Mad About Skin has reviewed 76 serums. His Guru Score of 78% is only half the picture. He approved most of what he tested, but what he skipped tells you just as much as what he liked. The pattern across his approvals is formulation: not just which ingredients are in a serum, but how they work together.
What does Mad About Skin recommend in serums?
He keeps praising serums where two or more actives combine to do more than either one alone. He pointed to a study: vitamin C combined with centella asiatica produces four times as much extra collagen as vitamin C on its own. That pairing shows up across several of his top picks. He also praises stabilized vitamin C formulas for staying fresh far longer than unstabilized ones. He specifically favors pump applicators because they keep air away from the formula between uses, which slows the vitamin C from breaking down. Price matters to him too. He named the KRX Six Peptide Skin Booster, at around £18, as one of the very best multipeptide serums he has found, with multiple different peptides each supporting collagen production in a slightly different way.
In their words
"I absolutely love this. This is the KRX Six Peptide Skin Booster. This is a Korean skin care brand. And I think this is one of the very best multipeptide formulations. You've got your Azureine. You've got your metatricxel in here which is going to be pro collagen. And you've also got NAG and amino acids. Both of these over time are going to promote and stimulate collagen production. I say this really is an anti-aging powerhouse. Super inexpensive. I think I paid about £18 for this, so it doesn't break the bank. And I think this is a really nice lightweight serum that you can use to just get your Azureine fix and long-term alongside that long-term anti-aging."
"The reason I chose this is the formulation, the blend that you're getting here. So it has a good dose of retinol, which is my favorite over-the-counter retinoid, but it also contains retinol and granactive retinoid. It has all three, and all three will deliver something slightly different for your skincare routine. So you're kind of harnessing the power of all of these different retinoids to really get maximum results. Granactive retinoid is one of my favorite retinoids too because it's actually clinically proven to reduce acne causing bacteria on the skin. So someone like me that's super acne prone even as I approach 40, this will really help to keep that in check. It's also been proven to be one of the most effective when it comes to boosting collagen and elastin. So you're getting the retinol, the retinol, the granactive retinoid all together to create quite a powerhouse formula all-encompassing different retinoids. If you're somebody that's new to retinoids and you want to know where to start and you think I'm a bit confused by all the different versions, actually just opt for this which has a little of each so you can really harness the power of each and every one of them. It's something special. I really like the packaging on it. I love the price point. This is ticking an awful lot of boxes."
"10% strength with azelaic acid, the consistency is the key part. Use it regularly, that's where you're going to get the results. It's not always about the strength. I think I'd rather people go for a lower strength and use it twice a day every day than go for a high strength and use it a couple of times a week when they remember. That consistency is the key part. This I love again, calming, soothing, and really really helps to just, I think you get a lot more performance than you would traditionally expect for an 8% because of that quality formulation here, and it's super affordable which I absolutely love."
"This is the one that gives quickest and best results. I love it. They list all the ingredients and what they do on the back. Transparency 101. The packaging is beautiful and locks tight so you can travel with it without it spilling all over your case. [...] You use this in a targeted way on the areas where you have enlarged pores. Within about 3 weeks, you'll start to see them shrink down. It just works. For anyone that's tried so much and invested so much of their coin in useless treatments for pore size, just get this. It actually works. And I've been so impressed. This brand actually just gives you reasonable expectations and then delivers them and in most cases exceeds them. [...] They tell you what the product's going to do and they deliver it."
"This has a high dose stabilized vitamin C alongside a good dose of centella asiatica all in one. [...] It comes in a pump applicator, which keeps things fresher, and because the vitamin C [...] is stabilized [...] it stays fresh for the longest time, [...] good for 12 months once opened. The centella asiatica is calming and soothing too, so it's really a two in one for your skincare routine. It's a beautiful cream that sinks in really nicely, not grainy or gritty like some serums can be, and you can use it alongside all your other actives. I use two pumps across the whole face and neck every morning. The last time I bought this I only paid around £11 for it, though there is a big price differential so it's worth shopping around. I found myself buying bottle after bottle after bottle because this just genuinely delivers."
"This is the Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum. This uses stabilized vitamin C, as with the Remedy one, so a long shelf life, but uses it alongside Centella asiatica. A recent study showed that if you use vitamin C and Centella asiatica together, it quadruples the amount of additional collagen produced versus just using vitamin C on its own. If you turbocharge it with Centella asiatica, it kind of kicks it up a notch, meaning it really is a high performance collagen booster. I love this and I think it's a great option for anyone that's using their vitamin C primarily for anti-aging. This is the one that I would go for. Really inexpensive but packs a punch."
How many serums has Mad About Skin reviewed?
Mad About Skin has reviewed 76 serums, for a Guru Score of 78%. 59 approved, 8 mixed, and 9 skipped.
What has Mad About Skin skipped in serums?
