For dry skin?

I generally like slightly damp.

Not dripping wet.

Not standing naked in the bathroom trying to beat evaporation by six seconds.

Just don't aggressively towel every trace of water off before immediately applying moisturizer.

Why damp skin?

Water hydrates the outer layers of the skin.

Then your moisturizer helps slow some of that water from evaporating.

This makes particular sense with oil-based or anhydrous products.

The moisturizer isn't supplying much water itself.

So give it some water to work with.

After a shower

Pat dry lightly.

Leave the skin a little damp.

Apply your body butter, cream or balm.

Done.

You don't need a stopwatch.

What about your face?

Same general idea can work.

After washing, leave the skin slightly damp and apply moisturizer.

If you're using a water-based cream, it already contains water, so the difference may be less dramatic.

With an anhydrous balm, I like damp skin even more.

Is dry skin wrong?

No.

If applying moisturizer to dry skin works beautifully for you, please continue.

This isn't a law.

It is simply a useful trick if your skin struggles to hold moisture.

The bigger principle

Moisturizer doesn't create hydration out of nowhere.

Water + something that helps keep it there is usually the useful combination.

You can make skincare substantially less mysterious once you understand that.