Facial serums have been growing in popularity for several years, thanks to their high quality formulae that harness a record number or high concentration of active ingredients that penetrate skin quicker than their creamy cousins.
What is a serum? They are the high performance F1 champions of the cosmetics world! They have a higher concentration of active ingredients than creams and are more easily absorbed, making them a powerful addition to any daily beauty routine. What's more, serums help to reinforce and boost the action of other treatments, making them a beauty buddy that our skins love to soak up.
First came body, hair and cleansing oils, followed by revolutionary face oils. These superhero serums combine specific active ingredients (anti-ageing, moisturising, purifying, brightening, anti-blemish) with all the benefits of an oil. In other words, they have all the goodness of serums combined with the nourishing, repairing and regenerating properties of oils.
Face oils are great for skin as our epidermis is protected by a hydrolipidic film that gets out of sync as we age. They therefore replenish our skin's lipid levels. A repairing and nourishing Supernanny, they're perfectly suited to skin and can be blended with essential oils or lipophilic ingredients such as vitamins A and E. Even better their ultra-light formulae won't leave your skin feeling greasy. Put simply, oil serums are a beauty no-brainer.
All skin types love oil serums - there are enough formulae on the market to meet everyone's needs. All you need to do is choose one suited to your skin type: nourishing and softening for dry skin, brightening for normal skin, astringent for oily skin and open pores and, finally, smoothing and regenerating for mature skin.
These high-powered, jacked-up oil serums are designed to treat skin - rebalancing, anti-blemish, anti-ageing - so it's best to apply them at night instead of your usual cream. This gives our skin time to bathe in their goodness so we can wake up to gorgeous, peachy complexions.
Oil serums are skincare multi-taskers They can replace day creams, nighttime treatments and can be added to masks to boost their properties. You can also apply a dab or two on top of your make up for a healthy, dewy glow. Gently tap them on to your face with your fingers. This helps them to penetrate your skin, whilst giving your circulation a good boost.
The jackpot? This latest generation of oils are much lighter and finer than body oils, meaning our skin absorbs them in a flash - no need to kill time by waiting for them to penetrate your skin. They're great if you're in a rush - they're immediately absorbed so you can put your make up on straight away!