Skincare

I am a skincare lover through and through but I do have my favorites. And I don’t just mean favorite products – I mean favorite ingredients. Many readers will ask me how I am able to test different products regularly and not have any reaction. The answer to that is I often will test products with the same active ingredients so the benefits are the same but the formulations may be slightly different. I test different vitamin c serums to see which texture I like best or which peptide serum provides the results I am looking for.

Once you have identified those particular skincare ingredients that you find work well for your skin, then you can test various brands to see which texture and formulation you like best. I’ve identified a handful of skincare ingredients that work really well for my skin and I use them in my skincare routine regularly. Most of these ingredients are well known and widely used by most brands. I am sharing my top 5 favorite ingredients to use and my recommendations of specific products that I love in each category.

My Favorite Skincare Ingredients

Vitamin C

I’ve been using Vitamin C serums primarily in my routine for nearly 15 years and love the benefits they provide. It’s one of the best ingredients to add to your morning skincare routine especially because it’s an antioxidant that helps to neutralize any free radical damage.

Evens out skin tone

Vitamin C helps to reduce hyperpigmentation and dark spots leading to a more even toned complexion.

Boost collagen production

We lose collagen as we age so vitamin c helps to boost collagen production which can improve skin elasticity and reduce fine lines/wrinkles.

Improve skin texture

Vitamin C can help smooth out the texture of the skin while also working to reduce inflammation.

Protection Against UV Damage

The reason why I primarily like to use Vitamin C in my morning skincare routine is because it helps to boost the skin’s antioxidant defenses which can aid in protecting against UV damage.

Vitamin C serums I would recommend: Timeless Skincare 20% Vitamin C + E Ferulic Acid Serum, Medik8 C-Tetra Luxe, Educated Mess Golden Hour (code: MAREE10)

Retinol

Retinol is a derivative of vitamin A and is one of the most important parts of my skincare routine especially as I enter my late 40’s. I don’t use prescription strength retinol (commonly known as tretinoin) but I still receive great benefits from over the counter formulas. The main difference in the various types of retinol available in store is that it is a less potent form of vitamin A and you do not need a prescription from your doctor to use it.

Cellular Turnover

As we age, our cells turn over at a slower rate thus resulting in skin that loses firmness, appears more dull and has less elasticity. Retinol can help to speed up this process and your cells will turn over faster giving the skin a more youthful and radiant appearance.

Unclog Pores

Retinol is often uses as a recommendation to those struggling with acne or clogged pores because it can help regulate oil production and unclog pores leading to less breakouts.

Stimulate Collagen Production

This is one of the main reasons that so many people love retinol is its ability to stimulate collagen and elastin production which helps the skin stay firm and supple. Fine lines and wrinkles are reduced and the skin can appear much more youthful and smooth.

Skin Tone and Texture

If you struggle with dark spots or hyperpigmentation, retinol is an ingredient that targets these and can help to drastically even out the skin tone.

Retinol treatments I would recommend: Medik8 Crystal Retinal, Somme Mi Intense Retinol

Peptides

I have only discovered the benefits of peptides in the past year and love how much they have helped my skin. I have found them to be particularly beneficial in my mid 40’s because they really help to target firming and plumping the skin.

Stimulate Collagen Production

Along with retinol and vitamin C, peptides are great for helping to stimulating collagen production. This directly helps to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, firm the skin and give it that youthful “bounce”.

Improves Skin Texture

Skin texture goes hand in hand with skin barrier function. A healthy skin barrier often means your skin texture is smooth, firm and supple. Peptides can aid in this and depending on the formulation of the peptide serum, can also help to reduce the appearance of enlarged pores.

Increase Skin Hydration

Peptides can attract and help retain moisture in the skin leading to increases in your skin’s level of hydration. By increasing the level of hydration in your skin, it will appear more plump. Skin will also look more plump and bouncy by the increase in collagen production that the peptides will stimulate.

Peptide serums I would recommend: Educated Mess Freeze Frame (code: MAREE10) , OneSkin OS-01 Face Supplement (code: MAREE15) , INNBEAUTY Elastic Skin, Medik8 Liquid Peptides

Ceramides

One of my consistent focuses with my skincare routine has always been to protect and strengthen the skin barrier. If the skin barrier is damaged, most other active skincare ingredients cannot properly deliver the benefits that they are designed to do. The skin barrier can be damaged from various things such as over exfoliation, environmental damage, medication or underlying health issues. Using products that contain ceramides will help to repair, protect and continue to the strengthen the skin barrier. Even when the skin barrier is healthy and strong, it’s important to still use products that help to support it. Ceramides are one of the best ingredients to help with this.

