A Few of My Favourite Things: Serums and Face Oils

Hello!

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a little a bit obsessed with skincare! So today I bring you the first in a new blog series called "A few of my favourite things" where I will discuss a few of my favourite things in each category explaining why I like them so much and why I would recommend them.

So, serums and face oils....why do I love them so much? Basically a serum has more potent ingredients and will ultimately do more than your regular moisturiser. For a slightly more in depth look at what a serum is the lovely people over at Into The Gloss have put together a little FAQ that's definitely worth a read!

First up is the bareMinerals Skinlongevity*. This is the newest serum by bareMinerals and I bloody love it! I was worried when they announced that they were discontinuing all their serums for this "vital power infusion" as I had no idea what that meant and I loved the old serums. Basically, this infusion can be used alone or with another serum on top to boost what that other serum does. It also has skinmimetic technology in it, which effectively means it'll make your skin act how it should do at your age. It helps to get rid of visible signs of ageing and stops environmental stressers from making your skin look older than it is. With ingredients like long life herb and California poppy in it (and no parabens, fillers or binders), it's designed to keep your skin looking younger for longer. Plus it smells AMAZING so, you know, there's that too....! You can see my one is getting rather low despite only having had it for 2 and a half months.....it turns out my Mum is also a fan of this product!!!

bareMinerals Multi-Wrinkle Repair was my absolute favourite serum before Skinlongevity came out. It smelt like lavender and just sunk into my skin so quickly whilst hydrating it quickly too. I won't go on about this too much as it has been discontinued and I don't want to make anyone feel like they want to try it only to be disappointed when it's difficult to find!!

Nip+Fab Dragon's Blood Plumping Serum - I got this as a 10 day sachet sample set when I got the face mask on their website a while back. Firstly, if these sachets only last you 10 days, what are you doing with the serum?? There is SO much in each sachet!! I really enjoy this serum and it's a cheaper version of the Rodial Dragon's Blood Serum, which I've not tried as it's rather expensive! This one is slightly thicker and stickier than the other serums and oils in this post which does put me off buying the full size to be honest. I don't mind using this at night but it takes way too long to sink in for me to use during the day. It does have hyaluronic acid in it though, so if you have excessively dry skin this might be good during the day too.

Clarins Pore Minimizing Serum - I got this as a sample from my local Clarins counter and although I'm not a huge fan of it all over my face, I do like how it does minimise the appearance of my pores and helps to mattify my face during the day. My makeup sits nicer and stays for a bit lonoger too I have noticed. This serum is for more combination to oily skin, which is probably why I don't like it all over my skin but it has alpine willow herb in it which helps slow the production of sebum resulting in a matte finish.

AD Skin Synergy Nourishing Night Treatment - I got this in a beauty box a while back and I love it! It's seriously nourishing and smells amazing. The brand is also paraben free which is always a good thing I think. It contains a lot of natural, organic oils which will help to hydrate your skin and repair it overnight. Highly recommend! (Plus a tiny bit goes a REALLY long way so it lasts ages too!)

Kiehls Midnight Recovery Concerntrate - I got this when it was on a huge discount on the Debenhams website (it is still on a slight discount here) as I'd always heard such good things about it. To start off with, I wasn't really sure it was doing much. Sure it smelt good but really....was my skin looking any different? Then someone mentioned that my skin looked really glowy and I realised that the subtle changes weren't noticable by myself so much, but it was obviously doing something! This is another paraben free item which I love to put on after my bareMinerals Skinlongevity to really give my skin an overnight boost!

Fresh Seaberry Moisturizing Face Oil - This was part of a Sephora gift set my brother got for me a while ago and it's the only face oil I've ever been able to use in the morning under my makeup! It's a blend of pure oils and is a lot thinner in consistency meaning it will sink in quicker. Seaberry is known for its moisturising properties and helps to heal skin too. I've loved all the Fresh skincare I have used but it's a little expensive....although totally worth it!

Nude Rescue Oil - This was another sample in the Sephora set that my brother got for me. This serum has a product in it called bakuchiol which Nude claims has the same effect as retinol "without negative side effects." I like this one as another overnight treatment as it refines the texture of my skin which means I wake up with epically smooth skin in the morning! This serum is suitably for Vegans too, which is pretty awesome!

Nude Firming Youth Oil - This one has a really nice plumping effect which helps to fight the visible signs of ageing in the form of fine lines and wrinkles. I'm not super fussed about wrinkles at the moment so I'm not sure I could justify the price tag but I'm enjoying the sample I got! Again, this serum is suitable for Vegans so if fine lines and wrinkles are a concern for you it might be worth looking into this one!

Superdrug Coconut Oil - Now then, I'm not adverse to cheaper skincare brands by any means, but for serums and oils I've just never found one on the high street that is something to rave about you know? Most serums on high street have silicone in them, which is what most primers contain to make your skin feel soft and smooth and I would never recommend putting a primer on at night to sleep in, so I'm not about to recommend a serum that has that ingredient in! However, this coconut oil from Superdrug is absolutely amazing and is only £2.50!! I use it in my hair as well as on my face when it gets excessively dry during Winter and I love it! My hair is dyed frequently so it's a good overnight treatment to help it from getting dry and horrible and when my face gets dry and flaky during Winter it's fab for re-hydrating it. If I use this over one of my other intense serums it's even better! If you don't have a huge skincare budget, then this is the product for you for sure! Maybe not a great day time option, especially for oily skin types, but as an overnight option it's the bomb!

So there are my serum and face oil picks for the moment! How do you guys feel about serums and oils? Do you have any recommendations for me to add to my list once I use some of these up? (or before I use these ones up knowing me!!!)

Until next time,

xoxo