I’m A Millennial Beauty Editor, Here Are My Most-recommended Serums This Year
Sarah Tarca is a beauty journalist, writer and co-founder of Australia’s first dedicated beauty newsletter, gloss etc. Her skills involve applying lipstick without a mirror, bullying people to wear sunscreen and procrastinating washing her hair. She loves her kids, skincare and potatoes in equal measure — almost as much as she loves SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic. Almost. Find her on socials @tarca
This may be a weird admission for a person whose job it is to literally test beauty products for a living, but I don’t try a whole lot of serums.
That’s for a couple of reasons: when I like something, and it’s working magic on the skin, I want the good skin times to keep rolling (i.e: don’t mess with a good thing) and also, regretfully I only have one face, and many serums take three to 12 weeks to show any results (the exception is hyaluronic acids and other hydrating serums), so there are literally just not enough weeks in a year.
The (incomplete) list below feature the ones I have been using and recommending the most this year, as an older millennial with normal to dry leaning skin wanting to target fine lines, even out skin tone and keep it plump and hydrated.
Not only did they earn a spot in my trials, but I finished all to the very end, and am now onto second or third bottles — which, considering I get new serums sent weekly, is a really big deal.
Medik8 Liquid Peptides Advanced MP.
I’m going to start here, at the top, with the serum *some* have called the product of the year (it was me, I said that).
This is my most-recommended serum this year.
The thing with being a beauty editor is that my base skin is already pretty good (15 years of excellent skincare and sun protection) so often I don’t see dramatic results when using, well, anything. But the effect from this was noticeable.
The tech in this is incredible; it uses a trademarked bio-technology called Dual mini proteins. The “mini” refers to the micro-molecular size (meaning they can travel deep) and the “dual” to the Growth factor mini proteins which help to relax dynamic lines, plus boost collagen and elastin.
This is combined with 12 different peptides and four molecular weights of hyaluronic acid, so you get an immediate plumpy-payoff, and the rest get to work over time. If you really want to amp up your results, combine it with a crystal retinal, and in a couple of months, you’ll be thanking me for this gift.
Boring Without You Make Me Wet Hydrating Milk Serum.
All hydrating serums are not created equal — this is just facts. Horrifyingly, actually, most seem to fail at the ONE JOB that we hired them for: hydration. This little BWU one saw that, and fixed that problem on one pretty blue bottle (that, I may just add, lasts forever).
It’s of course down to the ingenious ingredient composition, which does not rely on multiple weights of hyaluronic acid. Instead, it leans into a stunning 10% medical-and-pharmaceutical-grade glycerin and something called Aquaporin technology which helps stimulate the Aquaporin proteins in our body to help with hydration and skin barrier function.
It’s simply glorious on the skin, hydrating, beautiful to layer, and without any stickiness and stinkiness. I’m on my second bottle already.
tbh Rebound Serum.
This is, of course, not at all new. But, every single time I do an AMA, someone will ask what to do with an angry skin barrier or peeved off, red skin — we’re a country who loves to go hard on the actives. I’m never without one of these in my cupboard for that reason: if I’ve had a treatment like skin needling, I go to this.
If I’ve been stressed and breaking out, I go to this, and if I had an AHA party and my skin hated it — also this.
It was formulated with Hannah Collingwood English, so you know it’s gotta be good, and the ingredient list is drool-worthy: for hydration, glycerin and hyaluronic acid; for calming, niacinamide and panthenol; for soothing, oat extract, centella and green tea.
It reduces redness, calms, supports the barrier and hydrates. It’s MAGIC.
No7 Future Renew Night Serum.
This range in general is one of my most-recommended— in this price point, nothing beats it. That’s because it uses a very schmick, world-first peptide technology, that has the most impressive studies backing up the results.
No7 is the in-house brand made by UK pharmacy giant, Boots, so there’s a lot of R+D that goes into their products, and then a whole lot of testing to ensure it works across their (extremely broad) demographic.
Anyway, back to the serum. It was developed with researchers at the University of Manchester and combines two different types of peptides (for lines, tone, texture) with Lindera extract, which works with the circadian rhythm to deliver ingredients at an optimal time for repair (night). Wild, right?
Ok, I’m already at my max word limit here, and I only got through four. But honestly if you had any one of these in your regular remit, I’d be looking at your stash thinking “girl knows her skincare”.
They all just work, and they all go above and beyond their job — which as a serial overachiever speaks to me on a soul level. Enjoy your new skin, friends.
Shop the Products Mentioned In This Article:
The Breakout Hack rebound serum 30mL$49.95
Boring Without You Make Me Wet Hydrating Milk Serum 80ml$44.99
Medik8 Liquid Peptides Advanced MP 30ML$160.00
No7 Future Renew Repair Serum 25ml$67.99
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Check out more of Sarah's favourite products and top skincare picks below:
