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The best face serum for every skin concern
From fading fine lines to brightening pigmentation, these are the top treatments to try
If you invest in just one skin treatment, make it a great face serum. Poised to steal the starring role in your daily routine, the best serums on the shelves have the power to deliver both instant gratification and long-term benefits. Today, there’s a formula to suit all skin types and treat any complexion concern, from fine lines and pigmentation to acne scars and irritation.
Face serums: the Bazaar top five
What is a face serum?
Simply speaking, a face serum is a treatment product designed to be applied after cleansing and before moisturising. If your cleanser's job is to clean your skin, and your moisturiser's role is to hydrate it, your serum sits in-between to deliver any skin changes you want to see. Face serums can be angled towards myriad things: exfoliating, brightening, soothing and clearing breakouts included. In short, if you have a skin concern, there's a serum out there that aims to solve it.
Today’s best face serums can indeed be transformative, but they rarely come with a pleasing price tag. However, this is the step in your routine where you should spend the majority of your budget, as it will likely be the most ‘active’ product you apply. Readily absorbed and packed with potent ingredients (think hyaluronic acid, retinol, resurfacing acids and vitamin C), it’s often the efficacy of a good serum that justifies its cost.
How to choose the right face serum for you
Today's product shelves are heaving with serums, and it's not always clear to see exactly what a product aims to do. With words like 'glow' and 'radiance' proving marketing catnip, it's now even more important than ever to squint at the small print – and even then, it may still be unclear what that bottle of serum will really do for you. To help you navigate the shelves with success, here's a brief run-down of the ingredients and buzzwords to look for:
- For hydrating: look for moisture-focused serums containing hyaluronic acid, squalane and good old glycerin.
- For treating breakouts: salicylic acid is the most well-known active for acne, but don't sleep on inflammation-calming azelaic acid and calming extracts such as aloe.
- For pigmentation: vitamin C is good, but tyrosinase inhibitors such as tranexamic acid and niacinamide go one step further.
- For pollution protection: here, an antioxidant should take centre stage: vitamin C (or L-ascorbic acid) is up to the task.
- For lines and laxity: scan your bottle for peptides to plump and retinol to resurface.
A great face serum is also the best way to fine-tune your routine, ensuring it’s precisely tailored to your skin’s needs at any given time. If your complexion cries out for moisture one week, then clarity the next, a serum switch is the simplest solution. Keep a couple on regular rotation, and you’ll be perfectly prepped to meet any demand your skin may throw at you throughout the month.
Below, discover the Bazaar verdict on the best tried-and-tested face serum for every skin demand.
The best face serum for every skin type and concern
Retinol is arguably the most powerful regenerating ingredient on the market, but not all products harness it effectively. British brand Medik8 is an industry leader when it comes to easy-to-use retinol serums that target wrinkles, pigmentation and acne.
Beginners should start with Crystal Retinal 1, which contains 0.01% of the active vitamin A derivative. Once the tube is empty, graduate onto Crystal Retinal 3, 6 and eventually 10, which offer incremental increases in strength.
Be sure to phase this one slowly into your routine, starting with once-weekly application. Blend one pump into your favourite moisturiser, or apply it neat to cleansed skin. Finally, always wear a face SPF during the day, as retinol can increase skin photosensitivity.
The breakdown
- Product size: 30ml
- Key ingredients: retinal (a fast-acting retinoid)
- The benefits: fades pigmentation, plumps lines, reduces acne and scarring
A highly respected voice in the industry, Dr. Sam Bunting is now gaining a loyal following for her eponymous skincare line. The focus here is no-frills formulation, leading to products that might not pamper, but deliver truly brilliant results.
A recent addition to the collection, this innovative serum combines stable, potent vitamin C with a sunflower-derived extract that boosts NAD levels in the skin, essentially kick-starting all those welcome reparative processes.
The breakdown
- Product size: 30ml
- Key ingredients: vitamin C, NAD
- The benefits: reduces UV damage, protects from free radicals and blue light.
Vichy's fan-favourite serum is designed to calm and soothe stressed skin, reducing the visible symptoms such as irritation, sensitivity, dehydration and rosacea flares.
After water, niacinamide is the most concentrated ingredient, making it a powerful ally in fortifying the skin barrier while balancing oil production. Prebiotics bolster the balancing effects, while glycerin acts as a moisture magnet. The result is calmer skin both instantly and over time.
The breakdown
- Product size: 30ml
- Key ingredients: niacinamide, glycerin
- The benefits: hydrates, protects the skin barrier
When it comes to treating more acute skin concerns, such as persistent acne or pigmentation, it's always a good idea to turn to a dermatologist.
