IT'S the product that delivers the highest concentration of actives to your skin, yet serum is still often overlooked in favour of the usual cleanse, tone, moisturise routine – and that's a big mistake.
Generally a thinner consistency than face cream, serum should be applied morning and night after cleansing – however it's not a substitute for a moisturiser, so you'll need to follow up with your usual day or night cream.
While most serums do have moisture-boosting properties, their main aim is to super-charge skin with potent ingredients that target specific complexion concerns.
And right now a flood of innovative formulations have hit the beauty counters, so there's never been a better time to plug that gap in your daily regime – or discover a new favourite.
Take your pick of the best new complexion-improvers...
THE SHAPE-SHIFTERS
If defying gravity is top of your beauty wishlist, make a beeline for Clarins Super Restorative Remodelling Serum, £80 (www.clarins.co.uk), which uses extracts from the harungana 'healing tree' of Madagascar to target fibroblasts, the cells where the loosening of the skin happens as we get older, most noticeably around the jawline.
Likewise, Eisenberg Face Refining Serum, £71 (Boots.com), has shown remarkable results in clinical tests, significantly reducing the appearance of a double chin when used daily for two months.
THE VOLUME ADJUSTERS
While losing excess weight is beneficial for health, in terms of your skin condition, a bit of fat is no bad thing. That's why Neroli Firming Intense Facial Serum, £14.99 (www.superfacialist.co.uk), uses apple stem cell technology and hibiscus extract to stimulate lipids and prevent the loss of skin volume.
Argan+ Argan Oil Radiance Lifting Serum, £15.99 (Waitrose.com), blends five essential oils with so-called "nature's botox" bee venom, at once calming and plumping the skin.
THE AGE-DEFYERS
Bee Good's products also harness the power of the hive: Youth Enhancing Hydrate, Smooth & Prime Serum, £25 (www.beegood.co.uk), combines antioxidant-rich honey and propolis (a sticky substance bees use to build) with rich oils and peptides, to boost collagen and tackle wrinkles.
Givenchy's latest high-tech offering, Vax'In City Skin Solution Youth Protecting D-Tox Face Serum, £63.50 (www.feelunique.com), is specially designed to combat the pollution that urbanites are pelted with everyday, keeping wrinkle-free skin smooth (if age is on your side) and slowing the process if it's not.
THE THIRST QUENCHERS
Hydrating serums differ from moisturisers in that they contain ingredients that will draw more moisture into your skin cells, so you'll need to make sure you drink plenty of water too.
Vichy Aqualia Thermal Dynamic Hydration Serum, £22.50 (Boots.com), features a high concentration of moisture-loving hyaluronic acid, as does Filorga Hydra-Hyal Intensive Hydration Plumping Concentrate, £45 (Marksandspencer.com), while Monu Hydra Lift Serum, £29.95 (www.monuskin.co.uk), has added vitamin C and protects against UV damage.
THE REPAIR WORKERS
If you're feeling a little withered and it's showing in your skin, seek out a serum that gets to work beneath the surface to repair from within.
Origins creamy Three Part Harmony Serum, £60 (www.origins.co.uk), is packed with Crambe oil and seed butter, to nourish and hydrate, while the Hydrating Milky Serum, £26 (www.pixibeauty.co.uk), melds jojoba oil and aloe vera to deliver heaps of nutrients where they're needed most.
For oily complexions, try Dr Hauschka's oil-free Night Serum, £39 (www.dr.hauschka.com), which contains apple blossom and witch hazel extracts that help with skin's essential maintenance overnight, without clogging pores.
THE GLOW-GETTERS
To deliver a major dose of radiance (without the help of sunshine or spotlights), try Bakel's supremely potent Thio-C Revitalizing Glowing Serum, £118 (www.lookfantastic.com). Each vial comes with a lid that dispenses pure vitamin C into a mix of five other antioxidant and emollient ingredients, and must be used within three days before the vitamin is oxidated.
By Terry Cellularose Brightening Serum, £75 (www.uk.spacenk.com), harnesses the brightening properties of white rose cells, the exfoliating effects of flower acids and targets dark spots too, leaving you with a clearer complexion.
TRIED AND TESTED
Claire Spreadbury checks in for a fast facial fix.
"I've never been a fan of express facials. In my experience, half an hour in the salon never seems to equate to much more than a pamper session you could have performed in the bathtub at home. The 40-minute Katherine Daniels Express Energising Radiance Treatment, however, may have changed my mind. The therapist starts with a thorough cleanse, which involves a cleansing milk and massaging strokes from two vibrating devices which use an ultra high frequency with 1,500 soft silicone massage points. It feels a bit odd, and is very tickly around the nose, but it isn't unpleasant at all. Next, Hyaluronic Acid Solution is painted on to my face (everything goes on warm, so your zen is left undisturbed), followed by a mask containing algae extract to flood the skin with moisture and minerals. I then drift off as the therapist gives me a dry scalp and neck massage. My skin is definitely clearer and apparently, the plumped, smoothed and firming effect of the treatment lasts up to 10 days, so it's a good investment of your lunch break."
:: Katherine Daniels Express Energising Radiance Treatment is available at salons and spas nationwide, from £38. To find your nearest salon, and to buy the products online, visit www.katherinedanielscosmetics.com
BUY IT NOW
If you simply can't function until you've had your morning latte, you're going to love the invigorating effects of Australian brand Frank Body's caffeine-tastic scrub, which has just landed in the UK. It looks like a packet of coffee beans and is actually packed with ground coffee, along with brown sugar, sea salt and almond oil, to leave skin smooth and senses tingling.
:: Frank Body Original Body Scrub, £11.95 (www.frankbody.com)
BEAUTY BULLETIN
:: ARE YOU A HAIR HERO?
Reckon you've got the looks – and the locks – to star in a global hair campaign? Then get snapping and head to Toni & Guy's new social website www.label-me.com. Every photo uploaded to the hair-spiration site will be automatically entered into a monthly competition, then one of these winners will be selected to front the brand's 2016-17 campaign.
STEAL OF THE WEEK
National Spa Week is coming up (November 2-6), but if a trip to the spa is a bit of a stretch this month, why not indulge in some at-home pampering instead, with Good Things' new Spa Collection at Superdrug? Try the Argan Oil Restoring Body Oil, £4.99, for silky soft skin and a relaxing aroma.
