Serums – what are they and which one is right for you? We take a look at some of the wonderful ones on the local market and I outline their points of difference that make each one special so you can see what suits your needs best, and as always, include where to buy and their price as I know that is of vital importance!
What are serums?
They are light, fast-absorbing liquids made of very small molecules, so the skin absorbs them quickly and deeply. This skincare formulation may be used as well as – or instead of – your moisturising night cream. They leave out occlusive, or airtight, moisturizing ingredients such as petrolatum or mineral oil that keep water from evaporating. They are primarily used for two things – anti-ageing, and super hydrating. I have also included an oil control serum below.
Are they more expensive?
Yes because they contain a higher ratio of active ingredients (the peptides, Vitamins, and antioxidants) to thickeners. In short, there’s less so-called ‘fluid’, and a higher concentration of actives. It’s like less mashed potato and more beef in your mince pie.
Should I buy serum in a tub?
No. To maintain its integrity you should buy serum that is packaged in a pump, tube, or eyedropper to minimise exposure to air. All the ones I have featured here are pumps except Antipodes and Savar which are eyedropper and Revitalift Filler and Dr. Hauschka which are tubes.
How should I use them?
Before moisturising. Wait until your face has dried after cleansing, them pat them on and then use your moisturiser. If you find serums too expensive to use twice a day, try adding just a couple of drops to your moisturiser in the morning.
Here are some new and recent serums
I’ve photographed a few serums available in New Zealand and outlined some useful info on each: their point of difference, the recommended retail price, and where they are available. I hope you enjoy the pictures shot with plants from my own garden, and I also hope you find a serum you’d like to try for yourself that suits your own skin type best.
Antipodes Chia & Kiwi Seed Serum
Point of difference: Antipodes is a science-based botanical skincare company from New Zealand that is cruelty-free and does its clinical testing on humans, not animals. Years back, it was the first NZ brand accepted onto the iconic beauty floor at Selfridges. This latest product of theirs is a serum with the appearance of a golden oil that’s very light and fluid. It uses the superfood chia’s seed oil, together with that of kiwifruit, to really feed your skin, with a nutrient-dense meal of EFAs (essential fatty acids) to seal in moisture and protect against stresses. It is fragranced with jasmine and ylang ylang and can be used by most skin types particularly those with dry and flaky skin.
Price: $54.45
Available from: www.antipodesnature.com
Trilogy Very Gentle Calming Serum
Point of difference: You will know and love Trilogy for its rosehip oil products and in particular its famous rosehip facial oil that set the marketplace on fire with a plethora of rosehip imitators. This calming serum however does not use rosehip but a soothing blend of botanicals: olive fruit oil, evening primrose, calendula, soybean, camellia, green tea, and rosemary, to calm irritated and inflamed skin. Trilogy has formulated its own SyriCalm complex using calendula and green tea to moisturise very gently while reducing redness and inflammation. It is a white serum and is fragrance-free. For sensitive skin types.
Price: $44.90
Available from: Pharmacies, department stores, and www.trilogyproducts.com
Savar Wonder Lift Serum
Point of difference: Started three years ago by New Zealander Vicki Woolford, Savar was originally sold entirely online taking a prestige natural NZ skincare product to a worldwide audience. Nowadays, it is available at leading retailers, gift stores and beauty therapists throughout New Zealand such as Smith & Caughey. Rich in premium botanical extracts and oils including New Zealand blackcurrant seed oil – exceptionally rich in essential fatty acids, anti-ageing, renewing and rejuvenating, and organic goji berry extract – one of the richest source of vitamins and anti ageing antioxidants.
Price: $85
Available from: Selected stockists see www.savaronline.com
Jurlique Firming & Tightening Serum
Point of difference: This is a really lovely product. Even the bottle is gorgeous, with a pearlescent sheen to it, and the same for the serum inside. Australian-made Jurlique will be well-known to people who have travelled but might not be as well-known to many New Zealanders and I definitely think you should seek it out if you love quality skincare that combines scientific technologies to biodynamic ingredients from their Australian farm. It’s available in New Zealand at Smith & Caughey and online. (Lifehack: if you sign up to the Smith & Caughey newsletter, when you shop they give you 15% off that order.) This formulation has been created to tighten and firm up skin and it is for those concerned with the first signs of ageing. Jurlique’s Active-Firm Complex has powerful botanicals chosen for the hydrating and firming properties, such as oat kernel extract, beech tree bud extract and tapioca starch.
Price: around $118 for 30mls.
Available from: duty free stores, selected department stores, and www.jurlique.com
Nimue Super Hydrating Serum
Point of difference: Nimue is a derma-cosmaceutical brand that brings high-tech solutions to skincare problems, in particular, ageing and dehydrated skin, with this long glass of water – their Super Hydrating Serum. The first thing I noticed was how cool their tangerine and silver canister looked and next how the white serum smelled faintly of citrus. This uses nanotechnology to deliver into the skin cells to improve cellular metabolism and circulation in order to give your skin a new lease on life – especially around tired eyes and where fine lines are starting to appear.
Price: $165 for 30ml
Available from: at beauty salons and medi-clinics; for stockists phone 0800 144 562.
