Recently I found myself down to the last few drops of my daily serum bottle. The futile squeezing of dropper’s top into my fingertips was a moment I felt quite sad considering how I wanted to feel more abundant. I did get a few luscious liquid-y dots onto my fingers but most of it was air blowing out of that tiny dropper hole, much like the actual value that comes out of most consumed media these days.
The only way to counter this feeling was to go in the extreme opposite direction and get my hands on as much serum as I could. Because extremes are always the answer.
If you are finding yourself in a serum desert and wish to rectify that situation, here is a list of new indie beauty brands to think about putting on your face.
1) Belfiore Herbal Super Serum
The Belfiore Herbal Super Serum is a powerful little thing. I will not lie, something about the packaging made me just understand that this was going to be a perfect serum for daily application. And it is! Wow. I must be psychic. ( Or is it just carefully applied marketing?)
The serum has Vitamins C, A and E and also uses the power of friendly and recognizable edible materials to source these. Their Vitamin A comes from carrots and Vitamin C comes from oranges from the founder’s farm ( It’s like we are now a part of their family as recipients of their founder’s fruit). They use sunflower oil to obtain their Vitamin E and marigolds ( a favorite flower of mine) to source their Ferulic Acid. Everything is cruelty free here which I love because animals are awesome.
So now we understand how nourishing this serum is. How does it feel though?
Actually, first, the smell. It had a light floral scent that I found rather pleasant. It gave me “beauty-product” vibes. The serum texture itself is of a light gel and is banana colored.
A little goes a long way and while it does feel a bit sticky at first, the stickiness subsides after a bit. Serums should go under a moisturizer so be sure to lock all that goodness in anyway.
2) Laduora Watermelon Gelato Serum
The Laduora Watermelon Gelato Serum is a niacinamide conductive serum. It was created to assist in light therapy skin treatments, such as the light wand that Laduora provides. However, the serum can still act as a standalone hydrating, nourishing, skin strengthening liquid bomb in the form of a very cute, very girlish branded bottle.
The Watermelon Gelato serum contains niacinamide, peptides and utilizes watermelon extract in addition to hyaluronic acid and glycerin to really pump up that skin hydration game. Its first ingredients are water and aloe vera leaf juice, clearly setting the foundation for a product that will 100% hydrate your skin.
I also appreciate how they are extremely transparent by having a full ingredients list on their website and noting what that ingredient is for.
I will not lie. I was attracted to this serum because I like watermelon and I like gelato. Did I expect this serum to taste like fruit and frozen dessert? No. But did it? Kind of.
It has a very sweet smell to it. At first, I was a little surprised since I’ve been so used to GRWN type fragrances for beauty products. However, it quickly grew on me, because it stood out and reminded me to not take life so seriously.
It was a little sticky after application, but as a part of a larger skin routine ( aka please don’t forget moisturizer and SPF during the day), I forgot about that rather quickly. This pink gel serum is a sweet, humectant-filled, happy reminder that things can be girly, cute and do amazing things for your skin.
3) Intoxicated Snail Serum
Nothing like seeing “snail” in a product title to really get me interested. In addition to a line of other intriguing options such as “snake” and “bee”, Intoxicated Cosmetics utilizes venom to reduce facial movement. This can ultimately also reduce the appearance of wrinkles, expression lines and also can help retain moisture in the skin.
While it’s not permanent like Botox, it offers a cheaper, and more natural approach to the visual issues people have with aging.
For me, I feel like you don’t have to wait until wrinkles really upset you to start applying skincare that addresses aging. Intoxicated’s branding and usage of venom stands out amongst beauty products. Curiosity definitely caught me with their Snail Serum, which utilizes snail venom and snail mucin to give its skin firming and hydrating effects. Mostly because I think snails are cool and I’ve seen snail based serum products become very popular in Korean beauty brands.
The serum itself has a very neutral yet somehow warming scent. It comes in a hauntingly greenish teal color that simultaneously looked bewitching and also reminded me of NyQuil products I ingested as a child.
Only a dab is really needed for this product and it can be worn day or night. The formula dries quickly and leaves no sticky residue.
While it is on the pricier end of our serum list, this particular venom-based baddy is for fighting those wrinkles, not just hydrating or adding nourishment. So that is something to consider.
4) Yuni Beauty – Bakuchiol + Biotic Serum
It’s only fitting that we end our list with a nighttime serum. Yuni Beauty’s Bakuchiol Biotic Serum focuses on healing and feeding the skin while it’s in it’s most restful state. As we sleep, the serum helps to renew that surface skin and also strengthen it to help fight against all those environmental factors it may face during the day. The key factor here is the bakuchiol, a plant based alternative to retinol. It’s gentler on the skin so it can be used daily and has been found to be just as effective as retinol if used twice a day.
I found this serum to have a light floral smell. A little of this product was all that was needed to spread over my face. It felt a little sticky afterwards, but it is not uncustomary in skin care products used during the night to have thicker textures or formulas that feel less flexible on your skin. Much like other sticky serums, after applying moisturizer, time only showed me in the overall scheme of things – it doesn’t matter.
In practice, I enjoyed using this serum on my face and neck – and occasionally my hands, because sometimes I drop too much product because I forget you don’t need a lot with this serum.
Shop the Yuni Beauty’s Bakuchiol Biotic Serum – $28
So now I have all the serum and can provide the abundance I want to feel. But don’t feel pressured to do the same, extremes aren’t necessary to feel good.
Enjoy your serum serenades ~
