The Cult of the Serum
Each year, as autumn settles in with its mellow light and crisp air, a certain anticipation builds, not just for cashmere and clementines but for a beauty ritual that borders on the ceremonial: the Sephora sale. It’s a moment for renewal, a signal to replenish the trusted and discover the transformative. This year, that invitation to edit one’s skincare wardrobe arrives with new texture, clarity, and conviction.
For Dr. Idriss, dermatologist, founder, and self-professed skincare nerd, the spotlight falls on a single, high-functioning category: serums. “If you’re going to save your money and get the biggest bang for your buck,” she tells us, “let it be on the most potent products out there.” Serums, in her world, are the soul of a routine, concentrated, purposeful, and capable of effecting genuine change.
And she’s right. Traditionally nestled between the cleansing and moisturising steps, serums are where science meets sensibility. They are formulations of intention, where a few drops can brighten a dull morning, tighten tired contours, or soothe the most rebellious of complexions.
But this year’s curation is not a sprint through categories or a hasty hierarchy of top picks. Instead, we offer something more intimate: a carefully studied, tactile guide to serums, each one tested, lived with, and weighed with clinical discernment and personal delight. This is a skincare conversation in the language of nuance.
A Lightweight Affair: Sunscreen Serums
It begins, as all wise skincare regimens do, with sun protection. But here, the lines are blurred, in the best way possible. Enter the sunscreen-serum hybrid, an evolution of formulation where utility meets elegance.
Kiehl’s Better Screen UV Serum SPF 50 leads the charge. Whisper-light and impressively sheer, it behaves more like silk than sunscreen. Though dubbed a “serum,” it could just as easily be the most refined SPF on the shelf: chemical-based, fragrance-free, and void of white cast, perfectly suited to every skin tone. Peptides (specifically Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 and -7) lend it a supporting role in collagen production and inflammation reduction.
Peter Thomas Roth’s Max Vitamin D-Fense SPF 50 is its bolder cousin, slightly richer, with a luminous finish ideal for drier skin types. It also eschews fragrance, allowing its subtly dewy texture to take the stage. While oilier complexions may find it a touch indulgent, the finish exudes the quiet confidence of someone who’s walked five blocks in Milan and never broken a sweat.
Then there’s the cult classic Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment SPF 35, less serum, more chameleon. Mineral-based with zinc and titanium, it moonlights as a green-tinted colour corrector that does more than blur redness, it protects. People think of it as makeup, but it’s a sunscreen first. The transformation is subtle but striking.
When the Morning Shows on Your Face
For those early mornings that tug at the eyes and puff the cheeks: The De-Puffer. Nestled within the recently launched Dr. Idriss range, it’s a cooling rollerball serum infused with arnica, centella, and ash bark extract. The smell? That’s the raw, herbaceous scent of pure arnica, no synthetic fragrance added. Clinical trials suggest visible results in five minutes, but it’s the ritual, the gliding motion, the moment of cool stillness, that brings a certain joy.
For the Crown: A Serum That Touches the Scalp
Beyond the brows and cheekbones lies another territory: the scalp. For anyone experiencing hair thinning or simply longing for more fullness, Living Proof’s Scalp Care Density Serum is a quiet revelation I began using it out of curiosity; I kept using it because it worked.
It doesn't disrupt your hairstyle. Other serums make my roots greasy. This one dries quickly and doesn’t create frizz.
Inside the sleek bottle is a blend of amaranthus caudatus seed extract, rich in peptides and amino acids, and an anti-greying complex with antioxidant properties. It targets both density and age-related changes in hair. Applied nightly, it’s a scalp whisperer: discreet but effective.
Rethinking “Anti-Ageing”
The term “anti-ageing” often conjures up miracle promises and overzealous marketing. Of the four hallmarks of ageing, skin tone, fine lines, volume, and elasticity, only one can really be improved significantly with skincare. That one? Skin tone.
This philosophy is distilled into the Dr. Idriss Major Fade Hyper Serum, designed to address pigmentation and discoloration. At $68, it feels like an investment with real dividends. With kojic acid, arbutin, licorice root, and diglucosyl gallic acid, it delivers not just on paper but on skin, restoring radiance and evening tone with every application. I use it even atop makeup, strategically dotted along the cheekbones for a dewy, post-facial effect.
There’s no scent, no shimmer, just the soft, unplaceable glow of well-cared-for skin.
A Vitamin C Trifecta
No serum roster would be complete without vitamin C. And here, we offer three options, each with its own personality.
Paula’s Choice C15 Booster is the straight-shooter. 15% pure vitamin C with ferulic acid, ideal for those who want the full effect without fanfare. It’s clean, clinical, and effective.
Then there’s Summer Fridays CC Me Serum, a gentler introduction for those with sensitive skin. Featuring two ester forms of vitamin C (ethyl ascorbic acid and ascorbyl glucoside), it’s less about intensity and more about gradual refinement. The packaging is subtly coastal, almost spa-like, a soft beige echo of the brand’s laid-back aesthetic.
Finally, Dr. Idriss Major Fade Hyper Serum returns for an encore, not strictly a vitamin C serum, but one that offers similar brightening benefits through a different lens. It's the kind of multitasker that earns its place in any travel dopp kit.
The Breakout Conundrum
Acne-prone adults, particularly those managing both blemishes and the first signs of ageing, require a serum that doesn’t tip the scales. Dermalogica’s Age Bright Clearing Serum is designed precisely for this tightrope walk. Lightweight and powered by salicylic acid, it clears pores while gently brightening. Though we bemoan the dropper packaging (a personal pet peeve), we applaud its performance.
Used post-acne or during flare-ups, it’s a serum for grown-ups who know their skin is more than a single concern.
A Skincare Season, Reimagined
This year’s Sephora sale isn’t about stockpiling; it’s about strategy. With serums as the focal point, we invite you to shop, and think, differently. Our list is less a shopping guide and more a philosophy: invest where the impact is real, where the formula is focused, and where the ritual feels meaningful.
In a world of ever-expanding beauty aisles and algorithm-driven ads, this curated approach feels like a breath of cool, bergamot-laced air. There’s an old-world sense of discernment here, the same energy you find in a handwritten menu, or a linen-draped apothecary shelf in the Marais.
Ultimately, serums are not just bottles with droppers and clinical promises. They are a daily act of attentiveness. And in this season of paring back and starting fresh, there’s quiet luxury in that.
