By Adriana Ermter
When winter sets in, your skin feels it — often before you consciously register the change. Colder temperatures, shorter days and months of indoor heating quietly alter how your complexion behaves, and the lightweight serums that worked perfectly during warmer months can suddenly feel inadequate.
In summer and early fall, higher humidity helps skin retain moisture naturally. Sebum production increases, lighter formulas feel sufficient and skin tends to look plumper and more luminous. Winter, however, is a different story. Dry outdoor air combined with constant indoor heat pulls moisture from the skin more quickly, leaving it prone to tightness, sensitivity and dullness. Suddenly, hydration alone isn’t enough — barrier support, plumping ingredients and targeted treatments become essential.
That’s where a strategic serum switch-up comes in. The right formula can replenish lost moisture, reinforce the skin barrier and address specific concerns — from dehydration and uneven texture to fine lines and lack of radiance — without overcomplicating your routine.
The winter skin factor
With cold outdoor air and heated indoor environments pulling moisture from our skin, winter is when dehydration becomes most noticeable. Hot showers, long baths and dry air accelerate transepidermal water loss (TEWL) — a process dermatologists use to describe how moisture evaporates from the skin more easily in colder conditions. Over time, this can make fine lines more visible, increase redness and sensitivity, and leave skin feeling itchy or tight.
In other words: if your complexion suddenly feels less resilient than it did a few months ago, it’s not your imagination.
Serum solutions
Thankfully, there’s a serum for that. Applying the right formula can help support your skin through the depths of winter by replenishing hydration, strengthening the barrier and delivering targeted actives efficiently. Ingredients like humectants — including hyaluronic acid and glycerin — draw water into the skin, while ceramides, fatty acids and squalane help seal it in.
Each of the serums below is designed to meet winter skin where it is now — whether that means deeper hydration, smoother texture, brighter tone or a little extra plumpness.
THE INTENSE HYDRATORS
Biossance Squalane + Copper Peptide Rapid Plumping Serum
$92 for 50 ml, available at Sephora
A seriously elegant, high-performance serum that offers instant dewy hydration and helps firm your face over time. The core ingredients include sugar-cane-derived squalane, which replenishes the skin’s moisture barrier and keeps it feeling smooth and resilient; a blend of vegan copper peptides, which support collagen and elastin production to give skin a firmer bounce; and a rapid-plumping complex of hyaluronic acid and polyglutamic acid, which draws and locks water into your epidermis.
The overall effect: Deep hydration, bolstered elasticity and improved skin texture and tone.
Who can use it: All skin types—whether you’re dry, combination or even oily and seeking hydration without heaviness.
Our favourite part: The serum’s signature turquoise-blue hue comes from the natural copper peptides—they’re naturally tinted, not artificially coloured.
Elizabeth Arden Hyaluronic Acid + Peptides Ceramide Capsules Hydra-Plumping Serum
$158 for 90 capsules, available at Shoppers Drug Mart and online at www.elizabetharden.com
Each serum-filled capsule delivers fresh, single-dose hydration and firming power. Like the name implies hyaluronic acid pulls moisture into the skin, peptides support a firmer, smoother look and ceramides strengthen the barrier and prevent moisture loss.
The overall effect: Plumper, cushioned-feeling skin that looks more radiant and resilient.
Who can use it: Most skin types, especially those feeling dry, tight or dull as seasons change. Apply after cleansing, morning or night by twisting open a capsule, pressing the serum you’re your face and neck, then follow with your favourite moisturizer.
Our favourite part: The capsules are biodegradable, and the formula’s “size-shifting” hyaluronic acid is said to be engineered to reach deeper skin layers for a noticeable hydration boost.
my iN-gredients Peptide Facial Serum Roller
$22.99 for 30 ml, available at Shoppers Drug Mart
This lightweight formula rolls on hydration easy style. Crafted with a multi-peptide complex (such as palmitoyl tripeptide-1 and copper tripeptide-1) it signals the skin to support collagen and elastin production, improving firmness and smoothness. An infusion of hyaluronic acid derivatives and humectants like glycerin, draw moisture into the surface of the skin, leaving it plumper and better protected.
The overall effect: The ingredients work together to hydrate, firm and help strengthen the skin barrier to perform better.
Who can use it: Combination, aging or dull skin types looking for textural improvement.
Our favourite part: The roller’s vegan, fragrance-free formula and minimalistic design. It’s also one of the few peptide-focused rollers in this price point.
