No BS Beauty has worked through more than 250 serums, earning an approval rate of 71%. She has named more than 10 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 her 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."
"I absolutely loved this product, I will certainly repurchase it, highly recommended if you have hyperpigmentation, dark spots, melasma. It's great for all of it, the amount of brightening ingredients in this one is really impressive. It has retinol, mandelic acid, kojic acid, glutathione, licorice root, tranexamic acid, niacinamide, silymarin, and acetylglucosamine, and all of those help brighten up your skin and also help with anti-aging, and retinol is great for that as well as acne."
"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."
"The daily serum comes in a silver bottle. I use it more sparingly, kind of similar to the SkinMedica, just around my eyes and mouth and areas, sometimes between my eyebrows. This uses their human platelet exosomes, and it's kind of interesting how they do that, but it's a really nice product. The human platelet exosomes I found are really nice and helpful, great if you use lasers at all or micro needling. I really like to use these after micro needling. This one's a nice one, simple product."
"Numbuzin is [...] cruelty-free. [...] In terms of performance, this one feels super calming and hydrating on my skin, which is really nice. It's unlike a lot of other vitamin C serums, a lot of vitamin C serums don't feel super calming or hydrating on your skin. They give you a glow, they help with hyperpigmentation, but they don't feel that great on your skin. Most of them don't, some do but most of them don't. I do believe this helps brighten my skin a bit. My skin enjoys this one."
How many serums has No BS Beauty reviewed?
No BS Beauty has reviewed 262 serums, for an approval rate of 71%. 186 approved, 32 mixed, and 44 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.
"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."
"The winner for most disappointed product, and they're a winner yet a loser at the same time, kind of ironic, is the Tatcha Silk Serum. You know what, at least the other products would set you back a hundred bucks."
"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."
"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."
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 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.
- The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 5:21
- The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + Hyaluronic AcidNamed a winnerWatch at 8:21
- NIOD Copper Amino Isolate Serum 3:1Named a winnerWatch at 6:50
- Allies of Skin Mandelic Pigmentation Corrector Night SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 12:17
- The Ordinary Lactic Acid 5% + Hyaluronic Acid 2%Named a winnerWatch at 1:07
- Purito Wonder Relief Centella Serum UnscentedNamed a winnerWatch at 7:41
- iNNBEAUTY PROJECT Elastic Skin Firming & Plumping Growth Factor SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 9:03
- Maelove Peptide Squad Collagen Renewal SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 6:53
- Biossance Squalane + Copper Peptide Rapid Plumping SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 9:29
- Tatcha Luminous Silk SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 4:15
- Peach & Lily Copper Peptide Pro Firming SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 3:03
- Haruharu Wonder Centella Phyto & 5 Peptide Concentrate CreamNamed a winnerWatch at 2:42
- NIOD Survival 0Named a winnerWatch at 4:41
- Geek & Gorgeous A-Pad Azelaic Acid SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 5:19
- Regimen Lab Level SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 11:42
- 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
- Goodal Green Tangerine Vitamin C Dark Spot Care SerumSkipped itWatch at 7:05
- Cetaphil Healthy Radiance Brightening Antioxidant-C Face SerumSkipped itWatch at 12:41
- Biossance 100% Squalane OilSkipped itWatch at 6:04
- La Roche-Posay Effaclar Ultra Concentrated SerumSkipped itWatch at 2:07
About this expert
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This guide reflects what No BS Beauty said across her videos about 262 products in serums, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The approval rate is the share of these products she approved. It is general information, not medical advice.