Klira is the new custom-blended treatment offering from Dr. Emma Craythorne who, after assessing your skin via a detailed online questionnaire, will diagnose any issues and create a tailor-made serum for you to use nightly. Dr. Craythorne can prescribe a host of active ingredients, from tretinoin to hydroquinone and high-strength azelaic acid, so you'll be getting a pro-level treatment for a surprisingly small price.
The breakdown
- Product size: 30ml
- Key ingredients: custom-prescribed
- The benefits: totally tailored to your skin
Omorovicza's latest Blue Diamond innovation (which is the first product to arrive in the brand's chic new packaging) is focused around 2025's leading beauty buzzword: longevity.
But what does this actually mean? Well, in the case of this indulgent milky serum, the aim is to arm the skin with everything it needs to fight the aesthetic manifestations of tiredness and stress. Peptides feature heavily, as do stem cells sourced from the hollyhock plant, which are said to give ageing cells a regenerating energy boost. In (not much) time, skin does appear to bounce back to life with a satisfyingly bright, hydrated glow.
The breakdown
- Product size: 30ml
- Key ingredients: peptides, stem cells
- The benefits: hydrates, brightens, firms
"Estée Lauder's Advanced Night Repair is the serum I always return to – between bouts of retinol use and whenever my skin is feeling overstimulated, parched, or lacklustre for whatever reason," says digital beauty director Bridget March."The cult hyaluronic acid serum is the ultimate moisture magnet, and visibly smooths away crepiness. But not only that; thanks to the brand’s clever patented technology its high-performance formula renews the skin in more ways than one; also brightening the complexion while tightening pores. I can’t get enough."
The breakdown
- Product size: 30ml
- Key ingredients: hyaluronic acid, peptides, caffiene
- The benefits: hydrates, firms
"Every time I’m asked what my favourite serum is, I scrabble around trying to think of something new, but inevitably always end up coming back to Phloretin CF; my failsafe skin saver for combination skin," says group luxury beauty director, Katy Young."For many, Skinceuticals is the first word in antioxidant serums – most beauty editors will include a bottle of CE Ferulic or Phloretin in their beauty arsenal. This is the choice for normal to combination skins, which prefer a lighter liquid to do a heavy job – in this case defending against free radicals (it’s excellent worn under your SPF) while also helping with hyperpigmentation (thanks to 10 per cent vitamin C) and wrinkles."
"While my skin loves it, my cynical side is also partial to its clinicals which show astounding before and afters. Add my name to the stats, I’m sold."
The breakdown
- Product size: 30ml
- Key ingredients: Vitamin C, ferulic acid
- The benefits: fades pigmentation, protects from future damage
Super-facialist Teresa Tarmey has added a new serum to her small, expertly considered product line. Anti+ is a multi-benefit formula combining all the ingredients she has been most impressed by in her 27 years of treating skin.
Probiotics and anti-inflammatories keep the skin calm and content, while antioxidants deliver protection and peptides firm the skin's matrix. It's completely scentless, and feels like a watery gel with no associated stickiness. And because it wouldn't be a Tarmey product without sublime design, each tube comes housed in an acrylic case that can be refilled infinitely.
The breakdown
- Product size: 40ml
- Key ingredients: peptides, antioxidants
- The benefits: plumps, brightens, protects
Dr. Sturm's star Super Anti-Ageing Serum meets its potent big sister this season. This two-phase formula sees the famed original combined with a supplementary shot of peptides and ceramides to double the plumping, skin-perfecting benefits.
Press the pump to release both the clear, hyaluronic acid-based phase with the milky ceramide-enriched one, delivering skin a serious dose of inflammation calming, collagen-activating goodness.
The breakdown
- Product size: 50ml
- Key ingredients: hyaluronic acid, ceramides, peptides, skullcap, purslane
- The benefits: plumps, calms, hydrates
Peptide serums have long been popular, but its only recently that the technology has become able to deliver seriously impressive results when it comes to plumping and firming skin. Sarah Chapman's signature serum contains a combination of eight peptides that aim to wake up the cells' collagen-producing actions, leading to smoother skin over time.
The breakdown
- Product size: 30ml
- Key ingredients: peptides, hyaluronic acid
- The benefits: hydrates, firms, plumps
Salicylic acid is often the best line of attack when it comes to treating breakouts. The oil-soluble beta-hydroxy-acid works by travelling into the skin and helping to break down debris and excess oil, bringing existing spots down and preventing new ones from forming.
La Roche-Posay's whole Effaclar line is based around salicylic acid: for a serum that simply works, look to this concentrated yet lightweight formula.
The breakdown
- Product size: 30ml
- Key ingredients: salicylic acid
- The benefits: clears breakouts, clarifies congestion
Susanne Kaufmann's new skincare offering is really a cut above. It's centred around ectoin: an underused skin hero that works to bring down inflammation and build a broken skin barrier back up, leaving even the most temperamental of skins looking and feeling restored.
