My second-most important skincare goal has always been brightening and evening my skintone. For basically as long as I can remember, my face has been red. Not rosacea/sunburn red…more like “scrubbed your face too hard and now it’s splotchy in places” red. Except it was like that no matter what.
Since I started my journey down the Asian beauty rabbit hole, I’m always on the lookout for a new brightening product, especially one that has multiple functions. So when I came across Skin & Lab’s Red Serum, I was intrigued.
According to the Wishtrend website, the Skin & Lab Dr. Color Effect Red Serum is able to:
- Clear and brighten skin tone
- Firm and balance skin structure
- Moisturize “inner layer of skin”
- “Resolve ALL the skin concerns of females – whitening, wrinkle care, moisturizing, calming and oil control” (lol this is kind of intense)
Okay, that’s a pretty comprehensive list of things this serum allegedly does, right? It also claims that you’ll see improvements in five days.
WE SHALL SEE!
Ingredients
Courtesy of cosDNA:
Water, butylene glycol, glycerin, sodium hyaluronate, betaine, witch hazel, witch hazel leaf extract, punica granatum (pomegranate) fruit extract, blueberry fruit extract, rubus chamaemorus (cloudberry) fruit extract, lycium chinense fruit extract, raspberry fruit extract, euterpe oleracea (acai) extract, lepidium sativum (garden cress) sprout extract, niacinamide, wild yam root, 1,2-hexanediol, caprylyl glycol, caprylhydroamic acid, boswellia serrata (Indian frankincense) resin extract, sweet almond seed extract, PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, allantoin, carbomer, arginine, dipotassium glycyrrhizate (licorice root), adenosine, jasmine oil, disodium EDTA, witch hazel twig extract.
Lots of soothing, brightening and hydrating ingredients, plus the “phyto red” complex that gives the serum its name: pomegranate, cloudberry, lycium, acai, blueberry and raspberry. Overall, the ingredients look great. I was stoked to get this.
Performance
Sooo…I’m sorry guys. I completely forgot to take before and after pictures to show you. I do my routine in bed usually and I get distracted by reading.
Anyways. The serum itself is surprisingly oily. I was expecting a typical watery product, but it’s a bit more viscous and leaves a bit of an oily film on my face. I learned after a few days that I had to use it after all of my other ampoules, serums and essences, otherwise they didn’t absorb fully.
Other bloggers I’ve talked to said they caught a lovely jasmine scent from this product and I’m sad to say that I didn’t smell that at all. I don’t really think the serum has much of a smell, but it does have jasmine oil in it so YMMV.
As for its claims…I guess we can take them one at a time.
Clear/brightened skin tone: I used this serum for a month and didn’t notice any additional brightening, glowing or faster healing. My whole routine is focused on brightening and hydration though, so that could play a role in this.
Firm and balance skin structure: Okay I’m not really sure what this means, but my skin didn’t look or feel any firmer or more balanced. I still needed other moisturizers and my skin didn’t feel more hydrated post-serum.
Moisturize inner layer of skin: Again, I didn’t notice any plumping or glowing from “inner moisture.” I did take before and after moisture readings with my handy-dandy skin analyzer and there was only a negligible difference. It does say “inner moisture,” though, so take that with a grain of salt I guess.
“Resolve ALL the skin concerns of females – whitening, wrinkle care, moisturizing, calming and oil control”: This one makes me giggle every time I type it. This is basically claiming to fix every problem ladies have with their skin (I guess men don’t have these problems? Ha!). In my opinion, it probably provided a bit of moisture and a little bit of redness calming, but that’s about it. I don’t have any wrinkles yet so I can’t speak to that aspect of it, so maybe it’s an awesome wrinkle reducer?
Final Thoughts
I had high hopes for this serum. I didn’t expect it to be the miracle worker that the advertisements said it would be. However, I did expect some brightening and I even hoped I’d get a lil bit o’glow, but no dice.
I was quite disappointed in the lack of…anything…happening with the addition of this serum. I have a feeling this serum might be better suited for someone whose routine isn’t focused on brightening like mine is.
I also think this serum would be great for someone just starting their skincare journey. It has lots of proven brightening, hydrating and soothing ingredients, which makes me think that it would have been a great find for me in my early skincare days.
2.5 / 5 – Smells lovely, wasn’t ideal for my skin concerns. WNR
Best suited for:
– Those whose routine isn’t heavy on brightening products
– Skincare newbies looking for a single product that’s capable of doing some heavy lifting
Do Not Use If:
– You have a nut allergy (sweet almond oil is in the ingredients, so be cautious!)
– You’re sensitive to any of the ingredients listed above
Where to Buy
You can also find it on Yesstyle for $22