What serum really makes you glow ?

[PeacheyPeach]

Ive been using boots advanced serum for the past few weeks and i have to admit that im a bit disappointed so far! My skin doesn't look that much different than when i started! What serums actually work on a 40year old . I thought id be all glowy by now but I look as patchy and grey as i usually do in the winter 🤣

I keep thinking about getting it ... It's really expensive, it's the kind of thing I should of asked for from OH for Xmas, one really nice tiny thing instead of lots of things.

Mother's Day?

Not generally a serum person but someone gave me a CBD and Bakuchiol serum at Christmas from a company called Raven Botanicals, which I am absolutely loving - gorgeous scent and I don’t think my skin has felt better. The other one I love is Khiels Recovery Concentrate but it’s not as well priced.

@BobbitWormNightmares this is my thinking too. I did then buy the eye cream as there was an offer in Boots. I quite like that too, but not as much as the serum.

Are Clarins really testing products on animals!? Quite shocked to hear that.

Thanks everyone wow there are so many around and i have to admit ive never heard of any of them 🤣 im a total newbie when it comes to skincare! I thought i had got it cracked with my new skin care routine but obviously not!! When talk of acids start i honeslty don't have a clue !!

I didn't rate ANR at all.
If you want to try it and not fork out the Missha Korean brand does a product with exactly the same ingredients (down to funny mushroomy smell)
I think Allbeauty might be cheaper than FU for the Clarins. 50ml for 80ish?

@woodhill

I like Double serum at night and use vit C serum in the daytime

Which vitamin c serum if you don't mind me asking? I won't want to burn through my new bottle of Clarins gold dust by using twice a day, and fancy adding a vitamin c to the mix, so happy to take recommendations! Thanks.

@PeacheyPeach

Thanks everyone wow there are so many around and i have to admit ive never heard of any of them 🤣 im a total newbie when it comes to skincare! I thought i had got it cracked with my new skin care routine but obviously not!! When talk of acids start i honeslty don't have a clue !!

Peachey even just use a glycolic acid toner after cleansing - makes a massive difference I think. I use the superdrug natural radiance one and really rate it. It's a gentle chemical exfoliant so your skin is always lovely, smooth and polished, which in itself will help your skin to shine.

@curlytops21 thank you xx i use a no7 toner at the minute but it doesnt feel like it does anything. I will buy the superdrug one give that a go instead!! I already use the superdrug hot cloth vitamin D cleanser which is nice x

@Pusspot thank you!!

@peacheyPeach there are articles out there that explain things like acids simply - it can be confusing bc there's so much choice.
Also take a look at Doctorly on YouTube- simple fuss free advice from dermatologists and they should cover all your main questions.
Toner not recommended by most dermatologists these days, past ones were far too astringent and these days they're unnecessary- a good cleanser, moisturiser and something to protect your skin should be enough. Active ingredients to improve skin are likely to be present in these things so a toner would be pointless.

If, however, you find something that transforms your skin and it happens to be toner then go for it

When it comes to adding in active ingredients, you really only need to add those that will tackle a specific concern otherwise you risk overloading.

Brands like the ordinary, inkey list, elcat or boots ingredients are great for helping to work out what your skin needs and what it doesn't like.

@tarar2020 thank you for all the fab info xx i will check that out on youtube tomorrow xx

Acids: glycolic for ageing and dry
Salicylic: oily blemish prone

There are others but those are your biggies. Lots of cleansers contain them already. You don't need to pay big money for either. Nip&Fab do handy pads soaked in toner.

Toner: nowadays fall into 3 kinds, the astringent toners we all remember from our youth, Clinique 3 step wotsit- guess what? Acid toners before acids were ever mentioned. Then there's the normal freshening type with no active ingredients- these are the ones you don't need, but if you like them, they won't do any harm. Then there's the new generations of acid toners, one of the easiest ways for active acids to be delivered. Pixi toners, Olay anti wrinkle, Paula's Choice BHA, are all acid toners and are what have basically replaced the gritty scrubs of days gone by.
There are other acids around like lactic and malic. Again, go to Nadine Baggott videos. She explains the science behind what they all do and you can decide if you need one or not.

For those of you who have had their appetite whetted by Clarins Double Serum (like me!) you can get it from Escentual for £51 - but get an extra 10% off with ESCENTUAL10 code, free postage. So got it for just under £46. It is also on offer at John Lewis for about £45.

To update about Escentual and Clarins DS, I bought the 30ml. A previous poster mentioned Feel Unique had it for £58, that is also for 30ml. There is a 50ml available, also on offer at Escentual and John Lewis but can't recall what it is, I went for the smaller size.

The estee lauder ANR made me break out badly- so watch out if you're acne prone

@NotExactlyHappyToHelp I've just ordered the Medik8 Vit C serum and the clarity peptides. Can you just use one after the other?

Going to hopefully do that in the morning and waiting on my Skin + Me prescription for nighttime.

@Melange99, do you think Clarins DS glow, and Fidji EDP are going to become the new MN secret signs

@StepOutOfLine I do! I got my Fidji on today. I smell lush. Wait until I get my Clarins DS on my face, no stopping me!

Would this be to much for my skin to deal with in one go!? If I bought the Superdrug radiance toner and the clarins double serum?

I think the only problem with starting more than thing at once is that if you react to either of them it might be harder to tell which one it is... so you'd probably have to stop using both, wait till the reaction had gone and then try one at a time. I wouldn't think 2 new things at once in itself would be a problem though (especially if you don't tend to react badly to stuff in general)

@supercee I’ve got the liquid peptides not the clarity so different textures I think but I’ve used the both (peptides first and vit c after) with no issues.

I think the general rule is thinnest to thickest but if you’re unsure pop Medik8 a message and ask. They are really helpful.

Nothing will penetrate to the extent needed to 'change' your skin. No matter the price tag.

Well my skin looks miles better since I've started slapping a load of god knows what all over it, so something must be working!

@curlytops21 - hi

It's the Avon one. Tbh it's hard to tell with all these products as you can't remember what your skin was like before. I'm in my 50s

@Melange99

For those of you who have had their appetite whetted by Clarins Double Serum (like me!) you can get it from Escentual for £51 - but get an extra 10% off with ESCENTUAL10 code, free postage. So got it for just under £46. It is also on offer at John Lewis for about £45.

Thanks for this! Off to order it now.