Uriage Thermal Water H.A. Booster Serum
$45.50 for 30 ml, available at Shoppers Drug Mart
Mix-mastered to tackle dehydration, dullness and fine lines by delivering 1.5 per cent pure, naturally-derived hyaluronic acid to your skin. The formula is fuelled with multi-weight hyaluronic acid to draw and hold water to plump up skin and smooth out dehydration lines, plus aquaxyl and marshmallow flower extract to boost hydration deeper in the skin’s layers and help defend against external stressors.
The overall effect: Hydration, smoothness and protection for a velvety feel.
Who can use it: Ultra-light and suitable for all skin types, especially normal to dry or combination skin that feels tight or lacklustre.
Our favourite part: The brand’s signature bergamot-peach with lily-of-the-valley and cedar scent gives the serum a subtle fragrance twist, rare for a hydration-booster serum.
Versed Water Rush Intensive Hydrating Serum
$22.99 for 30 ml, available at Shoppers Drug Mart
An instant thirst-quencher for your skin, this serum relies on glycerin to pull moisture into the skin, sodium hyaluronate (a form of hyaluronic acid) to help bind that water deep into the layers of the dermis for a plumper look and squalane derived from sugar cane to reinforce the skin’s barrier and smooth your face’s surface texture.
The overall effect: More comfortable and supple skin, especially when it’s feeling tight or looking dull.
Who can use it: Normal to combination skin and, even, oily skin when it’s dehydrated.
Our favourite part: Water Rush serum is part of the brand’s “Good Skin Ethics” line, so is cruelty-free, has recyclable packaging and avoids common irritants, making it both skin-kind and planet-kind.
THE SPECIALTY TREATMENTS
Avène Cleanance A.H.A. Exfoliating Serum
$59 for 30 ml, available at Shoppers Drug Mart
This fragrance-free serum visibly reduces blemishes and smooths pores to give your skin a deep cleansing treatment. The formula’s inclusion of A.H.A. lactic acid gently exfoliates the surface of your skin to reveal a fresher, smoother epidermis, succinic acid enhances clarity and supports the exfoliation process, while amino acid glutamic acid helps regulate excess sebum. And then, of course, there’s the French brand’s signature Avène thermal spring water to soothe and calm sensitive or blemish-prone skin.
The overall effect: Because it eliminates dead skin cells on the surface, it reduces the appearance of pores and marks and balances oil production to restore a more even tone.
Who can use it: Normal to oily and acne-prone skin types, along with sensitive skin that can tolerate AHAs.
Our favourite part: The brand’s theory that lactic and succinic acid are one and a half times more effective than salicylic acid at refining skin texture in just 10 days.
Curél Intensive Moisture Anti-Wrinkle Hydrating Serum
$34.99 for 38 ml, available at Shoppers Drug Mart
Specifically formulated to support dry, sensitive skin while targeting the early signs of aging. Glycerin draws moisture into the skin to boost hydration, while ceramide‑functioning ingredients such as Cetyl‑PG Hydroxyethyl Palmitamide help replenish your face’s essential skin barrier lipids and protect it against moisture loss. The addition of allantoin soothes and calms the skin, as ginger root extract contributes antioxidant support to help visibly reduce fine lines.
The overall effect: Lots of hydration, a reinforced skin barrier and a smoother, more resilient texture with decreased fine lines and crow’s feet.
Who can use it: Dry to very dry or sensitive skin. May be too intense for oily skin.
Our favourite part: The formula is fragrance‑free, colourant‑free and alcohol‑free, making it especially gentle for those who prefer minimalist, sensitive‑friendly skincare.
Ducray Keracnyl Resurfacing Global Serum
$59 for 30 ml, available at Shoppers Drug Mart and online at www.well.ca.
Crafted specifically for hormonal, oily, acne‑prone adult skin with post‑blemish marks and uneven texture. Its standout ingredients include azelaic acid for calming inflammation and reducing visible spots, glycolic acid for gentle exfoliation and refining skin surface, and Myrtacine, a patented natural extract, to target acne‑causing bacteria and reduce excess sebum.
The overall effect: The ingredients work together to mattify, hydrate, unclog pores and fade residual marks.
Who can use it: Normal to oily and blemish‑prone skin that needs clarity, hydration and a smoother texture.
Our favourite part: The formula is pro-female as it is labelled as suitable for pregnant and breastfeeding women, which can be rare in a hormone-directed, treatment-based serum.
