The very best facial serums for every skin type (2024)

Most serums can be used daily, but not all, says Dr Granite. "Depending on the ingredient profile most serums are used once or twice daily," she explains. "Exfoliating serums may be used less frequently depending on their potency."

To help you find the best facial serum, see our ultimate guide below. Whether you want to tackle acne-scarring, spots, dullness, dryness or fine lines, there's a serum that’s specifically tailored to your skin’s needs. Better skin starts here.

Best for: hydrating very dry skin, anti-aging, reducing redness

The Swedish skincare brand Fjör only has two products to its name: the Hydrolytic moisturiser and this matching serum. Inspired by Scandi minimalism, it’s on a mission to redefine and simplify our beauty routines, all while protecting the skin’s natural barrier with the brand’s revolutionary Hydrolytic®️ Enzyme that balances the microbiome and speeds up natural cell renewal.

There’s a host of five star reviews on Fjör’s website, and sure enough our skin was left glowing with reduced redness after the first use. The brand recommends applying 1-2 drops to skin twice daily, but we found that for seriously dehydrated skin, 3-4 drops can be used at night.

Best for: softening fine lines, reducing texture

Medik8's Crystal Retinal is reliably brilliant. This serum uses retinal, a faster acting vitamin A derivative than its sister, retinol. Those with sensitive skin, fear not: Medik8's serum supplies skin with the ingredient in a tolerable, gentle way. What's more, the product has a ladder-like system, so you can increase your dosage slowly as your skin becomes accustomed to it. Most people start at level three and work their way up to 20. Over time, fine lines are softened, tone is brighter and texture is more even. This is clever, gentle, effective stuff.

Best for: hydrating and plumping up skin

Despite hyaluronic acid's prevalence, it's a surprisingly tricky ingredient to get right. Too often, it's sticky and tacky, and can dehydrate the skin. Instead, La Roche-Posay's French pharmacy offering lends lightweight hydration that lasts all day. There are two different sized molecules of hyaluronic acid involved for maximum absorption.

Best for: giving a glow that lasts

Charlotte Tilbury, first and foremost, is a makeup artist; you can expect any skincare she creates to work well under makeup. Her serum supplies a glow and brightness that others might fail to, thanks to a generous helping of vitamin C and niacinamide. The luminosity comes from these ingredients rather than shimmer, so you're assured that this serum is actually improving skin quality and not just perfecting it with makeup. Skin is fresher, more even, and definitely a whole lot more glowy.

Best for: brightening skin, reducing and preventing dark spots, protecting against environmental damage

This brilliant serum offers quality that belies its price tag. There's the gold standard of vitamin C included here (that's L-Ascorbic acid), which is considered to be most effective at brightening, evening and delivering antioxidant protection. All of the glow-giving properties from the vitamin are paired with hyaluronic acid and vitamin E, making for a formula that leaves skin feeling comfortable and hydrated after use. Sunlight affects the stability and therefore potency of vitamin C, but the opaque bottle prevents this happening.

Best for: soothing sensitive areas, calming inflammation

In The Ordinary we trust. This launch is a real comfort blanket for sensitive, compromised skin, with ceramides and vitamin b12 to help cell repair. It mollifies tight, red skin with ease, and after one use, inflammation is reduced and skin is more comfortable. It's an excellent option if you've overdone it with actives.

Best for: reducing redness, creating more even skin

Budget brand The Inkey List's foray into azelaic acid is an excellent one. The ingredient has skin-soothing benefits and works to reduce redness and sensitivity, making it a popular ingredient for both rosacea and acne conditions alike. It's also been proven to refine texture, making for smoother, more even skin. We love how the green tone minimises redness instantly, meaning results are seen immediately as well as long term.

Best for: balancing oil production, evening tone

Niacinamide is something of a workhorse; the active has so many useful properties. There's a healthy amount of it in this smart serum, which balances excess oil, minimises the appearance of pores and soothes sensitive areas. This serum also targets dark spots, helping tone look brighter and more even over time.

Best for: minimising oil production, unclogging pores, reducing blemishes, refining texture

Caudalie remains a firm favourite on Red's beauty desk for its luxe textures and smart ingredients. It's tempting to want to fight blemishes with harsh astringents, but Caudalie makes a case for using gentle but effective salicylic acid to keep them at bay. Oily areas are lessened, and pores look clearer and smaller with consistent use. It's gentle, but so effective.

Best for: sun protection for sensitive skin, pigmentation

When is an SPF a serum? In Murad's case, when it's as light as a feather and when it treats as well as protects. Yes, it's expensive, but this SPF milk offers some of the most lightweight sun protection we've found. Not only that, but smart tech also fades existing pigmentation with repeated use and prevents future dark spots from appearing.

Best for: plumping up skin, keeping skin look better for longer

Dermalogica's recent launch plumps up skin to give it real bounce. Not only does it lend immediate results, but smart tech in the bottle also protects existing collagen from degradation, helping to make what you already have last longer.