The Beauty Diary by Beck Sullivan: The best expensive face serums actually worth spending your money on

If you’re going to drop a whole lot of cash on a skincare product, you want to know it’s worth it. Here are the serums that are worth the big price tag.

There is nothing more upsetting than wasting money on an expensive skincare product that just doesn’t work.

You’ve saved up the cash, traipsed off to Mecca and bought the damn thing, only to get home and find it does sweet FA for your skin.

Well, this week we’re bringing you all the fancy, expensive serums that do exactly what they say on the tin.

For the uninitiated, a serum is liquid, gel or oil that you apply morning and night onto clean skin, underneath your moisturiser or night cream.

If you’re really serious about improving your skin, this is where you should be spending your money.

The best serums cost a lot. That’s the harsh reality. There are a gazillion great cheap beauty products out there, but it’s really hard to find a fantastic serum for under $100. I’m sorry, it sucks.

This is because there’s lots of science, research and lab-testing involved in getting the formulas right.

Good serums contain concentrated, active ingredients scientifically proven to make skin better. Some examples of the best and most popular ingredients include vitamin C, retinol, glycolic acid, lactic acid, hyaluronic acid and niacinamide.

You can have as many serums as you like in your routine, or just one or two. Some people “cocktail” their serums, meaning they apply two or more at once. I think that’s a bit much and for most people it’s a lot of effort. One at a time is enough.

Finding the right ingredients for you is simply a matter of trial and error. Seeing a dermatologist or a fancy facialist can help, but no one knows your skin quite like you do.

Many beauty companies take advantage of our knowledge gaps in this area. Often serum names contain weirdly vague descriptive words such as “radiance” or “luminous”, which are marketing terms that don’t actually tell you anything about what the serum contains or does.

Look at the ingredients list on the back of the bottle. Like packaged foods, skincare ingredients are listed from highest concentration to lowest.

For example, if a serum claims to contain stackloads of hyaluronic acid, but it’s the 20th listed ingredient, it’s probably not a very concentrated formula. You can do better.

Many skincare ingredients have complex scientific names and the only way to find out what they actually are is to Google them.

Another great skincare resource is the famous ingredient dictionary by American skincare brand Paula’s Choice. You can type in any skincare ingredient and it will tell you exactly what it does and if it’s good or bad.

But if all of that seems like way too much effort, we’ve sorted through all the crap products for you and found 11 brilliant serums that are absolutely worth their hefty price tags.

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VITAMIN C SERUMS

Vitamin C is one of the best skin ingredients out there. It fixes uneven skin tone and makes skin look brighter and more radiant.

But vitamin C is very rarely listed on ingredient labels as actual “vitamin C”. It can be described as absorbic acid, L-ascorbic acid, ascorbyl phosphate, tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, ascorbyl palmitate, ascorbyl glucosamine, and ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate. So confusing.

If a beauty brand refuses to declare exactly how much vitamin C is in a serum, that’s probably because it’s not enough. You want at least 10 per cent for it to do anything.

Vitamin C is a very unstable ingredient. It’s sensitive to light and heat, so it should come in an opaque bottle and be kept in a cool, dark place.

These serums are best applied in the morning, under sunscreen.

PETER THOMAS ROTH POTENT-C POWER SERUM

It's just soooo good.

Price: $133

Available from: Sephora

This is the best vitamin C serum I’ve ever used. I’m absolutely obsessed.

Its main ingredient is tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, a stable form of vitamin C and it comes in a massive 20 per cent concentration.

Potent-C also contains vitamin E and ferulic acid, which help keep the vitamin C stable.

DRUNK ELEPHANT C-FIRMA DAY SERUM

There's a reason this product is on every "best serum" list on the internet.

Price: $116

Available from: Mecca

Yes, this serum is worth the hype and yes, it hurts how expensive it is.

Drunk Elephant products aren’t entirely natural, but they are free of what the brand calls the “Suspicious Six” ingredients — essential oils, drying alcohols, silicones, chemical screens, fragrances and dyes and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), or sulfates.

Not everyone minds these ingredients, but they’re getting an increasingly bad rap. To be honest, I’ll put any dodgy chemical on my face if it makes me look good.

For the record, this serum contains 15 per cent L-ascorbic acid, one of the most effective and stable forms of vitamin C.

ASPECT VITAMIN C

Love the chic packaging too.

Price: $130

Available from: Adore Beauty

All of Aspect’s serums are fantastic. They’re the real deal.

This one contains 20 per cent vitamin C and smells delicious, kind of like orange juice.

HYDRATING SERUMS (INCLUDING OILS)

No matter how much water you drink or good fats you consume, pretty much everyone’s skin is dehydrated. It’s so annoying.

A hydrating serum is a great way to get that plump, healthy skin we all want.

These are great to use at night before bed, but you can also use them in the morning.

Hyaluronic acid is an excellent hydrating ingredient, but I’m also a big fan of just slathering my face in a fancy oil and climbing into bed.

CAUDALIE GLOW ACTIVATING ANTI-WRINKLE SERUM

It's one of the cheapest serums that actually works.

Price: $65

Available from: Sephora

Love this serum, hate its name. The terms “anti-ageing” and “anti-wrinkle” are stupid and wildly inaccurate. No product will stop the ageing process and the only things that can truly eliminate wrinkles are Botox and filler.

