The most recent exciting thing that happened to me as an organic beauty blogger was that I became a judge at CertClean’s Clean Beauty Awards! The awards that I’m taking part in are the 5th annual awards that are organized by CertClean, North America’s leading certification for safer skincare, with a partnership of Pur Picks.
The category that I was assigned to was face serums. I’ve received, trialed, and rated 10 natural serums. All of the serums are recommended for AM/PM use, except for the Nocturnalist Night Serum and the Reverse Longitude PM Serum-Shot, which are formulated for night skincare routine only. Because of the time restraint, I used each serum for precisely 3 days and then rated it based on my experience. The only exceptions were the PM serums. I applied those for about 10 days each, only in the evenings. Here are more detailed thoughts on each serum:
Edible Beauty Australia Turmeric Beauty Latte 30ml / $42
After seeing this brand around on Instagram, I’ve always been drawn to try some of their products. So I was really thrilled to see this Beauty Latte serum in the box.
As you can see, the packaging is absolutely gorgeous. The serum itself is a light yellow color (I actually expected it to be brighter in color because it contains turmeric) with a beautiful, gentle scent. It has one of those rare silky textures that make the serum glide through your skin and then settle in within seconds, leaving matte and soft skin.
Sioris A Calming Day Ampoule 35ml / $31
I adore this minimalist packaging: it’s a sleek frosty bottle with a dropper. The scent is so faint there’s almost none. The texture is quite watery, so you need just a tiny amount of the serum to cover the whole face. Because it’s so wet, it takes some time to sink in, and even after it does, you can still slightly feel it when touching the skin.
This adaptogenic blend was created to soothe, balance, and hydrate skin. What really stood out for me was that it instantly reduced redness on my cheeks, even on the first use. Also, my skin always felt comfortable even before the application of the moisturizer.
Jenelt Essential Organics Daily Renewal Firming Serum 30ml / $52
I love the minimalistic white packaging with a pump. This organic serum has a thick consistency that slightly resembles a light cream. I have to admit that I’m not a fan of this type of texture in serum because they’re usually pretty hard to apply. It was right with this serum too: it took some serious rubbing for it to sink in finally. Even then, it felt sticky. On a positive note, however, this serum made my skin feel tighter and firmer. Still, I should use it longer to see if it somehow affects my forehead wrinkles.
Rose Mira Gorgeous Gold Stem Cell Serum 10ml / $82
The serum comes in a usual serum bottle with a dropper, it has a lovely oil consistency and an uplifting citrus scent (if you’re into citrus scents, you’d totally love it). What I wasn’t prepared for, was that even a tiny drop of this serum leaves a yellow tint on my face. This is because the serum is highly concentrated. Take a look at the ingredient list below, it’s totally amazing. Still, no matter how well I shook the bottle before application and no matter how well I’ve tried to blend it into the skin (I used a tiny drop at the time), my skin was yellow. So I wouldn’t use it as an AM treatment, but since it’s full of incredible ingredients, I’d maybe use it before bed, even though it stains my pillow.
Leaf People Hyaluronic + Apple Stem Cell Hydrating Serum 14ml / $37
This baby is one of the best serums that I’ve tried. Created by an experienced herbalist, the serum has a list of organic and vegan potent extracts with plant hyaluronic acid as the leading ingredient (after all, this is a hydrating serum). It comes in a small dropper bottle and has a strong but pleasant herbal scent of neroli, bergamot, and sandalwood. The consistency of the serum is very watery, so I was expecting it to sink into the skin fairly quickly, which it did. What I really REALLY loved about the serum was how pleasant it made my skin feel. I often feel some tightness after washing my face, but this serum immediately made my skin comfortable and looking radiant and even. Speaking about radiance, you can clearly see that natural glow.
The SPA Dr. Nourish Antioxidant Serum 30ml / $69.99
The packaging of the serum looks like something you’d see at your esthetician or someone alike. It is marked as the second step in a skincare routine with products created by Dr. Trevor Cates. The serum itself has a clear gel texture, which feels nice upon application. Still, unfortunately, after some time, my skin starts to feel a bit too tight and uncomfortable.
Beauty Tofu R3 Serum 50ml / $58
Look at this fresh packaging! But it’s not only the packaging that’s interesting. This is probably the first serum that I’ve tried, which is made with activated charcoal. You can see in the photo that it has some black tint to it, so I was very thrilled to try it and see the results. The serum can be used both AM and PM. It can even be used as a makeup primer. It has a gel-like consistency, which might feel a little sticky at first, so it takes a few minutes for it to settle. It leaves the skin absolutely lovely and soft. It also has some slight glow to it, some sparkle even. This is one of a few serums from the whole bunch that I could wear without an additional moisturizer, which is a massive advantage for me.
Jaboneria Marianella Royal Kalahari Face Serum 29,57ml / $90
This serum definitely feels like Royal commodity: with its 12 rich ingredients such as Kalahari melon oil, baobab oil, monoi de Tahiti oil, maracuja passionflower oil, and even vitamin C, it’s all the skin can ask. If you’re a fan of oil serums, there’s a huge chance that you’d enjoy the Royal Kalahari serum as much as I do. Yes, oil serums take forever to absorb (anyone who uses oil serum will tell you it’s a lie that they absorb immediately) but the results.. oh, the results are great! It leaves the skin luminous, healthy, and hydrated. The serum is suitable for day and night use. Because it’s an oil serum, it also feels super comfortable even without a moisturizer.
Black Chicken Remedies Nocturnal Night Serum 30ml / $99
Black Chicken Remedies has a very distinct brand packaging, which to me, looks very modern and highly appealing. Their Nocturnalist serum is an active and intensive cell repair serum, formulated specifically for night use so the skin could absorb all the goodness and enjoy it at the time when it’s the most active. This herbal blend contains frankincense, lemon, neroli, myrrh, and other essential oils mixed in the base of prickly pear, argan, meadowfoam, and other certified organic oils. You can feel even from the first use that the product is very high quality and incredibly nourishing. It might even be too heavy for someone who already has oily skin. But for someone with dry and dehydrated skin types (especially now with this crazy winter weather approaching fast), this would be a gold mine.
Ao Skincare Reverse Longitude PM Serum Shot 30ml / $95
A potent PM gel serum with retinal (a stronger form of Retinol) combined with hyaluronic acid, red algae, and totarol. It’s perfect for someone who wants to soften fines lines and to target blemishes and hyper-pigmentation. It has a gel texture, which feels nice upon application, but I still need a moisturizer after it.
The results were spectacular after the first few days of use of this serum. My forehead wrinkles were left softer (not gone, of course, but I wasn’t aiming for that anyway). Still, the main result was the change in my overall skin condition: I don’t know how to explain it, but it became visibly much firmer.
I know this post was enormously long, so I truly appreciate if you stayed till the end to explore these lovely serums! Have you tried any of them?
I’m Inga, the creator of this online place called Organic Beauty Blogger. Since 2013, I’ve been on a mission to redefine beauty by sharing my insights into the world of green beauty.
