Serum

Darphin Rose Aromatic Care ($75) is a nighttime facial serum that hydrates, soothes, softens and smooths unbalanced, dry, and tight skin. It is made from rose oil, hazelnut, primrose, sweet almond oil, Vitamins A, E, C and horsetail extract which also helps protect skin from free radical damage.

15% of the proceeds from all October sales will be donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, an organization that provides funding for clinical and genetic research as well as outreach and public awareness of breast cancer.

By creating this special and limited-edition pretty pink bottle and donating a portion of its profits, Darphin joins the fight against Breast Cancer. To use, simply apply five drops of the serum to your face and neck in the evening and rub it in with gentle circular motions. Follow with a moisturizer.

Throughout the month of October, the skin care brand Duchess Marden will donate 10% of all sales from their Damascena Neck & Décolleté Serum ($64) to the Young Survival Coalition. The YSC is the only international non-profit organization that helps to educate the medical community, research teams, breast cancer and legislative arenas.

For those of you who aren't yet familiar with the Duchess Marden Skin Care brand, all of its products come from pure, natural, plant based elements so not only do they smell great, but they are also great for you!

This special serum is a beauty booster for anyone looking to help firm, tighten, lighten and speed up the regeneration of their facial cells. It also restores serious moisture to dry, damaged and dehydrated skin. Whaddya say—Do you think you'd be interested in trying a new neck-nourishing solution like this?

If you're like me, you probably look at the price tag of Amore Pacific Time Response Pure Essence 100 Skin Renewal Serum and sloowwwly back away from the cosmetics counter. The spendy serum has a price tag of $500 for a one-ounce bottle. Yowza.

Fortunately, a story explains why the serum costs what it does—and consults experts to see if it's worth the cash. For instance:

Vegging out: More than 100 botanical ingredients fill every bottle. Yes, extracts of broccoli, grape and carrots may read more like a salad-bar menu than the components of an antiaging serum, but they help other active compounds penetrate the skin and counteract the effects of UV rays.
Expert opinion: [University of Alabama dermatology researcher] Santosh Katiyar supports using fruits and veggies on the face, but, he adds, they’re not exactly hard to come by and therefore shouldn’t be so costly.

Another dermatologist weighs in, too, and while both experts agree that the serum is a good one, the final consensus is that "the benefit of these ingredients doesn’t necessarily warrant the product’s cost." I can't say I'm surprised—what about you?

Gee, I wonder if all the folks who waited in line to buy the limited quantities of Boots No. 7 Restore and Renew are ticked off that it's available to everyone less than two weeks later. A lot of you are curious about this serum (as am I!) and a few have said that the stuff really does get rid of fine lines. Well, now's your chance to try it and see: CVS and Target both have it for $21.99.

Good luck trying to find Boots No7 Restore & Renew serum at your local drugstore. Both Target and CVS stock the cult beauty item—in theory. It's been sold out everywhere, but if you happen to be in New York City, tomorrow's your lucky day. One CVS in Manhattan, at 630 Lexington Avenue, will have a shipment of the $21.99 serum, but customers will be able to buy only one bottle.

The hubbub over Restore & Renew is that scientists have proven that it has a similar effect to Tretinoin, which is the effective ingredient in Retin-A. That's excellent for an over-the-counter product, but I can't help but think that if you have health insurance, actually getting a prescription for Retin-A might cost just a few dollars more (and you wouldn't have wait in a long line to get it). Then again, if you don't have insurance, or if Retin-A makes you peel like crazy, Restore & Renew would be a pretty good deal. Either way, I want to try the Boots serum—but I'll wait until the frenzy has died down. What do you think? Is this hype justified? (For a guide that explains what serums are, click here.)

So apparently this new Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Beauty Serum is getting serious buzz. The BBC news in the UK reported proof that the product actually and scientifically prevents and repairs the signs of aging. Word traveled so fast to the US that in no time at all, the serum completely sold out nationwide.

This reminds me of the time when Jergens released their Natural Glow lotion and you couldn't get it anywhere - there was actually black market for the stuff! Anyway, it's been so highly sought after that the Today show did a segment on it a couple of weeks ago.

Boots has quickly reacted to their demand for supply, and claims that another version of the serum called Boots No7 Restore and Renew Serum ($21.99) will provide equivalent results. The only difference in the serums is a small molecular variation in the formula necessary to pass US FDA regulations.

