By Adriana Ermter
Dewy, glowing, plump, hydrated, calm, clear and youthful are just a few adjectives used in conjunction with face serums. Packed with a high concentration of active ingredients, these small but mighty products are the heroes of skincare. Because all you need to go from blah to beautiful are just a couple of drops smoothed across your face each day. With new iterations launching regularly, we’ve done our homework, cherry-picking eight brand new options—each with a unique benefit—to give your skin the serum it needs now.
Carbon Theory Charcoal, Tea Tree Oil & Vitamin E Overnight Detox Serum
$27.99, available at Shoppers Drug Mart
What it does: Hydrates and heals acne prone skin while you sleep.
Who can use it: Anyone with facial acne who wants to heal their skin and prevent future breakouts.
How to use it: Apply directly onto and all over your clean skin, focusing on your face’s T-zone before bedtime, daily.
Amazing benefit: Vegan and cruelty-free, the formula’s infusion of vitamin E, organic activated charcoal and tea tree work hard to nourish and protect your skin, while eliminating impurities and excess oil.
Clarins Double Serum Eye
$96, available at Hudson’s Bay
What it does: Smoothes wrinkles, puffiness and dark circles into never-never land, while illuminating your under-eye skin.
Who can use it: Anyone who is experiencing the first signs of aging.
How to use it: Safe on sensitive skin and for contact lens wearers, all you have to do is emulsify the serum between your fingertips before applying it on clean skin, under and around your entire eye are.
Amazing benefit: Star ingredients wild chervil and turmeric extracts, works in conjunction with 10 other plant extracts to preserve and reinforce your under-eye skin.
Herbivore Botanicals Moon Fruit 1% Bakuchiol + Peptides Retinol Alternative Serum
$78, available at Sephora
What it does: Puts aging in its place by smoothing fine lines and firms up your skin.
Who can use it: Anyone who wants the anti-aging benefits of Retinol but doesn’t want to use a Retinol-based product.
How to use it: One pump at nighttime only two or three times a week for the first month, then every night afterwards. You can even smooth the serum down your neck and decolletage as well. Follow it with your favourite night cream.
Amazing benefit: Vegan and cruelty-free, the formula boasts 1 per cent of bakuchiol, a well-researched plant alternative to retinol, combined with plant peptides and schisandra berry extract to firm and tighten the look and feel of your skin.
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Ultra Concentrated Serum
$54, available at Shoppers Drug Mart
What it does: Gently peels away the top layer of your epidermis to heal and prevent acne while diminishing the signs of aging.
Who can use it: Adults with acne-prone skin.
How to use it: Massage a few drops across clean skin before bedtime and follow up with a lotion. In the morning, apply a sunscreen across your clean face before applying your daytime moisturizer.
Amazing benefits: The formula’s blend of salicylic and glycolic acids with LHA exfoliate dead skin cells, reducing any traces of acne, while tightening your pores and eliminating the appearance of fine lines.
Naturally Serious Skin C Your Glow Vitamin C Radiance Oil
$55, available at Shoppers Drug Mart
What it does: Enhances the look of radiance to give your face a natural healthy glow.
Who can use it: All skin types including sensitive skin.
How to use it: Rub several drops all over your clean skin. You can even apply a second serum over top, followed by your moisturizer, day and night.
Amazing benefits: The thick, luxurious oil-based formula see-saws between being a traditional face oil and a face serum. Fueled with vitamin C and 20 natural oil extracts, it brightens and hydrates your face, while eliminating dryness and reducing the appearance of wrinkles.
SVR B3 Ampoule Hydra
$50, available at Shoppers Drug Mart
What it does: Soothes your skin, while strengthening your face’s epidermal barrier to lock in moisture and prevent dryness.
Who can use it: Anyone experiencing sensitive dehydrated skin that feels tight and is showing sign of aging.
How to use it: Massage a few drops onto clean skin in the morning and in the evening. This serum can even be added to a dollop of your favourite cream and then, applied directly to your face.
Amazing benefits: Not one but three hyaluronic acids, the holy grail of hydration, have been swirled into a vitamin B3-based formula to restore moisture back into your skin.
The Body Shop Edelweiss Eye Serum Concentrate
$35, available at The Body Shop
What it does: Revives the area around your eyes to create plumper, smoother and hydrated skin.
Who can use it: Anyone who loved the brand’s Drops of Youth Concentrate will appreciate this upgrade and how it boosts tired eyes with a brightening hit of 24-hour moisture.
How to use it: Dab a little on clean skin morning and night and follow with your daytime and/or evening face lotion or cream.
Amazing benefits: Vegan and enriched with natural-origin rice peptides to help maintain your skin’s protective barrier, edelweiss extract and leontopodic acid smooth away fine lines so that you look calm and well rested.
Vichy LiftActive Supreme H.A. Wrinkle Filler
$62.95, available at Shoppers Drug Mart
What it does: Plumps up your face, reducing the signs of fine lines and wrinkles, while giving you a youthful look.
Who can use it: Dermatologist tested and fragrance free so ideal for sensitive skin, this serum is ideal for anyone wanting to combat the signs of aging.
How to use it: Two to three drops are all you need for your entire face, including the undereye area.
Amazing benefits: With its fusion of 1.5 per cent hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, neuro-peptides and Vichy volcanic water, the serum adds instant volume to your skin so that it feels and looks plumper, softer and younger.