Filorga Time-Filler Shot 5XP Serum
$94 for 15 ml, available at Shoppers Drug Mart
This fine line, crow’s feet and wrinkle buster is formulated to target your anti-aging needs with the precision of a pro aesthetic treatment, minus the needle. A patented neuropeptide complex of hexapeptide and octapeptide works to relax the tiny muscle contractions that form expression lines. Protective polysaccharides form a film on your skin’s surface for deep, long‑lasting hydration and sodium hyaluronate, a form of hyaluronic acid, attracts moisture into the epidermis to visibly plump up your skin.
The overall effect: Smoother skin, less lines, more hydration and firmer looking skin.
Who can use it: All skin types, including sensitive skin, but mature faces will appreciate it’s benefits the most.
Our favourite part: The formula contains about 60 per cent active ingredients, making it unusually potent for a skincare serum.
Nivea Luminous630 Dark Spot Solution Advanced Serum
$47 for 30 ml, available at Walmart
A serious sun and dark spot treatment that reduces discolouration and increases your skin’s luminosity in a week. The hero ingredient is the patented Luminous 630 complex, which the German brand says will support the skin’s natural corrective processes to fade the appearance of spots. The formula also features hyaluronic acid to visibly plump and hydrate the skin, and vitamin E to smooth texture and provide antioxidant support.
The overall effect: A brighter, more even-toned complexion.
Who can use it: All skin types, including sensitive and mature skin.
Our favourite part: Nivea dedicated 10 years of research and screened over 50,000 ingredients to identify the Luminous 630 active.
THE GLOW MAKERS
Clarins Multi-Active Glow Serum
$80 for 30 ml, available at Sephora
A lightweight, radiance-boosting serum designed to smooth texture and fade signs of early ageing. At its heart is Vitamin C, which helps brighten your complexion and combat dullness. Alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) gently exfoliate your skin’s surface skin while botanical extracts nourish and support the skin’s barrier.
The overall effect: Gentle exfoliation promotes a natural glow and helps your face look more even and refined.
Who can use it: Normal to combination skin, especially when you’re noticing lacklustre tone or fine lines.
Our favourite part: The French brand developed the formula to target the five common signs of early ageing, including dullness, first lines and loss of radiance.
Merit Great Skin Instant Glow Serum
$52 for 50 ml, available at Sephora
Infused with niacinamide and hyaluronic acid, this lightweight everyday serum has been formulated to brighten, smooth and hydrate your skin all in easy step. The inclusion of niacinamide helps even skin tone and refine texture and hyaluronic acid attracts and retains moisture for a plumper look, while a blend of emollients create a silky finish without heaviness.
The overall effect: A calmer, stronger skin barrier replete with locked in hydration and an illumination that provides your complexion with a subtle, healthy glow.
Who can use it: Normal, dry, combination and even oily skin types—especially those looking for texture-correction and radiance without a heavy feel.
Our favourite part: The serum’s minimalist packaging and ingredient list ensures this serum skips added fragrance and focuses purely on performance.
Physicians Formula Butter Glow Bronzing Serum
From $21.97 for 30 ml, available at Walmart
This lightweight bronzing serum gives you a natural, sunkissed glow in just a few drops. Its “butter blend” of oils and emollients melts into your face to create a smooth, even, bronze hue, along with illuminating mineral pigments that reflect light and radiance. A bit of a go-to for winter vacations or any other day when you crave summer skin.
The overall effect: A warm, healthy-looking tone with a dewy finish.
Who can use it: The hydrating format is ideal for normal and dry skin.
Our favourite part: The formula’s textured “buttery” feel was inspired by the brand’s iconic murumuru-butter bronzers.
Watier Perfection Glow-BoostingTinted Serum
$62 for 30 ml, available at Sephora
This hybrid makeup-and-skincare tinted serum provides lightweight, buildable coverage with a radiant, dewy finish and all the skincare benefits you could ever want. For one, Canadian ginseng extract energizes and revitalizes lacklustre skin, vitis flower extract helps hydrate, soothe and protect against environmental stressors, while teeny-tiny, pigmented droplets of colour gently blur imperfections and even out our skin tone.
The overall effect: Instant glow, sustained hydration and soft, luminous skin.
Who can use it: With 14 shades to choose from, anyone wanting a natural, skin-like finish rather than full-coverage makeup.
Our favourite part: Not only is the brand Canadian, but the serum’s formula is also vegan, alcohol-free and made from 98 per cent naturally derived ingredients.