He is direct about what earns a Skip in his record. He skipped SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic because it often arrived already oxidized. He skipped La Roche-Posay's vitamin C serum after the brand added colorant to hide the yellowy-brownish tinge that oxidation causes, leaving buyers with no way to tell whether the product was still working. He also skipped The INKEY List's vitamin C for not disclosing the percentage. Without that number, you cannot choose the right concentration for your skin type. He is equally blunt about standalone hyaluronic acid serums: he calls them a waste because hyaluronic acid is already in your cleanser, moisturizer, sunscreen, and most other serums.
"One of the biggest misses in this category was SkinCeuticals themselves. A lot of the time their CE Ferulic already arrived oxidized. The brand came out and said not to worry, it's not dangerous for the skin and it'll still work, but it won't work as well as people want it to. If you're spending £120 on a vitamin C serum, you better believe that's fresh and free from oxidation the second it lands on your doorstep."
"Their serums collectively are hands down some of the worst formulated in the industry. [...] I think one of their worst serums though is their vitamin C specifically because they added color to it recently. This is a bit of a shady move because lots of people online were complaining that the product was coming oxidized. Vitamin C needs to be fresh. It oxidizes quickly. When it oxidizes, it turns like a yellowy orangey brownish color and it's much less effective. You don't want to be using oxidized vitamin C because it just won't deliver for you. Brands obviously can't hide the fact it's oxidized because it turns that yellowy brownish color. So what do they do? They stick colorant in it and that way we can't tell. [...] If your vitamin C is colored, it has added colorant into it. Move on."
"This is my least favorite product from the [Torriden] line. I don't know why this is popular. This is just a hyaluronic acid serum. As I said earlier in the video, you don't need a lot of hyaluronic acid. It's in everything. It'll be in your cleanser. It'll be in your serums. It'll be in your sunscreens, your moisturizers. You don't need extra hyaluronic acid. You certainly don't need a hyaluronic acid serum like this. It's not super expensive, which is probably why it's super popular. But I just I don't think it's needed. I think you can streamline your routine by getting rid of your standalone hyaluronic acid serum. You're getting this in every other step of your routine. This is my least favorite [Torriden] product. It pains me that their bestselling product is their worst. It's probably the one product from [Torriden] I wouldn't buy."
"The reason I'm calling this out is because they don't disclose the percentage. There is no point putting a Vitamin C on your skin if you don't know what strength it's in. That's because Vitamin C is a little bit on the irritating side. You need to know what you're using. If you have a very sensitive skin type, you're going to want to go in for something in a 5 to 10% concentration. If you have a very resilient skin type that doesn't irritate easily, you can go up to a 20% concentration to get the best results. But if you don't know what's in a product, how can you possibly match it to your individual skin's needs? You're just wasting your money and you're running a whole lot of risks. I would avoid any Vitamin C that doesn't disclose the percentage. And The Inkey List are one of those. [...] The Inkey List aren't particularly transparent. They don't go in big for percentages where it matters. They'll happily share a percentage of an ingredient which doesn't really matter what strength it's in, but they somehow hide the ones where it does matter. [...] I would avoid."
What should you take from Mad About Skin's picks?
Across 76 serums, his record is a useful guide to a crowded category. He named 22 products worth coming back to, many of them well under £20. His reasons for skipping the rest are just as specific: disclosed percentages, no hidden oxidation, and no paying for an active that is already in everything else you use. His winners list and his skip reasons together give you a lot to work with when you are trying to narrow down which serum actually earns its place.
Watch Mad About Skin say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%Named a winnerWatch at 7:17
- Allies of Skin Multipeptides & Growth Factor Advanced Lifting SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 8:53
- Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum: Propolis + NiacinamideNamed a winnerWatch at 8:40
- Medik8 Liquid Peptides Advanced MP+ SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 9:38
- Allies of Skin Peptides & Antioxidants Firming Daily TreatmentNamed a winnerWatch at 9:46
- Prequel Lucent-C Brightening Vitamin C SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 10:14
- Remedy Pore Size SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 14:09
- The INKEY List Azelaic Acid SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 10:20
- Beauty of Joseon Light On Serum: Centella + Vitamin CNamed a winnerWatch at 5:00
- Allies of Skin 20% Vitamin C Brighten & Firm SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 11:43
- NIOD Survival 0Named a winnerWatch at 8:45
- Allies of Skin Azelaic & Kojic Advanced Clarifying SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 12:01
- The Ordinary Lactic Acid 5%Named a winnerWatch at 6:25
- The Ordinary B OilNamed a winnerWatch at 6:30
- Theramid Copper Peptide SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 18:41
- Geek & Gorgeous Stressless SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 4:42
- Medicube PDRN booster gelNamed a winnerWatch at 4:49
- Stratia Rewind SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 4:48
- Medik8 Oxy-R PeptidesNamed a winnerWatch at 10:43
- KRX Six Peptide Skin BoosterNamed a winnerWatch at 8:40
- Theramid Clinical Vitamin A SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 11:28
- Face Theory Azelaic Acid 15Named a winnerWatch at 13:20
- SkinCeuticals C E FerulicSkipped itWatch at 10:06
- La Roche-Posay Pure Vitamin C10 SerumSkipped itWatch at 12:39
About this expert
See everything Mad About Skin has reviewed
Related guides
This guide reflects what Mad About Skin said across their videos about 76 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.