Sorry to bring this to your attention so late in the game, but if it's this great, then you've got to be in the know! You can buy the US serum again starting on July 1st. To see the clip that sent people shopping for the fountain of youth on Today, click here.

With so many skin care products on the market these days, how can you possibly decipher what the best are to use on your face? So many of you write me and ask specifically about the purpose and function of facial serums, so I thought I'd create another BellaSugar Guide to help better explain this specific type of product.

Serums are stronger than moisturizers because they contain up to seventy percent of active ingredient(s). An active ingredient is the primary ingredient used to correct a problem and/or to enhance the complexion. Daytime moisturizers generally contain three to five percent active ingredient(s), and night creams contain anywhere from ten to fifteen percent active ingredient(s).

Check out my five-post list on facial serums to help you figure out what types of serums are best suited for your skin.

• Natura Bisse Diamond Drops
• La Prairie 24K Gold Flecked Face Serum
• Serums, Serums Everywhere! Part I: Lifting & Energizing
• Serums, Serums Everywhere! Part II: Vitamin C Boosters
• Serums, Serums Everywhere! Part III: Hydrating Serums

Source

Origins has just released their latest and greatest product called Modern Fusion, $36. This remarkable skin smoothing serum is derived from the ancient rituals performed by Asian women working in rice fields. What it does is stimulate your skin's natural shedding process to help transform your face from dull and lackluster to luminous and vibrant!

The secret ingredient is fermented rice bran which helps nourish, exfoliate, quiet blotchy red skin, shrink pores and restore resilience to your skin.

Other special ingredients include purple rice and oryzanol which are powerful anti-oxidants, rice butter which helps suppleness and essential oils of cucumber, bergamot, peppermint and lemon for a wonderful fresh, light scent. Use this serum twice daily on clean skin and follow with moisturizer.

Welcome to the third and final installment of Serums, Serums Everywhere! Part III will focus on facial serums intended to hydrate your skin. Part I was about Lifting & Energizing serums and Part II showed some Vitamin C based serums.

Many of us suffer from dehydrated skin. Symptoms include: scaly, taut, dry and superfine lines that lead to wrinkles in time. Dehydrated skin is a result of the failure to drink sufficient amounts of water, not using adequate moisturizers, cigarette smoking and overexposure to the sun.

Skin dehydration can cause premature aging if you don't start nurturing it. Start now so you don't lose collagen fibers and the necessary elasticity in your skin to maintain your youthful appearance. Begin by taking this quiz to find out if you are drinking enough fluids to keep yourself hydrated. Then, take a look at my top three picks for pick-me-up hydrating facial serums.

I hope you have found a serum to best suit your skin's needs as well as learned a little something about the overall well being of your precious and delicate face!

Chanel Hydramax + Serum Intense Moisture Boost, $95 for 1.7 oz. and $68.50 for 1 oz., is a highly concentrated, ultra light, grease-less facial treatment. This is a powerful remedy for dry and lifeless skin. It helps control the hydration of your face by attracting and releasing water on the surface of your skin depending on the amount of humidity. It is made with Vitamins B5 and E as well as proteins and enzymes that act as traps to seal in moisture.

Darphin Hydraskin Serum, $90 for 1 oz., is a pale blue serum that is formulated to hydrate your skin. Along with restoring smoothness, softness, and suppleness, it will also leave your skin dewy and glowing! Suitable for all skin types.

To see the final serum, read more

Welcome to part II of Serums, Serums Everywhere! This installment will focus on facial serums that contain Vitamin C as a primary ingredient. I hope you checked out part I which focuses on lifting and energizing serums.

Studies show the regular use of Vitamin C products can significantly help to regulate melanin production and hinder hyper-pigmentation in your skin. This means that Vitamin C can seriously fight early signs of aging on your face! Here are my top three picks for Vitamin C infused facial serums. Enjoy!

SkinCeuticals Serum 15 AOX, $75 for 1 oz. This serum combines 15% L-Ascorbic Acid with Ferulic Acid to provide antioxidant and anti-aging benefits. Apply four to five drops in the morning after cleansing your face and neck and follow with a moisturizer and sunscreen for best results.

The serum may tickle for a second when you first apply it because of the highly concentrated Vitamin C, but when it dries, it will leave your skin glowing.

For one more Vitamin C serum, read more