Caudalie is a popular French pharmacy brand now stocked at Sephora.

This serum contains vitamin C, vitamin E and a little bit of hyaluronic acid (it’s listed as the 14th ingredient). The main ingredient is actually squalane, a great hydrating ingredient.

This is not an intense serum but it’s good to have one of these in your routine because your skin can go cray from too many intense active ingredients.

It’s gentle enough to use every day or night and is a great base for makeup.

LANCOME ADVANCED GENIFIQUE

This is a great staple for night-time.

Price: $100

Available from: David Jones, Myer, Adore Beauty, Sephora, Mecca Maxima

Lancome is the kind of brand you buy just to make yourself feel like a fully functioning adult even when you’re absolutely not. Kate Winslet is the celebrity face of this serum and that’s definitely why I first started using it.

But it’s super hydrating and just makes you look smooth and plump.

ESTEE LAUDER ADVANCED NIGHT REPAIR

This is one of the world's best selling serums.

Price: $100 for 30ml, $150 for 50ml

Available from: David Jones, Myer, Adore Beauty, Sephora, Mecca Maxima

Estee Lauder could probably buy a small third world country with the amount of money it has spent marketing this serum.

I almost didn’t want ANR to work because I resented how popular it was, how heavily it has been promoted and how much it costs.

But I’m sorry to report that it does work and your skin will look more hydrated and awake after a few nights with this guy.

KIEHL’S MIDNIGHT RECOVERY CONCENTRATE

An oil for people who want extra hydration overnight.

Price: $66

Available from: Kiehl’s stores and online, David Jones, Myer, Adore Beauty

If you find that your skin is never hydrated enough, you could try a face oil. It seems scary putting oil on your face, but oils make the skin look beautifully plump. Plus they’re usually natural, cheap and smell nice.

This Kiehl’s one is excellent and using it makes me feel like I’m running my own little bougie apothecary in my bedroom.

There are loads of expensive oils out there — Votary London from Sephora makes amazing oils — but the cheap ones also do the job well.

You can get great affordable oils from Priceline — check out the Jojoba Oil Company or Trilogy’s range of rosehip oil products. The Ordinary also make cheap cold-pressed oils. Go-To’s Face Hero contains a lovely combination of natural oils.

There are heaps of natural beauty brands at Priceline (such as Sukin and A’kin) that sell cheap, pure oils.

Try mixing a few drops in your moisturiser or massaging the oil straight onto clean, dry skin after showering.

EXFOLIATING SERUMS

There are two types of exfoliators: Physical exfoliants, like that old-school St Ives Apricot Scrub and chemical exfoliants, which use acids to eat away at dead skin cells and gross stuff on our skin.

The most common types of chemical exfoliants are AHAs (Alpha Hydroxy Acids) such as glycolic acid and lactic acid and BHAs (Beta Hydroxy Acids) like salicylic acid.

When applied, they tingle a little bit and reduce pigmentation, sun spots, freckles, pimple scars and boost overall radiance.

They’re great to use once or twice a week. Some people use them everyday but that is INTENSE and your skin doesn’t need to be turned over that much.

ULTRACEUTICALS EVEN SKINTONE SERUM

I always forget about Ultraceuticals but it's such a great brand.

Price: $99 for mild version, $112 for regular version

Available from: Ultraceuticals online, David Jones

I always forget about Ultraceuticals because it’s not a brand that spends big on marketing or Instagram influencers, but all of their products are amazing.

This serum contains lactic acid, citric acid, salicylic acic, bearberry extract and niacinamide. Expect to look glowy AF after just one use.

DRUNK ELEPHANT GLYCOLIC SERUM

Use this once a week to get rid of spots and pigmentation.

Price: $132 for 30ml, $196 for 50ml

Available from: Mecca

It takes a lot for me to stray from my favourite chemical exfoliating product, Alpha-H’s Liquid Gold, but I love this for a more gentle effect.

This gel-like formula contains a combination of AHAs and BHAas that leave the skin with a lovely dewy glow. It’s also surprisingly good for calming down breakouts or pimples that you’ve picked.

ANTI-AGEING SERUMS

Retinol, also known as vitamin A, is the most powerful anti-ageing ingredient out there.

It’s also used to treat acne because it encourages rapid cell turnover.

Basically it tells our gross, old, tired skin to go away and the beautiful new skin underneath to come to the surface.

But because it’s so powerful, it can be very intense and cause redness, irritation and flaky skin. Start slow and only use retinol once a week, then you can build up to multiple times a week if you like the effects.

As for when to start retinol? Once you’ve hit 30, it’s time to get on board.

RATIONALE DNA SERUM

This serum gets it done.

Price: $155

Available from: Rationale stores and online

Rationale is a fancy, boutique Australian skincare brand. Its products are insanely expensive but they get the job done.

Look, I’m just going to say it. If you feel or look old, this serum (or the Rationale DNA night cream) is a great investment.

It’s pretty hectic but it will reduce fine lines and fade pigmentation.

SUNDAY RILEY LUNA OIL

A more gentle form of retinol.

Price: $167

Available from: Mecca

Retinol is the fifth ingredient listed in this product — after cold pressed avocado, chia and grape seed oils — so it’s a more mild form retinol product.

This is great for people with dry skin, because the oils act as hydrators. You can still follow with moisturiser or just leave on its own if you’re feeling lazy.

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