Superdrug’s own brand skincare is always worth a look in my opinion -sadly they are discontinuing their great Vitamin E hot cloth cleanser which is properly great for the price and a convincing Cleanse and Polish dupe, so stock up if you see any on the aisles. Their Radiance 2-in1 serum and Moisturiser was a surprising find, their Overnight Glycolic peel pretty good for the money, and they’ve finally brought back their Simply Pure Hydrating Serum, which at £2.69 works almost as well as Vichy’s Aqualia which is about eight times the price.
serum and moisturiser
So I thought I would give these a go as they were at half price (£6.50 rather than £12.99 and currently on BOGOF) and I was suckered in by the 40+ age bracket blurb.
The claim is that the formulation “strengthens skin’s resistance to daily external aggressors and improves cellular longevity in order to delay the ageing process.” It increases skin hydration (hyaluronic acid, urea, glycerin) and contains something called ‘Moistboost’ which sounds absolutely filthy, but apparently is a slow release complex that keeps skin hydrated for up to 5 days (HOW???)
Moisturiser (L) and Serum (R)
They both come in serious looking chunky clinical grey packaging and are both pump action, which is an immediate tick from me.
The Serum
The Serum is a light, slightly foamy textured watery feeling gel. One pump goes a surprisingly long way and does both face and neck.
Spread out but not rubbed in.
I’ve been impressed by the serum; it sinks in very quickly to a matte but not drying finish and my skin feels supple and hydrated and ready for moisturiser immediately. Some serums that are hyaluronic-rich feel like they are actually sucking the life out of my skin even before I’ve managed to get moisturiser on top (go to the back of the class, Hydraluron…) so I was pleased that this didn’t have the same effect. My skin looks more matte and even toned when I apply this, and yes, my skin does feel comfortable all day long without any oily breakouts or patchiness of my base. Does it make my skin look younger? No, but it makes it look perfectly acceptable.
The only downside for me was the smell. Fragrance in products is a bit hit and miss at the best of times; if I love it I really love it, but a smell I don’t like can properly put me off a product. Possibly it’s the PhytoSnowAlgae (No, I don’t know either), but to me it has quite an unpleasant whiff like cheap Vitamin E cream which takes a while to dissipate.
The moisturiser
To my mind the moisturiser isn’t the best I’ve ever used. It’s quite silicone heavy, which usually doesn’t bother me but does make this feel a little like it’s just “sitting” on my skin, rather than sinking in. So far I have only used it in conjunction with the serum, so maybe it would do better on top of a more ‘brightening’ type treatment.
It’s a white, medium consistency cream which doesn’t smell as much as the serum, thankfully.
Spread out but not rubbed in
It doesn’t make my skin oily, it doesn’t break me out and my skin feels comfortable when I’m wearing it. But I’m a bit ‘meh’ about it. I can’t get excited about applying it for some reason, even though it performs just as well as some much more spendy moisturisers that I own. It just doesn’t feel luxe enough (not sure what I was expecting for the price!) and possibly because I’m using it in tandem with the serum, I’m associating the nasty honk with it.
Overall: Superdrug are always worth keeping an eye on for some surprisingly good low-spend products. On balance I think I’ll go back to the Simply Pure serum when I’ve used this up rather than repurchase -and that’s purely down to the fragrance issue.
What do you think? Have you used these? Is my nose just super sensitive???
Superdrug Optimum Phytosurvive Serum and Day cream cost £12.99 (but are almost constantly on offer) and are available HERE
Info: Purchase
Atomic Mutton Beauty 