Yves Rocher Glow Energie (C+) Glow Activating Serum
$49.95 for 30 ml, available at Shoppers Drug Mart and online at www.yvesrocher.ca
Mixmastered to boost radiance so your complexion looks smooth and naturally luminous. Its key ingredients include a patented orange nasturtium extract, grown in Brittany, France which helps energize skin and improve its ability to reflect light, along with naturally-derived vitamin C, an antioxidant that brightens and helps soften the look of early fine lines and fatigue.
The overall effect: A brighter more refreshed looking complexion.
Who can use it: Normal and combination skin.
Our favourite part: The nasturtium flower was chosen because its petals naturally capture and play with light.
THE YOUTH-INDUCING PLUMPERS
Bioderma Hydrabio Serum
$47.99 for 40 ml, available online at www.amazon.ca
Renowned for the function-forward formulas that truly work, Bioderma’s latest is a lightweight, serum designed for skin that feels tight, dull or dehydrated. Using the brand’s much-lauded Aquagenium technology along with hyaluronic acid, the serum works to pull moisture deep into the skin and help keep it there.
The overall effect: Plump, smooth and naturally glowy skin.
Who can use it: Ideal for dehydrated and sensitive skin, but it also suits normal, combination and oily skin types since it delivers deep hydration without a heavy or greasy feel.
Our favourite part: The 72-hour-long-lasting moisture.
Fenty Beauty Dew N Plump Hydrating Nectar Glow Serum
$52 for 30 ml, available at Sephora
A three-in-one glow-booster: hydrator, plumper and skin-barrier support that can be worn on its own and under your makeup. Infused with the brand’s “SuperQuench Juice Complex” (a fruit-based hydration blend) panthenol reinforces and soothes the moisture barrier, while polyglutamic acid and hyaluronic acid bind and hold water deep in the skin.
The overall effect: Visibly plump fine lines and a luminous finish.
Who can use it: The gel formula is lightweight enough for combination to oily skin yet boasts maximum hydration so dry and normal skin types can benefit too.
Our favourite part: The texture absorbs quickly so our makeup stays in place all day long.
Glow Recipe Prickly Pear Peptide Mucin Bouncy + Hydrating Serum
$45 for 40 ml, available at Sephora
This vegan serum brings desert-plant resilience into your skincare routine with its infusion of 81 per cent prickly-pear cactus extract, peptides and ectoin. The prickly-pear extract hydrates and soothes by mimicking the cactus’s water-retention strategy and peptides help stimulate collagen and firmness, while ectoin helps calm and protect your skin from stressors.
The overall effect: Your skin feels and looks plumper, smoother and more resilient.
Who can use it: Normal to dry, combination and even sensitive skin since it’s fragrance-free and non-comedogenic.
Our favourite part: No snails were involved in the creation of this formula. The word: mucin, in the serum’s name, actually refers to the plant-derived cactus gel that offers snail-mucin-like hydration.
Naturium Bounce Barrier Serum
$36.99 for 50 ml, available at Shoppers Drug Mart
This oil‑based serum reinforces your skin’s protective layer while delivering a soft glow and smooth texture. The key ingredients include 5 per cent squalene, a skin‑identical lipid that helps restore barrier strength and lock in hydration, 2 per cent urea, a humectant that draws in moisture and helps regulate skin hydration and a ceramide complex, essential lipids that plug gaps in the barrier and reduce moisture loss.
The overall effect: Deep hydration that leaves skin looking plumper and healthier.
Who can use it: Dry, sensitive, combination and normal skin that feels dehydrated or stressed.
Our favourite part: The minimalist brand focuses on using a clean‑label approach to concocting it’s vegan, cruelty and paraben‑free formulations.
Tatcha The Longevity Serum
$112 for 30 ml, available at Sephora
Who doesn’t want to use a serum named: Longevity. This anti‑ager serum is crafted to strengthen and protect your skin from the inside out, helping delay visible signs of ageing while boosting firmness and resilience. The formula’s rice ferment complex supports skin’s natural renewal, squalane replenishes moisture and smooths texture and camellia leaf extract delivers antioxidant and soothing benefits.
The overall effect: Nourished and hydrated with minimal fine lines.
Who can use it: Normal to dry skin and anyone wanting less wrinkles and more bounce.
Our favourite part: The serum was specifically created to target chronic, low‑grade inflammation that can accelerate ageing, so you know it’s built to support our skin at a cellular level, not just mask surface lines.
