No BS Beauty has worked through 116 serums, earning a Guru Score of 77%. She has named nine outright category winners, which shows she has a clear sense of what the best really looks like. Her reviews are ingredient-led, and she is not shy about saying when a formula fails to deliver.
What does No BS Beauty recommend in serums?
Fragrance-free formulas packed with actives are what she consistently approves. A serum with multiple peptides, vitamin C in several forms, or fermented ingredients tends to tip her toward a strong take. She also repurchases the ones she loves, and says so openly. She is on her fourth bottle of the Neogen Real Ferment Micro Serum and was heading toward a fourth tube of the Peach Slices Redness Relief Azelaic Acid Serum.
In their words
"With a 10 being a perfect score this one a 10 I can't really think of any issues with it"
"The Neogen Real Ferment Micro Serum, it's 30 bucks. It contains Bifida, Saccharomyces, rice ferment, and Aspergillus ferment. No scent in it. I've repurchased. I think this is my fourth bottle of it. It's really nice. Serummy texture to it, really good for plumping up skin and lots of good ingredients in it. So I really love this one from Neogen and I've been repurchasing this one for a long time, so years."
"The Abib Glutathione Dark Spot Serum. This one again fragrance-free. [...] It has niacinamide, acetylglucosamine which I don't think I've seen in any of these other ones. But acetylglucosamine great for brightening skin up. We have ascorbic acid, ethyl ascorbic acid, ascorbic glucoside. So we've got three different types of vitamin C. Vitamin C great brightening ingredient. Really wonderful. Then we've got glutathione, ferulic acid and beta glucan. [...] Ferulic acid is great to use and helps vitamin C work better underneath your sunscreen. [...] It's got those little droplets in there which don't really notice them on your skin. The droplets [...] pop seamlessly and feels really nice and even on your skin. I'm on my second bottle."
"The In Beauty Project Elastic Skin Firming and Plumping Growth Factor Serum is amazing. The second you apply it, your skin instantly looks plump, plumper, and with long-term use, it also helps to firm skin up as well. [...] It's got kind of a lotiony texture to it. A little bit goes a long way. It feels a little bit like snail mucin on skin, and it's really nice because it's got that wild yam extract, which is called vegan snail mucin. [...] It's got copper peptides in here. It's got [...] a plant-based peptide that improves skin density as well as elasticity. It's got a peptide which provides collagen elastin support deep down in skin. It's also got another peptide which [...] helps promote elastin production deep down in skin. It's got beta glucan as well as ceramides. It's just so wonderful. No scent, no fragrance. I really enjoy this brand."
"First up is the postprocedure pick, and that is the Ordinary Multi-Peptide Serum with Copper Peptides, which is 32 bucks. It's got 1% copper peptides and then in addition to that, it's got several other peptides. It's got argireline peptide, it's got the leuphasyl peptide, those are Botox in a bottle peptides, along with matrixyl 3000 duo, matrixyl synthesis, the syn-ake peptide, which helps with expression wrinkles, and then urea and several amino acids. It's wonderful. Water-based serum works well. I typically like to use these in my evening routines, but it's really wonderful. So if you've done like micro needling or like a laser or peel or things like that, I think this would be a great one. No fragrance or anything like that in there."
"Love this stuff, this was a repurchase, my next tube of this one would be my fourth purchase of it, and it's just super affordable. Azelaic acid is great for rosacea, redness-prone skin, acne-prone skin, and brightening hyperpigmentation and dark spots, and this stuff was great. Love it, and so affordable too."
How many serums has No BS Beauty reviewed?
No BS Beauty has reviewed 116 serums, for a Guru Score of 77%. 89 approved, 8 mixed, and 19 skipped.
What has No BS Beauty skipped in serums?
Fragrance is the fastest route to a skip from her. The Medicube PDRN Pink Peptide Serum triggered the start of a migraine and she did not apply it to her face. She called the AXIS-Y Dark Spot Correcting Glow Serum a disappointment for not carrying enough brightening actives, and skipped the Matter of Fact Vitamin C Serum for delivering a formula she found very close to much cheaper options at $92.
