A few months ago, I began to notice that my face was drying out quicker and more often than usual. I had been blaming this on winter and being very busy, but after a while I had to admit to myself that perhaps my skincare routine of Boots Essentials products, which I had been using for around 14 years, was no longer doing the job. I decided it was time to invest in a decent moisturiser.

After much deliberation in Boots, I chose L'Oreal Hydrafresh moisturiser for normal skin. At £6.99, it's far from being an expensive moisturise, but given that I was used to paying just a couple of quid for the Boots Essentials cucumber moisturiser, it really felt like I was splashing out. I chose L'Oreal Hydrafresh because of its claims to continually hydrate my skin - I had been considering a cream for dry skin, but although this one was for normal skin it sounded to be just what I needed.

L'Oreal Hydrafresh comes in a glass pot packaged in a little box. I like the glass pot - it really makes me feel like I'm using a classy product. The moisturiser itself is a pale green colour, and is not a cream - it has a much more watery appearance and feel, although it is not particularly liquid. The colour is not as solid as it would be in a cream, but has a slightly translucent appearance. I think L'Oreal call it a gel-creme.

One of the things which attracted me to the L'Oreal Hydrafresh when I had a go of the tester in Boots was the scent. It is a very fresh scent, slightly fruity, and reminiscent of early mornings on summer holidays in sunny places. That sounds rather cheesy, but that's what it makes me think of. The scent stays on my skin for a time, but not long; it has usually faded by mid-morning after I apply it first thing.

As a day-to-day moisturiser, I have no complaints about Hydrafresh. I still get occasional patches of dry skin, but not very often and nothing particularly bad. I don't however think it is any better at staving off dry skin than the Boots Essentials moisturiser was during most of the time I used it.

Where the Hydrafresh does seem to be excelling though is in the long-term. My skin is overall much softer and smoother than it was. I've always been lucky with my skin condition, I never wear makeup (largely because I can't be bothered but also because I can get away without it) and I rarely get spots, but even so there has been a noticeable improvement in my skin condition since I started using Hydrafresh. It seems to me that for long-term care, spending a little more is definitely worth it.

Although I'm not convinced that the more expensive L'Oreal Hydrafresh is doing any better on a daily basis, it is steadily improving my overall skin condition. Plus it smells lovely. So, for that I'll be continuing to use it, and would definitely recommend it.