Water: The Unsung Hero Of Skincare

Last Updated on December 13, 2025 by Giorgia Guazzarotti

Hands up if you take water for granted. *raises hand* I’m so busy feeding my skin all the antioxidants it needs, I often forget to quench its thirst for water. Ahem… Most of the time, it’s not a problem. In the hottest months my skin has all the moisture it needs. No point in adding more. But in winter? That’s when you realise how precious water is for your skin. The freezing cold winds and low humidity plot to suck all the air out of your skin, leaving it dry, dull and flaky. That’s your cue to introduce a hydration booster into your skincare routine. Atm, I’m using the new Vichy Mineral 89 Fortifying And Plumping Daily Booster. Here’s why:

What’s In Vichy Mineral 89 Fortifying And Plumping Daily Booster?

VICHY’S THERMAL WATER TO HYDRATE AND SOOTHE SKIN

It’s no secret that water is the main ingredient in most skincare products. But in Vichy Mineral 89 Fortifying And Plumping Daily Booster it makes up a whooping 89% of the formula! That’s A LOT of water! It’s not just plain water, either. It’s Vichy’s Thermal Water. The difference? Thermal waters come from hot springs and are rich in minerals that – legend goes – gives them moisturising, soothing and skin-strengthening properties.

Each type of thermal water has a slightly different composition. Vichy’s has 15 minerals, including potassium, magnesium and calcium. These are the same minerals found in your skin’s natural moisturising factor. Unfortunately, all the studies I could find about Vichy’s thermal water are made by companies selling it. Still, water is good for your skin and the minerals in it are known to have soothing and moisturising properties. It’s not just a fad.

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HUMECTANTS TO HYDRATE SKIN

Vichy Mineral 89 Fortifying And Plumping Daily Booster has only 13 ingredients. Vichy did it on purpose so the booster wouldn’t irritate even the most sensitive of skin types. Most of these other ingredients, such as glycerin and sodium hyaluronate, are humectants. That’s a fancy way of saying they draw moisture from the environment and dump it into the skin, binding it there. I have a soft spot for sodium hyaluronate. It’s a form of hyaluronic acid that can hold up to 1000 times its weight in water! With all this moisture, your skin can’t help but get softer, plumper and glower!

Related: Why You Should Add Hyaluronic Acid To Your Skincare Routine

The Rest Of The Formula & Ingredients

• Propanediol: So this is what they call a humectant, which basically means it grabs water and pulls it into your skin and then holds onto it.
• Glycerin: Another humectant, and honestly this one’s kind of the star of the show when it comes to hydration. It pulls moisture from the air and from the deeper layers of your skin to plump everything up.
• Peg/Ppg/Polybutylene Glycol-8/5/3 Glycerin: This one’s pretty much just here to make the texture feel good when you’re putting it on.
• Methyl Gluceth-20: So this helps the product glide on your skin without dragging or pilling up into those annoying little balls.
• Citric Acid: The main job here is to adjust the pH so the formula doesn’t destroy your skin barrier.
• Hydroxyacetophenone: This is doing double duty as a preservative and an antioxidant, so it stops the formula from going bad and keeps it from oxidizing.
• Biosaccharide Gum-1: This is a sugar-based thing that’s really good at soothing your skin and it forms this protective film on top.
• Butylene Glycol: Another humectant for hydration, but it’s also working as a solvent to help dissolve the other ingredients so they all play nice together.
• Caprylyl Glycol: So this is a preservative that keeps bacteria and mold from growing in the product, but it also does a bit of conditioning for your skin. Pretty much killing two birds with one stone.
• Carbomer: This is just a thickening agent that makes the product gel instead of being watery.
• Maltodextrin: This is probably here as a filler or to stabilize some of the other ingredients.

Texture

This is one of those rare serums that actually feels nice to use. It has this lightweight, gel-like consistency that sinks into your skin the second you put it on. No sitting around waiting for it to absorb, no sticky film hanging around on your face for hours. You pat it on and it’s gone.

Fragrance

It’s fragrance-free. No perfume, no essential oils, no “natural fragrance” nonsense. If you’ve got sensitive skin or you just don’t want your skincare smelling like a department store, this is going to work for you.

How To Use It

You use this right after cleansing, morning or night or both if you want. The whole point is to get it on clean skin so it can actually penetrate and do its job before you pile on your other products. Some people use it morning and night, some people just use it when their skin feels dehydrated.

Packaging

The bottle is this clear to blue colour that’s supposed to make you think of water, and honestly it kind of works. It looks fresh and clean sitting on your bathroom counter. But the real win here is the pump applicator because it gives you exactly the right amount of product every time. No pouring too much into your hand, no trying to shake it out of a bottle. Just pump and go.

Performance & Personal Opinion

Now that winter’s coming fast, the low temperatures can suck all the moisture out of my skin, leaving it dry and even flaking. Anything that adds moisture back and helps fight this dehydration is welcome. 🙂 The catch? It’s not enough to add moisture into the skin. You have to keep it there. Vichy Mineral 89 Fortifying And Plumping Daily Booster isn’t a moisturiser.

It’s a booster you apply after cleansing and then seal in with a moisturiser (FIY, you can apply a serum in between). Thankfully, it layers well with other skincare products. This is something you’d use if you have dry or sensitive skin that needs that extra burst of moisture to stay soft and supple. If you find that your skin is feeling a little tighter than usual at this time of the year or your skin is always on the dry side, this could be a great addition to your skincare routine. It does the hydrating job so well, it leaves my skin softer and plumper for hours.

What I Like About Vichy Mineral 89

• The texture is perfect. Lightweight, sinks in fast, no sticky or greasy feeling left behind.
• It’s fragrance-free. No fake floral smell, no essential oils, no irritation.
• The packaging actually works. That pump gives you the right amount every time.
• It layers beautifully with other products. No pilling, no fighting with your moisturizer or serum.
• It actually works. My skin feels softer and plumper for hours.

What I DON’T Like About Vichy Mineral 89

• It’s not a moisturizer, it’s a booster. You need to layer a moisturizer on top to lock in the hydration.
• If your skin doesn’t need extra hydration, you won’t need this. It’s not doing anti-aging or brightening or anything else.

Who Should Use This?

• If you’ve got dry or sensitive skin that needs extra moisture, this is for you.
• But if your skin’s normal or oily and you’re not dehydrated, don’t waste your money. Get something that fixes whatever’s actually going on with your skin.

Does Vichy Mineral 89 Fortifying And Plumping Daily Booster Live Up To Its Claims?

Price & Availability

$29.99 at Boots, Dermstore, Escentual, Look Fantastic, Sephora, and Ulta

The Verdict: Do You Need It?

If your skin’s dry and dehydrated, especially when it gets cold, this helps. Pumps moisture in, keeps you soft and plump for hours. But it’s not a moisturizer so you can’t just use this and be done. You need something on top to actually lock it in. Normal or oily skin? Not dehydrated? Skip it. Why are you adding a step that’s not doing anything for you? Get something that fixes what your skin actually needs.