Of the serums our beauty team tested early on, five of the most acclaimed left our skin feeling hydrated and plump, but they cost so much more than the five that became our picks (an average of $99 per ounce versus $16 per ounce at the time of publication) that we couldn’t justify the price difference for something as relatively simple as hydration: Isdin Hyaluronic Concentrate, PCA Skin HA Boosting Serum, Medik8 Hydr8 B5, SkinCeuticals HA Intensifier Multi-Glycan, and Tatcha The Dewy Serum.Three others suffered from identity crises. Testers felt hydrated by CeraVe Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Serum and Cetaphil 48 Hour Hydrating Serum but also felt confused by the lotion-like formulation. Meanwhile, The Ordinary lists its 100% Plant-Derived Squalane under serums, but the texture was heavier and more oil-like than testers had come to expect of this (lightweight, traditionally liquidy) product category. Two serums delivered an instant soft-glow sheen — E.L.F. Skin Thirst Burst Drops with synthetic fluorphlogopite (a mica alternative) and Olay Super Serum with mica — but testers found the initial dose of radiance outshined the hydrating benefits. In fact, the E.L.F. drops had one tester “cleansing more carefully because of the sparkle residue.”A number of serums with hyaluronic acid did hydrate testers’ skin, but not as well as our four hyaluronic-acid-based picks. This group included the Aestura Atobarrier 365 Hydro Cera-HA Serum, Eight Saints Original Cin Niacinamide Serum, Grace & Stella Hyaluronic Acid Serum, The Inkey List Hyaluronic Acid Serum, L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Derm Intensives 1.5% Pure Hyaluronic Acid Serum, Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hyaluronic Acid Serum, and Peach & Lily Glass Skin Refining Serum.Other buzzy hydrating serum ingredients were contenders, too, such as the humectant ectoin (The Inkey List Ectoin Hydro-Barrier Serum), the soothing centella (Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Ampoule), and the barrier-improving PDRN (Medicube PDRN Pink Peptide Serum), but the hydration levels that our testers experienced fell short of the picks’ quenching effects.We also ruled out a number of additional serums from Anua, Beauty of Joseon, Biossance, Byoma, Caudalie, Clinique, Cocokind, CosRx, Current State, Glow Recipe, Good Molecules, Kiehl’s, Innbeauty Project, Lancôme, No7, OSEA, Paula’s Choice, Peter Thomas Roth, Prequel, Summer Fridays, Ursa Major, and Youth To The People. We chose not to send them to panel testing for a variety of reasons, which included concerns related to value, insufficient or unfavorable reviews, or limited availability. This article was edited by Jennifer G. Sullivan and Leta Shy.
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