These serums are radiance in a bottle
If you love pampering your skin, you probably have a collection of serums to target all those pesky skin concerns. But if you're new to serums, the sheer number of options out there may seem daunting.
A brightening serum is an excellent addition to your skincare routine if your skin feels dull or you want to target dark spots, hyperpigmentation, or uneven skin tone. A skin brightening serum can liven up your face and give it a healthy glow with just a few drops. To help you find the best brightening serums, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite products on Flip.
1. Yes To Grapefruit Brightening Treatment Serum
Reveal radiant-looking skin with a daily dose (three to four drops, to be exact) of vitamin C. This lightweight brightening serum helps loosen dead skin cells on the surface, allowing other skin-transforming ingredients to penetrate deeper, resulting in a glowing, soft complexion. This product has antioxidant-rich grapefruit, vitamin C, and 5% polyhydroxy acids (PHAs), a gentler alternative to AHAs/BHAs, that help exfoliate and smoothen skin. This serum helps improve your skin’s tone and texture while leaving it moisturized. This mild exfoliating treatment absorbs quickly with no sticky residue and helps prep skin for the application of additional moisturizing ingredients.
2. Byoma Brightening Serum
This powerful brightening serum helps significantly improve skin tone and texture for even, glowing results. The lightweight serum visibly brightens the skin while helping ease signs of hyperpigmentation and uneven tone from its first use. It has a unique barrier-boosting tri-ceramide complex (ceramides, cholesterol, fatty acids) and hyaluronic acid that gives your skin intense hydration. The serum strengthens your skin barrier and helps defend against environmental aggressors.
3. Mario Badescu Brightening Eye Serum
Are your eyes giving away your fatigue? This multi-tasking eye serum brightens, tightens, and firms to help blur fine lines and tone skin around the eye. The illuminating effect delivers instant gratification, targeting dark circles for an immediate pick-me-up. The product contains caffeine and squalane to help reduce puffiness, making you look like you got your eight hours of sleep. Use it also as an anti-aging treatment around the eyes to firm up the area.
4. Found Active Brightening Face Serum w/ Vitamin C
Life has its dull moments, but your face doesn’t have to have one. Brighten up dull-looking skin with Found Active Brightening Face Serum. This vitamin C skin solution leverages rich antioxidants that support a brilliant, more radiant complexion. This serum is good for all skin types. This vitamin C brightening serum is great for reviving your skin for a healthy glow. To get that glow, just apply a few drops to your face and neck and gently press in.
5. Goldfaden MD Brightening Elixir Brightening Serum
Goldfaden’s advanced brightening and antioxidant serum helps aid against the appearance of photoaging and free radical damage while leaving your skin feeling hydrated and radiant. This serum works to boost your skin’s moisture, soothe, increase radiance, and improve the appearance of skin color and tone. It also minimizes the appearance of fine lines.
This serum removes dead skin and fine lines while moisturizing. It is enhanced with ferulic acid, vitamin E, vitamin C, and vitamin B to give your skin the ultimate nourishment.
6. Purlisse Blue Lotus Brightening Serum
Brighten and even your skin tone for a radiant look with this serum formulated for sensitive skin. Blue lotus extract is a powerhouse antioxidant with anti-inflammatory benefits known to combat free radical damage. Lupine peptides promote a luminous complexion while vitamin C and alpha arbutin brighten and even your skin tone. Neem and prune extracts fade away hyperpigmentation and repair sun damage. This serum can help address dark spots, discoloration, dullness, and uneven skin texture.
7. Aromatica Reviving Rose Infusion Serum
This rose serum gives your skin a luminous look while moisturizing and fading away fine wrinkles. Find your natural glow with these exclusive acai ingredients — elder elderberry, raspberry, Indian gooseberry, rosehip fruit, and plum. Elderberry (loaded with vitamins) and Indian gooseberry extract support skin elasticity and health. This product delivers deep hydration from the inside and provides a radiant glow all at once. This serum has dried damask rose petals (freshly picked by hand daily).
8. Algenist Blue Algae Vitamin C Skinclarity Serum
Orange vitamin C is out; blue C is in. This serum helps restore your skin’s clarity and improve texture in 10 days. It safeguards against damage, leaving your skin at its healthiest and most radiant. Pigmentation starts as early as in your 20s and affects all skin tones, especially melanin-rich skin. Formulated with exclusive vitamin C from spirulina — a blue-green algae with antioxidant properties to help fight free radicals — it brightens and evens your tone. The patented and exclusive alguronic acid from the algae visibly targets fine lines and wrinkles.
9. I Dew Care Bright Side Up Brightening Vita. C Serum
Care for your skin with essential nutrients using the Bright Side Up Brightening Vitamin C Serum from I Dew Care. This lightweight jelly formula gives your skin a plumper look. It's packed with nourishing vitamin E and B5, plus antioxidant-rich grapefruit to bring dull skin back to life. This serum is good for all skin types and contains no parabens, sulfates, or silicones. Say goodbye to dryness, dullness, and uneven skin tone. Its key ingredient, vitamin C, helps boost radiance, even out skin tone, and protects against environmental stressors. It also has grapefruit extract, which reduces visible signs of premature aging.
10. Innisfree Youth Enhancing Serum with Black Tea
This is a lightweight, powerhouse serum infused with antioxidant-rich black tea, hyaluronic acid, and niacinamide. It helps soothe the skin and instantly delivers a smoother, healthier, glowing complexion. The product contains “3-Step Moisture Capsules,” which are hyaluronic acid and ceramide capsulized with squalane. It also includes brightening niacinamide and moisture-sustaining glycerin gel networks. It’s an excellent product for dry or dull-looking skin.
FAQ
Which serum is best for brightening?
The best skin brightening serum is the one that’s most suited for your skin type. When choosing your serum, consider any specific skin concerns you want to target. Brightening serums often have vitamin C, but you can also find multi-tasking serums, like the Mario Badescu Brightening Eye Serum, that address several skincare concerns.
What does a brightening serum do?
Brightening serum is intended to make dull-looking skin radiant. It evens the skin tone and fades dark spots. If your skin looks like it needs a little extra boost, consider a face brightening serum as your skin’s shot of espresso that brings it to life.
If you struggle with acne, you can try to achieve a hyper clear complexion with brightening, clearing vitamin C serums to target acne scarring, or post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. Make sure you’re still using a product with acne-fighting ingredients like benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid. Always check to see if your ingredients are okay to mix, and ease new products into your routine to avoid irritation. Vitamin C has the potential to be very irritating if your skin isn’t used to it.
When should I use a brightening serum?
Use your brightening serum whenever it fits best into your skincare routine. Some prefer to use it in the morning, but nighttime works just as well. Ensure you store your serum away from sunlight as vitamin C can oxidize and become less effective.