Dr. Hauschka Night Serum
Point of difference: This is their first night serum and it centres around apple blossoms which respond to night. Apple fruit hydrosol and apple blossom extract are blended with witch hazel extract in this Night Serum aimed at all skin types. Like all Dr.Hauschka products, this Night Serum only contains natural and/or organic ingredients, certified to NATRUE and/or BDIH standards, and is free from synthetic fragrances, dyes and preservatives, mineral oils, parabens, silicone and PEGs. It is also vegan, and has been dermatologically tested for sensitive skin. I really like that wherever possible, all raw materials come from controlled organic or Demeter cultivation and are recovered under fair conditions. They have a Youtube showing how to apply the serum using fingertips moving outwards from the centre of the face.
Price: $75
Available from: Farmers, department stores and online at www.dr.hauschka.com
Oasis Beauty Straight Up oil & blemish control serum
Point of difference: Another New Zealand brand, Oasis Beauty is based in North Canterbury in Oxford and began 15 years ago and has no animal testing on its natural and organic line of skincare. This serum is different as it’s aimed at those with adult spots as acne is not just a teenage problem – you can have blemishes AND wrinkles at the same time – so this is an anti-ageing product for those with blemishes. It uses anti-ageing vitamins A (retinol), C and E alongside manuka (teatree) for spots and rosemary for inflammation. It may be used on sensitive skin, with calendula to soothe. It’s quite a small bottle at 15ml, and has a delicate herbal scent and a golden colour.
Price: $39.90
Available from: www.oasisbeauty.co.nz
Oasis Beauty Hot Toddy super hydrating serum
Point of difference: Like its blemish-control sister above, this serum from Oasis Beauty is 15ml and contains A,C and E as well as known anti-ageing botanical hero, rosehip. Although it’s super-hydrating, it’s still formulated to be suitable for sensitive skins, which often need to avoid high concentrations of Retinol. It also has Vitamin B3 (Niacin) which applied topically is used in skincare for improving ceramide and fatty acid levels and retaining moisture.
Price: $39.90
Available from: www.oasisbeauty.co.nz
Essano Rosehip Collagen Repair Serum
Point of difference: A certified organic rosehip brand that is really reasonably priced and easy to find. Essano has been around for about 3 years now and the serum is their latest release. This is a light, white serum (as opposed to the golden oil serums). It contains plant peptides to promote firmer skin, and has more sunflower seed oil than rosehip; it’s not strictly rosehip oil but a blend of botanical seed oils and jojoba.
Price: in the $20 range.
Available from: www.essano.co.nz available at Countdown and pharmacies.
Alpha H Liquid Gold Intensive Night Repair Serum
Point of difference: This is an Australian brand, from Owner and Director Michelle Doherty who suffered from chronic cystic acne and bought Alpha H when it had great results for her, and it remains a family-run skincare brand based in Queensland and exporting internationally. Liquid Gold ($65) is their resurfacing, facial-in-a-bottle, cult product with 5% Cosmetic Grade Glycolic Acid. Pictured above is the night repair serum ($99) in the Liquid Gold range. Alpha H have formulations with high concentrations so it wouldn’t be ideal for sensitive skins not used to glycolic or Retinols as they’re not suited to everybody. Active ingredients are a roll call of anti-ageing beauties: 14% cosmetic grade Glycolic Extract, Vitamin A (Retinyl Acetate), Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Palmitoyl Tripeptide 5, Sodium Hyaluronate and Vitamin E. This serum – aimed at mature skin – is part of the skincare line on TVSN; the TV Shopping Network. It has a light, clear gel consistency on the skin.
Price: $99
Available from: TVSN and online at www.tvsn.co.nz
L’Oreal Paris Revitalift Filler Revolumising Serum
Point of difference: Volume loss is a big area in the anti-ageing market, as women losing plumpness as they age turn to cosmetic procedues – which is where this product aims to step in. Revitalift launched with comparisons to laser treatments, and this new Filler compares itself to having Hyaluronic Acid injections – apparently the no.2 dermatological procedure after Botox. This Serum and Filler range has a topical, injection-free concentrate with L’Oreal Paris’ highest level of Hyaluronic Acid yet. I liked that it was even packaged in a injection-esque tube to look like a syringe!
Price: around $50 range
Available from: selected supermarkets, pharmacies and department stores wherever L’Oreal Paris is sold.
818 ONE Truth Anti-Aging Serum
Point of difference: I’m using this clear, light serum morning and night and no other products, to see how much it improves my skin. I am really excited to see the results, after hearing firsthand from Nobel Prize-winning Telomere biologist Dr. Bill Andrews PhD and his team at Sierra Sciences. It took 11 years of research and a $33 million investment before TAM-818 was discovered. Now it is in a velvety skincare serum, One Truth 818 Serum, the first skincare product in the world with the potential to make skin grow biologically younger, thanks to the discovery of the progressive TAM-818 molecule. “Just like the caps on your shoelaces, the older the telomeres get, the more worn out and shorter they become, until they are rendered useless. Telomere shortening is one of the biggest, yet most unknown killers of humans today. By putting a halt to the shortening of our telomeres – or even better, lengthening them – the cures for a long list of telomere shortening related diseases is one step closer.” – Dr. Bill Andrews, Molecular Biologist.
Price: around $300
Available from: selected beauty spas; see www.tam818.com for stockists.
This post was not paid for. All products received for review purposes.
Megan Robinson 26 September 2015
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