Improve Hydration

By forming a protective barrier on the skin, ceramides allow for less moisture loss leaving the skin well hydrated.

Barrier Support

Ceramides are best known for helping to strengthen and support the skin barrier by protecting it against various stressors and irritants.

Reduce Inflammation

If you struggle with skin that gets easily irritated, ceramides are a great addition to help reduce inflammation, redness and overall sensitivity.

Ceramide serums/moisturizers I would recommend: Naturium Barrier Bounce, TirTir Ceramic Milk Ampoule, Mother Science Molecular Genesis (code: MAREESYE), Medik8 Advanced Night Ceramide

Glycolic Acid

There are a ton of different acids available in skincare products to target exfoliation but my personal favorite is glycolic acid. Glycolic Acid is an alpha-hydroxy acid that provides exfoliation benefits for the skin as well as maintaining the skin’s lipids. This has always been my preferred acid to use because it addresses so many concerns while not stripping the skin. My favorite way to add glycolic acid into my skincare routine is usually through peel pads that I use 2-3x/week.

Removes Dead Skin Cells

Exfoliation is extremely important for healthy skin but especially as we get older. Physical scrubs or exfoliants are too harsh for me so I have found the most success with chemical exfoliation in helping to remove dead skin cells regularly.

Unclogs Pores

In removing the dead skin cells, glycolic acid helps to unclog pores leading to less breakouts and smoother texture.

Improves Skin Tone and Brightness

Glycolic acid helps to promote cellular turnover so which will even out and brighten the skin tone with continued use.

Glycolic Acid products I would recommend: YSE Beauty Your Favorite Ex Exfoliating Pads (code: MAREE20), Colleen Rothschild Glycolic Acid Peel Pads

If there is one thing I love about the skincare industry, it is forever evolving and improving. New ingredients are found, formulations are better, results are more effective, it can be hard to keep up but it’s exciting to experience all this innovation. Especially from smaller brands who may not have the funds yet to put themselves in large retailers but still produce amazing products with fantastic results. Though I have been in the beauty industry for most of my career, I didn’t really get fully into skincare until I started my blog nearly 13 years ago. Since then I have really transformed my skin with a consistent dedicated routine that targets my specific concerns. Understanding which ingredients will give you the results you are looking for is key to maximizing your skincare efforts.

One of the ingredients that has been gaining popularity over the past few years is peptides. I didn’t really begin to experiment with peptides until the past year after reading up about them and realizing they are designed to address all the concerns I have as a woman in my mid-40’s. Adding peptides into a routine can benefit all ages but are especially key for those with aging and mature skin. In this post, I’ll talk about what peptide serums do and which ones I enjoy using.

What Does Peptide Serum Do

In this post I am going to share the benefits of using a peptide serum and what results you can expect from adding one into your routine. I also have a few recommendations of formulations that I really enjoy which I will share in this post too.

What is a Peptide Serum?

A peptide serum is a serum formulation that contains a variety of different types of peptides in it. Peptides are short chains of amino acids that can provide a ton of great benefits to the skin. Peptides are the building blocks of proteins. In a broader sense, peptide serums can help to improve skin firmness and elasticity while some formulations can additionally help to hydrate the skin and improve texture and tone over time.

What Does a Peptide Serum Do?

Each peptide serum is formulated differently so there could be additional skin health benefits depending on the one you choose, but for the most part these are the benefits of peptide serums when added to a skincare routine.

Boost Collagen Production

Collagen is quite the buzzword these days because collagen provides elasticity and structure to the skin. As we age, collagen production drops which results in skin that is less firm. Peptides can help boost collagen production in the skin giving it that youthful suppleness. It will not completely provide the same level of firmness that your skin had in your 20’s but it definitely can help bring some of that bounce and plumpness back to your skin.

Strengthens the Skin Barrier

Focusing on skin barrier health is often overlooked in skincare routines but can be one of the most important steps in having healthy skin. If your skin barrier is damaged, it can appear sensitive, easily irritated, inflamed, flaky, etc and can’t perform at its highest level until it gets back in balance. Peptides help to strengthen the skin barrier making it more resilient to environmental damage or mild irritation.