Not just one to call on in times of crisis, it's also a brilliant hydrator, helping the skin to lock in moisture for longer. With the change in seasons upon us, now's the perfect time to add it into your routine.
The breakdown
- Product size: 30ml
- Key ingredients: ectoin, glycerin, blackcurrant bud
- The benefits: calms, soothes, plumps
The rise of the super-affordable high-street skincare line, led by Cerave, has proven that you don't need to spend triple figures to get an effective product.
Moreover, there's really no need to venture into that realm for a hyaluronic acid serum, which is essentially a basic yet brilliant hydrator. Of course, this one doesn't contain any nifty peptides or resurfacing actives, but it is packed with hyaluronic acid and barrier-building ceramides, and will keep dry skin satiated all day long.
The breakdown
- Product size: 30ml
- Key ingredients: hyaluronic acid, ceramides
- The benefits: hydrates, fortifies the barrier
If you're going to use retinol around your delicate eye area, it's wise to invest in a targetted eye serum, as this delicate skin is more easily aggravated than that elsewhere on your face. Murad has mastered the balance with this creamy formula, which uses encapsulated retinol that delivers a slow drip of the active into the skin, negating the risk of irritation.
The breakdown
- Product size: 15ml
- Key ingredients: retinol
- The benefits: plumps fine lines
Clarins' star serum has been a fan favourite since launching in the late Nineties (although there have been a few formulatory upgrades since then). Today, it's a must-try hydrating serum for anyone tackling a dry, lacklustre complexion in need of a wake-up call. The bi-phase formula contains a host of skin-stimulating ingredients, from oat to turmeric, and makes even the thirstiest of skins feel instantly hydrated.
The breakdown
- Product size: 75ml
- Key ingredients: turmeric, oat, aloe
- The benefits: brightens, hydrates
Fatma Shaheen is one London's most in-demand facialists, so it makes sense that her own, independent line of at-home topicals is remarkable efficacious.
The star of the show, Face Tight contains a powerful blend of peptides shown to refine surface texture, plumping out fine lines and firming lax skin. The inclusion of Argassential™ is especially promising: this argan-derived compound has been shown to heighten collagen synthesis for a smoother complexion.
The breakdown
- Product size: 30ml
- Key ingredients: Argassential™, peptides
- The benefits: firms, tightens
First things first: you can not 'erase' your pores from your face, and nor should you feel the need to. (The idea that pores 'open and close' is also a myth.)
However, overzealous oil production can lead to pores appearing larger than they are in their natural, balanced state. If this sounds familiar, a niacinamide serum is your closest ally.
This one from Naturium contains one of the highest concentrations of niacinamide alongside zinc, which makes it especially beneficial for those prone to breakouts. Use it every morning before a lightweight moisturiser and SPF.
The breakdown
- Product size: 30ml
- Key ingredients: niacinamide, zinc
- The benefits: clarifies, boosts skin barrier
111 Skin's Repair Serum has recently been reformulated, with four times the dose of NAC Y2™ and an enhanced delivery system to help it reach the target cells within the skin.
So, what exactly is this star ingredient? Essentially, it's an amino acid complex that promotes production of glutathione – the skin's primary antioxidant and a key ally in preventing discolouration.
With regular use, this powerful skin-strengthener will contribute to resilient, elastic skin with a bright, even tone.
The breakdown
- Product size: 30ml
- Key ingredients: NAC Y2™ (a glutathione booster), centella asiatica
- The benefits: hydrates, calms, accelerates skin repair
"I'm a huge fan of Dr. Anita Sturnham's Decree line, which delivers truly impressive results without challenging my inflammation-prone skin," says senior shopping editor Roberta Schroeder.
"The collection highlight, Treat Tincture is a potent serum that takes on acne scars, enlarged pores and fine lines with a masterful combination of hyaluronic acid, alpha arbutin, stem cells and retinol. It's your all-in-one rejuvenator for skin that needs a serious boost."
The breakdown
- Product size: 30ml
- Key ingredients: retinoid complex, apple stem cells, alpha arbutin
- The benefits: rejuvenates, clarifies, firms, protects
Dr. Barbara Sturm's philosophy is based around keeping inflammation at bay: if you can do this, the most common skin issues, from pigmentation to acne, can be kept under control. While the brand's cult Hyaluronic Serum often steals the spotlight, the lesser-lauded Calming Serum sums up her anti-inflammaging ethos brilliantly. Infused with strengthening fatty acids and soothing plant extracts – including star ingredient purslane – this cooling milky serum will take the heat out of winter-ravaged ruddy cheeks.
The breakdown
- Product size: 30ml
- Key ingredients: purslane, sunflower seed oil
- The benefits: calms irritation and redness
