Serums are where Kelly Driscoll has done her deepest work. She has reviewed more than 90 of them. Her record earns an approval rate of 76%, and she named the Peach & Lily Rescue Party Barrier Restore Serum and the Stratia Rewind Serum as Top Picks. Most of what she covers gets her approval. But the handful she did not fully approve are worth knowing about.
What does Kelly Driscoll recommend in serums?
A clear pattern runs through Kelly Driscoll's approvals. She pays close attention to concentrations. She names the exact percentage of the key ingredient in each formula. She has said plainly that 5% niacinamide is what clinical studies actually use. Higher percentages, she says, raise the risk of irritation rather than improving results. She also likes serums where the main active has backup. When she recommended the Peach & Lily Copper Peptide Pro Firming Serum, part of the praise was that its 2% copper peptide sits alongside twelve other peptides, each tackling a different sign of aging rather than leaving all the work to one.
Kelly Driscoll's serum picks, in her words
"I tested it by putting Biossance on one side of my face [...] and Remedy on the other for my morning routine, and [...] I could not tell the difference. My skin stayed hydrated [...] and felt plump to the touch on both sides every time I ran the test. [...] I am so confident in recommending Remedy as a more affordable option to Biossance."
"What delighted me about this serum is that it's so good at calming stressed out skin. My skin is sensitive, and so it does seem like little things can really throw off the balance. Especially in summer, some of the biggest ones are a lot of heat and sun, definitely sweat can irritate my skin and just kind of throw off the happy balance of my skin. And this product is so good at just sort of calming it down, kind of getting it back into a happy state from being sort of cranky."
"That is where the Haruharu [Centella] Phyto and Five Peptide Concentrate Cream comes in. So one of the star humectants here is a trio of ingredients that go under the trade name Aquacil. So these are actually sugar molecules that help to deeply hydrate the skin and bind that hydration into your skin really meaningfully creating that comfortable feeling in your skin restoring water levels."
"It's still really lightweight, watery, and quickly absorbed in the skin, but that touch of moisture really brings in that radiance to your skin without overwhelming your pores. I would actually recommend this serum for all skin types because it is so light, but just that kiss of moisture can bring in the balance that you might be seeking in the cooler months."
"I really love Stratia Rewind. I've been talking about it for years because it is one of the few products that has firmed my skin like visibly and to the touch. [...] When I first started using the serum, which contains 5% niacinamide, I was using it for the collagen stimulating and for the brightening and that's all I really wanted to see on my skin. So I was really surprised when my skin started to feel very similar to plumped, thicker, more smooth, more lifted, more bouncy."
"I love their Peach and Lily Copper Peptide Pro Firming Serum because this is a really good example of a well-formulated peptide serum. They are using 2% of copper peptide which helps to stimulate collagen. It's a really great peptide for addressing the signs of aging on the skin. But it doesn't just stop at the copper peptide."
How many serums has Kelly Driscoll reviewed?
Kelly Driscoll has reviewed 90 serums, for an approval rate of 76%. 68 approved, 13 mixed, and 9 skipped.
What has Kelly Driscoll skipped in serums?
Her skips and mixed takes share a theme: formula honesty. She found that the Cocokind Ceramide Barrier Serum, sold as a barrier repair product, contains gluconolactone. That is a PHA, meaning a type of chemical exfoliant. Daily use left her skin inflamed rather than soothed. Sticky texture was another dealbreaker. She said plainly that the Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops owed its popularity more to its marketing and packaging than to its formula.
"I've talked about this quite a bit. I think it's actually a nice product, but it does contain some chemical exfoliation. Using a product like that two times a day actually weakened my skin barrier. That's just my skin, and that's something I know about my skin. But even someone like me who reads ingredient lists carefully, I still missed this ingredient, I got a little lazy in my reading at the store. It's really easy to miss these types of ingredients if you're not on top of things."
"But the rice and the honey do round that out, bring a lot of balance to the skin, hug that light hydration in, soften the skin. It's sticky. This was something I was like really, I couldn't believe how sticky this was. It reminds me a lot of a snail essence because when you get the texture between your fingers you kind of pull them apart you get that like mozzarella cheese effect, that string effect. [...] You do get some of that here."
"I do not like this product. I filmed a short testing it out. [...] It's meant to plump up your lips and make them puffy. [...] I was putting it on and my lips are on fire, burning, painful. It hurts so bad. It's getting hot, not in the Nelly way, my gosh, my lips are on fire. [...] The burning, the stinging sensation. It's like somebody took a habanero and rubbed it all over my lips, and [...] not in a fun way. [...] Really really really really really burny."
"My least recommended from Glow Recipe is the plum plump line. [...] It is mostly a hyaluronic acid focused line and it really is about bringing hydration into the skin. [...] I like hyaluronic acid, but it's not my most favorite hydrating ingredient generally. I find it a little bit boring. It can be done in an interesting way, but these products have never really lit me up in any exciting way."
What should you take from Kelly Driscoll's picks?
Kelly Driscoll's serum record is one of the most detailed around, and her enthusiasm is genuine. She approves a lot. But she gives specific reasons for each take, which makes her record a useful reference, especially for people trying to understand what an active ingredient does and at what concentration. The products she did not fully approve are worth reading carefully too. Her reasons tend to point to the kind of formulation issue that matters across the whole category.
Watch Kelly Driscoll say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- Peach & Lily Rescue Party Barrier Restore SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 12:34
- Stratia Rewind DMAE SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 14:49
- Cocokind Hydrating Electrolyte Rescue SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 8:44
- Cocokind Ceramide Barrier SerumSkipped itWatch at 3:45
- Anua Rice 7% Ceramide Hydrating Barrier SerumSkipped itWatch at 2:45
- VT Reedle Shot 100 CollagenSkipped itWatch at 11:59
- Glow Recipe Plum Plump Hyaluronic SerumSkipped itWatch at 24:29
- Innisfree Green Tea Seed Hyaluronic Acid SerumSkipped itWatch at 16:38
- Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew DropsSkipped itWatch at 16:09
- Peach & Lily Glass Skin Refining SerumSkipped itWatch at 20:21
- Aestura Atobarrier 365 Hydro Serum HASkipped itWatch at 6:31
- The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% SerumSkipped itWatch at 10:38
- Remedy Copper Peptide Complex Advanced Firming SerumRated itWatch at 17:39
- Haruharu Wonder Centella Phyto & 5 Peptide Concentrate CreamRated itWatch at 9:30
- Tirtir Matcha Dual SerumRated itWatch at 0:44
- Peach & Lily Copper Peptide Pro Firming SerumRated itWatch at 18:11
- The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%Rated itWatch at 4:33
- Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid BoosterRated itWatch at 4:36
- NIOD Copper Amino Isolate Serum 3:1Rated itWatch at 10:44
- Torriden Dive-In Low Molecular Hyaluronic Acid SerumRated itWatch at 20:52
- Timeless Coenzyme Q10 SerumRated itWatch at 18:22
- Paula's Choice Clinical Discoloration Repair SerumRated itWatch at 9:56
- Caudalie Vinoperfect Brightening Dark Spot SerumRated itWatch at 15:22
- Numbuzin No.3 Vitamin Concentrated SerumRated itWatch at 7:53
About this expert
See everything Kelly Driscoll has reviewed
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This guide reflects what Kelly Driscoll said across her videos about 90 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.