Improve Skin Texture

Skin texture goes hand in hand with skin barrier function. A healthy skin barrier often means your skin texture is smooth, firm and supple. Peptides can aid in this and depending on the formulation of the peptide serum, can also help to reduce the appearance of enlarged pores.

Increase Skin Hydration

Peptides can attract and help retain moisture in the skin leading to increases in your skin’s level of hydration.

Plump the Skin

By increasing the level of hydration in your skin, it will appear more plump. Skin will also look more plump and bouncy by the increase in collagen production that the peptides will stimulate.

Reduce Fine Lines

With the ability to plump the skin and increase collagen production, fine lines will be reduced and look less prominent. This is one of the main results I have personally seen using peptides regularly in my routine.

Reduce Inflammation

Certain peptides can help to reduce inflammation and sensitivity in the skin.

Are Peptide Serums Worth It?

Peptide serums have been around for years but have been increasing in popularity over the past few years. More brands are experimenting with their own formulations and I can personally attest to the benefit of adding them to a skincare routine. I began incorporating peptides into my routine in the last year and can really see a difference in the firmness of my skin. Fine lines that show up don’t deepen as quickly and my skin has a suppleness to it when I use them regularly. While all ages and any skin type can benefit from peptide serums, more mature skin types are the ones who will see the most drastic results.

What Are the Best Peptide Serums?

I have tried a bunch of different formulations of peptide serums and peptide products and have a great selection that I would recommend. There are a variety of textures and price points to choose from in this list!

Medik8 Liquid Peptides

Many hydrating serums focus on simply providing moisture. But the Medik8 Liquid Peptides hydrates as well as visibly plumping the skin. From the first time I used this serum, I could instantly notice a difference! My skin immediately looked firmer, more supple and fine lines were noticeably smoothed. You may notice a sticky or tacky texture when using this which is totally normal. This serum is thick but provides really definitive results! If you want to combine both a hydrating formula with a targeted fine line treatment, this is a great choice.

OneSkin OS-01 Skin Supplement (code: MAREE15)

All of the peptide serums that I shared in this post are a liquid formulation, but the OneSkin OS-01 Skin Supplement is a lightweight gel cream. I LOVE the texture and can use it either as a lightweight moisturizer or a serum underneath a heavier/richer moisturizer. The science behind OneSkin products is truly remarkable and they are one of the first companies to focus on skin longevity rather than just targeting anti-aging concerns. The OS-o1 peptide can penetrate deeper layers of the skin while still remaining stable. It targets the root causes of aging and helps the skin look and feel healthier. This formula treats fine lines and wrinkles, while helping even out the skin tone, reduce the appearance of enlarged pores and improve skin barrier function. You are truly getting so much just in one product!

Educated Mess Freeze Frame (discount code: MAREE10)

This peptide serum has been on my radar for the past year and was so excited to finally test it. This formula contains three advanced peptide complexes to deliver instant firming results as well as long term plumping and lifting benefits. It has a slight tingling/cooling effect when on but I love how FIRM it makes the skin. Wow! You can definitely feel the tightness a few minutes after applying it. For those who struggle with deep lines and wrinkles, this is a great option!

INNBEAUTY Elastic Skin

This is a peptide serum that also contains vegan growth factors. The texture of this is a bit sticky and can feel a bit different if you aren’t used to it. I personally love how it feels and how bouncy it makes my skin! In addition to helping improve skin’s elasticity and firmness, it contains ceramides to help support the skin barrier.

Timeless Skincare Matrixyl Synthe’6

For a wonderful affordable peptide serum option, the Timeless Matrixyl Synthe’6 is a great choice. The texture is very similar to the Medik8 Liquid Peptides and is designed to target mostly fine lines and wrinkles. In addition to various peptides, the formula contains hyaluronic acid to help retain moisture in the skin. The firming effects are not as immediate or noticeable with this as with some of the other formulas that I mentioned, but over time it left my skin well hydrated and firm.

How to Use Peptide Serum?

Apply morning and evening

Peptides are suitable to use in both your morning and evening skincare routines.

Layer with other active ingredients

Peptides are increasingly popular because they work well with almost any other active ingredient such as retinol, vitamin c, etc.

Let it dry down

With some peptide serums that have a distinct thicker and more viscous texture, it is best to let it dry down for a minute or two before layering something else on top. In my own experience, I find that if I layer too quickly over thicker peptide serums, there is a chance of pilling.