Serums are where Kelly Driscoll has done her deepest work. She has reviewed 53 of them. Her record earns a Guru Score of 83%, and she named the Peach & Lily Rescue Party Barrier Restore Serum and the Stratia Rewind Serum as Top Picks. Most of what she covers gets her approval. But the handful she did not fully approve are worth knowing about.
What does Kelly Driscoll recommend in serums?
A clear pattern runs through Kelly Driscoll's approvals. She pays close attention to concentrations. She names the exact percentage of the key ingredient in each formula. She has said plainly that 5% niacinamide is what clinical studies actually use. Higher percentages, she says, raise the risk of irritation rather than improving results. She also likes serums where the main active has backup. When she recommended the Peach & Lily Copper Peptide Pro Firming Serum, part of the praise was that its 2% copper peptide sits alongside twelve other peptides, each tackling a different sign of aging rather than leaving all the work to one.
In their words
"I think it's just a really great, simple, straightforward type of serum for sensitive skin. It has an incredibly minimal ingredients list [...] focused on the star ingredient, beta glucan, which is an amazing humectant ingredient often derived from mushrooms that's incredibly hydrating, [...] healing, and soothing. [...] The product itself has not changed since 2019, only the packaging and how the [...] ingredients are listed. It's [...] very hydrating, soothing, and anti-inflammatory, with a texture almost like a lighter version of snail mucin, so it's a great vegan alternative for people who don't want to use snail mucin. It's not an immediate relief type of product, it's more of a long term product you use morning and night, and your skin holds onto hydration a lot longer. I still continue to use this product and I do recommend it a lot, particularly for dehydration, irritation associated with dehydrated skin, barrier issues, and any type of sensitivity."
"I really wish more people knew about this product. It is really, when I think about niacinamide serums, this is like the top product that I think about because it really gives you a wow benefit on your skin. We have five percent of niacinamide in here, and [...] it's important to know the percentage because different percentages bring up different benefits. At five percent we've got really effective brightening, hyperpigmentation, dull skin, uneven skin. You want your skin to glow? Five percent definitely gonna do that. It's going to help strengthen your skin barrier and it's also going to help stimulate collagen, and that is the name of the game for well aging. Collagen stimulation helps to prevent and target the look of fine lines and wrinkles on the skin. It is amazing for skin elasticity. It is so so good. Five percent is the percentage that is studied in clinical studies. [...] They're using five percent of niacinamide. [...] I know it sounds low but it's actually a very effective amount, it's a very safe amount too. As you go up in percentages there's a bigger potential for irritation. Five percent is a very gentle amount but as I said, effective."
"I love their Peach and Lily Copper Peptide Pro Firming Serum because this is a really good example of a well-formulated peptide serum. They are using 2% of copper peptide which helps to stimulate collagen. It's a really great peptide for addressing the signs of aging on the skin. But it doesn't just stop at the copper peptide. They have also used 12 other different peptides that support collagen stimulation, skin elasticity, firmness, as well as tone and texture, and really just multiple signs of aging on the skin. This is one of those few peptide serums that I say actually works because peptides sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they're tricky to formulate, sometimes the formulation is off in certain products. But this one, I think, is really well-rounded. They're coming at it from multiple different angles. It's not just about blasting your skin with a lot of copper peptide, but also these other supportive peptides that address other signs of aging on the skin. When you're using this one consistently, and I've emptied like three or four bottles of this now at this point, it really does improve the overall quality of your skin. It will definitely help as a preventative peptide serum. I think it will show some firming benefits for folks who need a little bit more help in that department. Skin elasticity, definitely."
"My favorite is the glow serum. This is a great combination of propolis and niacinamide. This is a formula that really is about teasing out a healthy lit from within glow to your skin. And that's what propolis can do. It's a byproduct. It's not honey, but it's similar to honey. It has antibacterial properties, skin healing properties. It's particularly good for folks who do suffer with acne because it can reduce inflammation and redness but also promote that healing plus the antibacterial benefits of it. But it does also make the complexion very glowy, lit from within, healthy looking. Plus the niacinamide which can help to fade dark marks associated with inflammatory acne events on the skin, or just dullness or unevenness with the complexion. It has quite a thick texture. It's a medium gel texture that has a moisturizing element to it. And I think for some folks who deal with a lot of oil on their skin, this texture will actually feel heavy for you. So while niacinamide is an oil controlling ingredient, texture-wise, I don't think it's going to feel great for super duper oily folks. I more recommend this for combo skin."
"Paula's Choice has a really good one"
"The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% Serum is in the $30 range. It does feature 1% of copper peptide but it doesn't have the 1% of tripeptide in it. It does have another peptide mix that helps to support well-aging skin rejuvenating journey. Just because it costs less doesn't necessarily mean you're not going to get similar benefits."
How many serums has Kelly Driscoll reviewed?
Kelly Driscoll has reviewed 53 serums, for a Guru Score of 83%. 44 approved, 5 mixed, and 4 skipped.
What has Kelly Driscoll skipped in serums?
