/oz)
How it feels: A light, cooling water gel that sinks in within seconds and sits well under makeup. Used alone, it can leave a little tackiness for a while.
Best for the closest fragrance-free match. It shares more of Clinique's ingredients than any other fragrance-free gel here, including hyaluronic acid, glycerin, trehalose (a sugar that holds water) and urea (a moisturizer).
Trade-off: It has none of Clinique's aloe, caffeine or green tea.
Buy on Amazon $17.99 -
2. Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel Cream, Fragrance Free (+ trial cleanser)
Shares 7 of 42 Clinique ingredients · fragrance: none listed · $22.13 for 1.7 oz ($13.02/oz)
How it feels: A creamier gel than the blue Water Gel that spreads thin and sinks in within a minute or two. Skin feels soft and a little dewy, not greasy, and there is no scent.
Best for a fragrance-free gel cream from the Hydro Boost line. It lists no fragrance and shares Clinique's hyaluronic acid, trehalose and urea.
Trade-off: On Amazon it comes as a kit with a trial-size cleanser, and it shares fewer of Clinique's ingredients than Cetaphil.
Buy on Amazon $22.13 -
3. CeraVe Ultra-Light Moisturizing Gel
Shares 6 of 42 Clinique ingredients · fragrance: none listed · $14.19 for 1.75 oz ($8.11/oz)
How it feels: A clear, watery gel that sinks in right away with no sticky feel. It adds no shine or greasy look, and it has no scent.
Best for a low price, with niacinamide and ceramides. It is fragrance-free and costs less per ounce than Clinique by a wide margin.
Trade-off: It shares the fewest of Clinique's ingredients of the fragrance-free gels.
Buy on Amazon $14.19 -
4. Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel
Shares 5 of 42 Clinique ingredients · fragrance: yes · $21.40 for 1.7 oz ($12.59/oz)
How it feels: A see-through blue gel that turns watery as you spread it and sinks in within seconds. It feels cool and light with no greasy film; sources differ on whether the finish looks matte or slightly dewy.
Best for the gel most dupe lists name. It has a similar water, glycerin and silicone base with hyaluronic acid.
Trade-off: It has added fragrance. Clinique says Moisture Surge is 100% fragrance free.
Buy on Amazon $21.40
02 / Side by side
What each gel shares with Moisture Surge, and what it costs per ounce
"Shared" counts ingredients on both printed lists.
| Product | Shared | Fragrance | Aloe | Caffeine | Hyaluronic acid | Trehalose | Urea | Price | Per oz | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinique Moisture Surge 100H Auto-Replenishing Hydrator | — | none listed | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | $36.00 for 1.7 oz | $21.18/oz | View on Amazon |
| Cetaphil Deep Hydration Water GelClosest match | 8 of 42 | none listed | no | no | yes | yes | yes | $17.99 for 1.7 oz | $10.58/oz | View on Amazon |
| Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel Cream, Fragrance Free (+ trial cleanser) | 7 of 42 | none listed | no | no | yes | yes | yes | $22.13 for 1.7 oz | $13.02/oz | View on Amazon |
| CeraVe Ultra-Light Moisturizing Gel | 6 of 42 | none listed | no | no | yes | no | no | $14.19 for 1.75 oz | $8.11/oz | View on Amazon |
| Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel | 5 of 42 | yes | no | no | yes | no | no | $21.40 for 1.7 oz | $12.59/oz | View on Amazon |
Amazon prices checked Nov 3, 2026.
03 / The original
What is in Clinique Moisture Surge 100H
- The base is water, silicones, butylene glycol and glycerin. That is what makes it a light gel-cream. The Neutrogena and Cetaphil gels have a similar water, glycerin and silicone base.
- Hydrators: hyaluronic acid, glycerin, sugars that hold water (trehalose, sorbitol, sucrose) and urea. Cetaphil has hyaluronic acid, trehalose and urea.
- What none of the gels we checked has: Clinique's aloe, caffeine, green tea and a peptide.
- Fragrance-free, but not dye-free: Clinique lists no fragrance. Its list ends with two colors, Red 4 and Yellow 5, so a dye in a dupe is not a difference.
04 / Questions
Frequently asked
- What is the best dupe for Clinique Moisture Surge 100H?
- Cetaphil Deep Hydration Water Gel. It shares 8 of Clinique's 42 listed ingredients, the most of the fragrance-free gels we checked, including hyaluronic acid, glycerin, trehalose and urea. It costs $17.99 for 1.7 oz on Amazon, about 50% less per ounce than Clinique.
05 / Sources
Where the facts come from
- Clinique Moisture Surge 100H: ingredient list, sizes, "100% fragrance free", "oil-free" and the 100-hour claim from clinique.com, read 2026-10-08. Clinique bases the claim on two of its own small tests, with 19 and 27 women.
- Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel Cream Fragrance Free and Hydro Boost Water Gel: ingredient lists from neutrogena.com, read 2026-10-08. The Water Gel lists fragrance. On Amazon the Gel Cream comes with a trial-size cleanser; the Water Gel link is the jar alone.
- Cetaphil Deep Hydration Water Gel and CeraVe Ultra-Light Moisturizing Gel: ingredient lists from their Amazon listings, which match INCIDecoder. Clinique, Cetaphil and CeraVe lists re-checked 2026-10-25: unchanged.
- Sellers and photos: Amazon's product data, read 2026-10-25. Prices are checked every day; the date is at the top of this page.
- How each one feels, from reviews: ProductReview.com.au: Clinique Moisture Surge 100H (expert and user reviews); DermFND: Clinique Moisture Surge 100H Auto-Replenishing Hydrator; Picky user review: Moisture Surge 100 Hour; Beauty Bay: Moisture Surge 100H customer reviews; Bustle: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel vs. Gel-Cream; DermFND: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream (fragrance-free); Walmart: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel Cream (review summary); Medino: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel (Water Gel vs Gel Cream); BEAUTYcrew: Cetaphil Optimal Hydration Skin Replenishing Water Gel reviews (non-US name; formula match not confirmed); BEAUTYcrew Review Crew panel: Cetaphil water gel and cleanser; Ulta: Cetaphil Deep Hydration Skin Restoring Water Gel; Kroger: Cetaphil Deep Hydration Skin Restoring Water Gel, 72 Hour Hydration; Musings of a Muse: CeraVe Ultra-Light Moisturizing Gel Review & Swatches; Ulta: CeraVe Ultra-Light Moisturizing Gel (customer reviews); CVS: Customer reviews for CeraVe Ultra-Light Moisturizing Gel; Walmart: CeraVe Ultra-Light Gel Face Moisturizer (review summary); DermFND: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel; ShopSavvy TLDR Review: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel; Looria: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel review summary.