This post is a collaboration with Naturelle.fi
A month ago I introduced you to the top three of effective anti-age creams. Today’s post on toning and brightening serums is a continuation of that theme, and as the range of serums out on the market is fairly massive, I figure some help in narrowing things down might be welcome. I would gladly include every product I’ve tried, but, for today’s post and for the sake of coherency, I’ve chosen a few products with interesting ingredients, including their affordable alternatives.
When I’m working on Personal Beauty Guides, I often notice that many of those who are looking for brightness and radiance tend to skip the serum. Serum is a crucial skin care product, and I could rant about the importance its use as I’ve done on the use of toner, before. A serum provides hydration – possibly the most essential component of beautiful skin. Without proper hydration, you have nothing to build on. The most important external hydrators are toner and serum, and if I had to pick three essential skin care products, they would be toner, serum, and oil.
Serums are also packed with antioxidants, the cornerstone of active ingredients, helping to neutralize the damage and premature ageing caused by free-radicals. The active ingredients in serums penetrate deeper into the skin than the ones found in moisturizers. Besides hydrating the skin, serums also help to brighten the skin tone and make it more radiant, boost collagen production, smooth out fine lines, minimize pores, and even out the texture of the skin. The individual properties of different products depend on the active ingredients used, of course.
The following serums contain highly effective, anti-ageing and brightening, ingredients for different ages and skin problems.
Splurge
Suki Bio C 10 % Formula Face Serum
Suki’s most effective salon-grade serum for ageing skin is packed with top-quality active ingredients. As well as promoting collagen production, the serum tones the skin, smooths out fine lines, reduces redness, as well as evening out discoloration. The key ingredients include brightening vitamin C glucoside, damage-repairing resveratrol, line smoothing antioxidant copper peptide GHK-Cu, as well as toning and hydrating hyaluronic acid.
If there’s one thing Suki excels at, it is serum technology and super effective ingredients, and like most of Suki’s products, this one made an instant impression on me. The serum absorbs quickly, and leaves the skin supple and glowing. Let’s see if it will get rid of the bit of hyper-pigmentation on my cheek.
Save
Suki Healthy Aging Serum + Vitamin Peptide Complex
They haven’t scrimped on quality in Suki’s more affordable products, either. While this serum is significantly more affordable the Bio C, there’s no lack of effective ingredients. Co-enzyme Q10, a well-known antioxidant popular in skin care for some years now, protects the skin from free-radicals and helps to repair the pre-existing damage. It is also a great ingredient for treating stress-related skin problems, and is often used in anti-age products. Here, co-enzyme Q10 is coupled with another potent antioxidant, resveratrol. The serum also contains a spectacular combination of vitamins, including C, E, and A, which improve the skin tone, and help to repair the skin itself. Lastly, the serum contains an ingredient that should be found in all anti-age products – hyaluronic acid.
Both serums are wonderful, so if I had to choose who to recommend them to, I would say the Healthy Ageing Serum is best suited for 30+ and Bio C for 45+. For discoloration, I would recommend Bio C.
Splurge
Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Booster Serum
The queen of Juice Beauty’s serums, and my personal favorite. The consistency is hands-down the most perfect I’ve ever tried, and the perfect balance of moisture and velvet in this serum necessitates languorous and ardent application. Its effects are similar to good old Cinderella drops: firming the skin and improving the skin tone.
Instead of water, the serum uses vitamin-rich fruit juices and aloe vera, providing not only moisture but a brightening cocktail of vitamins for the skin. The perfect concentration of repairing and smoothing vegetable oils make it best choice of serum for dry skin. Vitamin C stimulates cell regeneration, firms the skin, and improves skin tone. Fruit stem cells help to make the skin supple and smooth out fine lines
This serum is indeed a great booster for thirty-plus skin in need of brightening, but it can also be used as a daily serum for fifty-plus skin. With Juice Beauty’s usual package size of 30 ml, the serum is both lasting and affordable.
Save
Juice Beauty Green Apple Age Defy Serum
Out of Juice Beauty’s two highly effective, brightening, anti-age serums with a smaller price tag, the Green Apple Age Defy is an especially good choice for 25+ or sun damaged skin and discoloration. The serum minimizes pores, lightens hyper-pigmentation, hydrates, evens out skin texture and even scars, brightens the skin tone, smooths out fine lines, and helps to tone the skin.
Besides vitamin-rich fruit juices, the serum contains potent antioxidants like alpha lipoic acid and co-enzyme Q10, repairing peptides, line-smoothing DMAE, as well as hydrating and toning hylauronic acid, mild fruit acids from sugar cane and lemon, salicylic acid from willow bark extract, and potent repairing and brightening vitamins A, C, and E.
Providing plenty of hydration, the serum also absorbs quickly and leaves the skin feeling supple and moisturized. Like the Booster serum, Green Apple Age Defy also comes in a 30ml package, increasing its value for money – especially considering its highly affordable price.
Save
Juice Beauty Antioxidant Serum
The Antioxidant serum, with its glass bottle and pipette, is my favorite as far as packaging is concerned. It is also the cheapest of these serums, with a repairing, brightening and smoothing cocktail of antioxidants that is suited for all skin types. I would recommend this product for ages 25 and up; for ages 40 and up, I would recommend Suki or Juice Beauty’s Stem Cellular Booster Serum.
Besides fruit juices and aloe vera, the serum also contains moisture-binding and toning algae extract, as well as yeast extract to correct stress or hormone-related imbalances in the skin. Co-enzyme Q10, alpha lipoic acid, and DMAE help to repair the skin and smooth out fine lines, while hyaluronic acid hydrates and tones the skin. I often recommend this product in my Personal Beauty Guides, as it is great for skin that is in need of a bit of everything: moisture, glow, and toning.
Have you already tried some of these serums, or are you planning to? How many of you use a serum in the morning and evening? All of you, I hope!
By using the code KATJA10 at checkout, you will get a 10% discount on all full priced products at Naturelle until March 31st 2015. Discount does not apply to May Lindstrom Skin products.
Products provided for testing and props by Naturelle
Photos Katja Kokko
Translation Katja Nikula
