With the holidays in full swing, the combination of festivities, cold weather, and late nights may be leaving your skin in need of some TLC. Because serums treat concerns head-on, they’re going to be your secret weapon when it comes to getting your skin through the season.
For impressive results, we like to pair serum formulas together to create skin-boosting cocktails (and who doesn’t love a cocktail this time of year?). Below, we share our favorite serum combinations for different skin concerns.
For winter dryness:
Cold winds, low humidity, and indoor heating can all dry out your skin and you may be finding that your go-to formula isn’t quite moisturizing enough.
In this case, we recommend enhancing the Neogen Real Ferment Micro Serum with The Plant Base Waterfall Most Balanced Hyaluronic Acid 100 Ampoule. The latter contains 61% fermented ingredients, meaning it’s packed with antioxidants and nutrients. Additionally, it’s formulated with saccharomyces ferment filtrate, which actively increases the moisture your skin can absorb and retain, while the former is formulated with 100% pure sodium hyaluronate, the most effective form of hyaluronic acid. Applying few drops goes a long way in hydrating the skin.
Together, your skin will get a heavenly dose of moisture and nutrients inside and out.
For skin hangovers:
The holidays are loads of fun, but sometimes you may have a little too much fun. If you reached for one more glass of bubbly than you could handle and find yourself waking up with dull, tired skin, in addition to a major headache. Forget about the hair of the dog and opt for a serum cocktail instead.
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A perfect blend is the Elensilia CPP French Propolis 82% Resistem Ampoule and Acwell’s Real Aqua Balancing Ampoule. Formulated with 82% propolis to hydrate and strengthen the skin, as well as niacinamide to brighten and refresh, the Elensilia ampoule rejuvenates the skin, while the Acwell ampoule contains hydrating hyaluronic acid, and calming houttuynia cordata to leave your skin even and glowy.
For breakouts:
Alcohol, sugar, and stress is a recipe for acne. If you’re experiencing dryness too, you definitely don’t want to cause any further irritation, so go for a pairing that soothes and reduces blemishes, while preventing against future breakouts.
One ideal combination is the Benton Snail Bee Ultimate Serum with the Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Serum. The Benton Snail Bee Ultimate Serum is formulated with snail mucin and bee venom, two of the best ingredients for acne. Snail mucin repairs skin and fights scarring, while bee venom calms breakouts. On top of that, the serum contains tea tree and camellia sinesis leaf water to alleviate inflammation. The Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Serum further calms redness and irritation, evens out skin tone, an provides a serious dose of hydration with grapefruit extract, lemon peel oil, and centella asiatica.
What you shouldn’t mix:
If you’re ready to play serum mixologist yourself, there are a few things you should keep in mind before crafting your perfect serum cocktail.
Our rule of thumb when mixing products is to avoid pairing strong and potentially irritating actives like retinol, AHAs, BHAs, PHAs, and Vitamin C serums, like the effective Goodal Green Tangerine Vita C Serum, together. If you want to tone down the harshness of these ingredients, you can combine with gentle hydrating products, however note that this could dilute their efficacy.
To discover ingredients that do play well with others, check out this list.
The bottom line
If you use the guide above as a launching point, there is an endless world of combinations likely among your own products at home. As long as you’re careful not to mix chemical actives, mixing serums is the perfect way to give your skin a boost this holiday season and beyond.