"Matter of Fact, it's a new brand that just came to Sephora. It's actually founded by Paul Baker, which is a former K-pop musician. In my opinion, this brand is just a crystal clear money grab. Paul claims to have spent his time working on making ingredients, specifically mentioned vitamin C, more efficacy and more efficient, as if SkinCeuticals and a hundred thousand million other brands and companies haven't spent time on this. Looking at his Vitamin C formula, it looks very similar to the Ordinary. If you search for dupes for it, the Geek and Gorgeous C Glow is a very close dupe to it. It costs 92 dollars. After you pay for taxes, that's gotta be at least 100 bucks. The basic ingredients are very similar to the ascorbic acid from the Ordinary, the serum version with propanolol in it, and also very similar to the one from Geek and Gorgeous."
"This stuff smelled so strong, just floral perfumey. It was just too much. [...] The ingredients looked fine except for fragrance right in the middle and the fragrance was strong and it was overwhelming and it gave me the beginning of a migraine. So I didn't apply it on my face."
"In my opinion, micro needling for most people is going to do hands down more long term for their skin than a device like this will. There's nothing wrong with this device per se, but if you have the money and you buy one device, in my judgment, my research, micro needling is going to be the best for your skin. [...] I'm not exactly sure that there's any setting on the Medicube that actually does anything deep down to help with collagen. [...] I have not found success with the new face or many other devices."
"This one I was disappointed. I didn't find the ingredient list to be super loaded with brightening ingredients. I think the main ingredient might have been niacinamide, and that was really about it. I didn't find much benefit from it at all, so it was a disappointment. A lot of people love it, but if you have newer hyperpigmentation that's not stubborn, it might do the trick. For me, no, that was a loser."
What should you take from No BS Beauty's picks?
No BS Beauty's record on serums gives you a lot to work with. She tells you what she has repurchased, she reads every ingredient list, and when something disappoints her she names it directly. Her nine category picks are a solid short list, and her skips are just as worth reading because she always explains the reason.
Watch No BS Beauty say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- Topicals Faded Brightening SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 5:09
- NIOD Copper Amino Isolate Serum 3Named a winnerWatch at 6:50
- Purito Wonder Relief Centella Serum UnscentedNamed a winnerWatch at 7:33
- NIOD Survival 0Named a winnerWatch at 4:41
- The Ordinary Lactic Acid 5%Named a winnerWatch at 1:07
- The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Serum with Copper PeptidesNamed a winnerWatch at 2:12
- Regimen Lab Level SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 4:21
- Allies of Skin Mandelic Pigmentation Corrector Night SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 3:22
- Tatcha Serum StickNamed a winnerWatch at 6:35
- Matter of Fact Vitamin C SerumSkipped itWatch at 0:49
- Medicube PDRN Pink Peptide SerumSkipped itWatch at 1:39
- Medicube Age-R Booster ProSkipped itWatch at 11:10
- AXIS-Y Dark Spot Correcting Glow SerumSkipped itWatch at 6:09
- BioEffect EGF SerumSkipped itWatch at 14:15
- Peter Thomas Roth Potent-C Power SerumSkipped itWatch at 10:59
- The Ordinary Volufiline SerumSkipped itWatch at 3:15
- CeraVe Skin Renewing Vitamin C SerumSkipped itWatch at 7:39
- The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5Skipped itWatch at 10:52
- Dr. Idriss Major Fade Hyperpigmentation SerumSkipped itWatch at 7:53
- Drunk Elephant C-Firma Fresh Day SerumSkipped itWatch at 6:31
- DRMTLGY Vitamin C5Skipped itWatch at 9:34
- Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night OilSkipped itWatch at 6:53
- Anua Azelaic Acid 10% Hyaluron Redness Soothing SerumSkipped itWatch at 3:59
- First Aid Beauty Bounce Boosting SerumSkipped itWatch at 4:49
About this expert
See everything No BS Beauty has reviewed
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This guide reflects what No BS Beauty said across their videos about 116 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.