Her skips and mixed takes share a theme: formula honesty. She found that the Cocokind Ceramide Barrier Serum, sold as a barrier repair product, contains gluconolactone. That is a PHA, meaning a type of chemical exfoliant. Daily use left her skin inflamed rather than soothed. Sticky texture was another dealbreaker. She said plainly that the Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops owed its popularity more to its marketing and packaging than to its formula.
"I absolutely adore it, it hydrates my skin, it plumps my skin, but then that soothing moisture on top just holds and hugs all that hydration in place. It's really soft but it's not sticky and tacky or greasy. However, my skin was feeling worse and worse. I was using this morning and nighttime, everything else in my routine was consistent, and my skin was not feeling it. It was inflamed, it was looking a lot more red, displaying all those classic symptoms of your barrier not being good: dull skin, uneven skin, red skin, inflamed skin, irritated skin, dehydrated skin, itchy skin, tight skin. I realized I had missed a crucial ingredient here and this is what was causing all the problems: it was gluconolactone, which is a PHA. It's misleading to me a little bit because they're saying it has ceramides, it's for your barrier, it's for a healthy strong barrier, right, and there's two forms of AHA in here. PHA is often referred to as a new generation AHA, so it is often touted as being a lot more gentle for your skin than say glycolic acid is, but it is still a chemical exfoliant."
"All the hyped up reviews make it out to be, I don't find it to be like deep, deep, deep hydrating or like really plumping to the skin. I think it's just some nice surface level hydration that you feel, and when I say hydration I mean watery feeling. The rice and the honey do round that out, bring a lot of balance to the skin, hug that light hydration in, soften the skin. It's sticky. [...] I couldn't believe how sticky this was. It reminds me a lot of a snail essence because when you get the texture between your fingers you kind of pull them apart, you get that mozzarella cheese effect, that string effect. [...] You do get some of that here. [...] But it absorbs in the skin and I feel like the absorbency rate is good, but it's almost like it leaves a residue on top that starts to get really, really tacky and sticky. Your fingers start to stick to your skin as you're patting it in and as it's absorbed, and it takes a minute for that feeling to go away. It actually really kind of creates that film on top of your skin. [...] Anything you put on top of that, like your moisturizer or whatever your next skincare layer would be, the stickiness won't come through that. It will go away with your next layer. But I did find that quite unpleasant and kind of surprising because definitely not a sensory experience that I personally enjoy in my serums."
"It's fun and the popularity is in the fun of this product, but I have to say I'm not that impressed with it. It's not bad, I think it can absolutely be useful, I can see it working, it's not a bad product, but I wasn't super duper impressed with it. [...] Beyond the fun and the packaging and the marketing, which is a big component, I was a little bit confused why it was so popular."
"I'm just not really impressed with this product. [...] Folks who are looking for slickness, wetness, hydration are going to be disappointed by this."
What should you take from Kelly Driscoll's picks?
Kelly Driscoll's serum record is one of the most detailed around, and her enthusiasm is genuine. She approves a lot. But she gives specific reasons for each take, which makes her record a useful reference, especially for people trying to understand what an active ingredient does and at what concentration. The products she did not fully approve are worth reading carefully too. Her reasons tend to point to the kind of formulation issue that matters across the whole category.
Watch Kelly Driscoll say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- Peach & Lily Rescue Party Barrier Restore SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 12:34
- Stratia Rewind SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 19:43
- Cocokind Ceramide Barrier SerumSkipped itWatch at 3:53
- Anua Rice Ceramide Hydrating Barrier SerumSkipped itWatch at 2:45
- Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew DropsSkipped itWatch at 16:09
- Peach & Lily Glass Skin Refining SerumSkipped itWatch at 20:21
- iUNIK Beta Glucan Power Moisture SerumRated itWatch at 0:53
- Peach & Lily Copper Peptide Pro Firming SerumRated itWatch at 18:11
- Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum: Propolis + NiacinamideRated itWatch at 8:13
- Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid BoosterRated itWatch at 4:36
- The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% SerumRated itWatch at 11:11
- Timeless Coenzyme Q10 SerumRated itWatch at 15:15
- NIOD Copper Amino Isolate Serum 3Rated itWatch at 10:44
- NIOD Survival 0Rated itWatch at 2:35
- The INKEY List Q10 Antioxidant SerumRated itWatch at 22:57
- Haruharu Wonder Centella 4% tranexamic acid dark spot go away serumRated itWatch at 13:16
- Paula's Choice 7% Ectoin BoosterRated itWatch at 19:52
- Round Lab Soybean SerumRated itWatch at 9:35
- Purito Wonder Relief Centella Serum UnscentedRated itWatch at 8:45
- VT PDRN SerumRated itWatch at 15:27
- Marula OilRated itWatch at 14:14
- First Aid Beauty Bounce Boosting SerumRated itWatch at 19:14
- The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%Rated itWatch at 4:33
- Torriden Dive-In SerumRated itWatch at 19:41
About this expert
See everything Kelly Driscoll has reviewed
Related guides
This guide reflects what Kelly Driscoll said across their videos about 53 products in serums, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The Guru Score is our read on how warmly they talk about them. It is general information, not medical advice.