It’s taken me a while to catch on to the fact that it’s serums that make a real difference to your skin and not moisturiser. Now I’ve found a few I use regularly and have incorporated these two into my morning skincare routine. Both are from brands under the umbrella of DECIEM “The Abnormal Beauty Company”. Journalist and vlogger Nadine Baggott recently filmed a fascinating interview with the founder of DECIEM, Brandon Truaxe, which is well worth a watch if you’re into skincare.
I alternate these two serums each morning after a hydrating spritz and applying hyaluronic acid to my neck in the form of Multi Molecular Hyaluronic Complex by NIOD.
Copper Amino Isolate Solution 1% by NIOD
Another catchy name from NIOD. CAIS has become quite the cult product since its release, being thought to promote long-term skin health and combat the effects of skin ageing. Copper peptides are supposed to have multiple benefits including assisting with wound healing, collagen synthesis and anti-inflamatory responses. Victoria of Bois de Jasmin didn’t think much of it so I didn’t expect great things. However I found my skin really liked it. It seemed to soothe and strengthen my reactive skin.
It has very low viscosity (it’s like water!) and absorbs really well. The main reason I like it is that it feels healing on my cheek and neck which are constantly battling eczema. Maybe if you skin is already healthy you won’t notice a difference.
It comes in two bottles which you combine to create a bright blue liquid. A friend of mine doesn’t like face products that are blue, in the same way she doesn’t trust blue food, but I like it. It also smells faintly of rusty pipes which I don’t mind one bit. I’m sticking with it for now and will purchase the new improved CAIS 2 when I run out of the original formula. If the price of £38 for 15ml is a bit rich for you, The Ordinary are launching The Buffet + Copper Peptides 1% in the spring.
Niacinamide 1% + Zinc 1% by The Ordinary
Niacinamide + Zine 1% regulates the skin’s sebum activity, reduces the appearance of blemishes and brightens skin tone. I use it because I have combination skin and this has noticeably helped to balance it out: I no longer have an oily T-Zone. I like The Ordinary’s version because it states it has a high 10% concentration of niacinamide (vitamin B3) whereas some don’t tell you the exact percentage. Paula’s Choice do a Niacinamide Booster at 10% but it costs considerably more then £5 for 30ml, at £40 for 20ml.
I really like the texture of this serum because although it combats oiliness, it doesn’t feel drying. I don’t use it at the same as my Vitamin C serum because this can cause a redness reaction.
Do you use a serum in your morning skincare routine? Please share your choices in the comments. I love to hear what works for other people.
A Bottled Rose 
I love your skin care posts, I always learn something new even though I can’t remember the names of products. 😁
That said, I agree with you, I think serums are the ones that the skin benefits more from. At the moment I use L’Occitane’s Precious serum in the morning and their Divine oil in the evening. And I follow both with a moisturiser, even the oil because in winter my skin just absorbs everything it can.
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Hi Ines,
These product names aren’t the easiest to remember 🙂 Nice to hear you enjoy the skincare posts though. It’s been such a learning curve for me over the past year and it’s fun to share.
Thanks for telling me what you use from L’Occitane. It’s a brand I know the name of well but not the products. Totally agree that in winter you need to layer on the moisture.
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Hi Tara, I love and use both CAIS and MMHC (these abbreviations would be abracadabra for me a year ago, so I’m feeling real skincare pro ;-)!), after having read about them on Anniky’s blog LICC and on Detail Oriented Beauty. I use various other NIOD products and am very pleased with the results. Since reading about Korean skincare on Anniky’s blog I am also using Whamisa’s Organic Flowers Toner Deep Rich, which moisturises my skin perfectly when I use a couple of layers of the product. Usually I use this in the mornings before MMHC, using CAIS only in the evening.
Off topic, I found another beautiful rose perfume, Ce Soir ou Jamais, I haven’t worn much else lately (besides Slowdive and Dilettante).
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Hi Hamamelis,
I really like what I’ve tried from NIOD so far. I’ve tried their spitz but don’t think it’s quite enough for winter so I’ve gone back to Moisture Surge from Clinique. You have to give hyaluronic acid some moisture to grab onto so you’re doing the right thing. I’m very interested in the Korean essences but not sure where to start. It’s great you’ve found blogs to help you along.
Finding a new rose perfume is always good news 🙂
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Ooh, that second one looks very promising as an alternative to my beloved Olay Regenerist something Daily something Serum?? See, I have Ines’s problem too and am only on my fifth bottle. Glides on, absorbed easily, a tenner on Amazon if I am lucky (Greek stock!). I am also finishing up Indeed Labs Hydraluronic acid – can’t recall the name or spelling- but it was sticky so am not a fan.
Not a fan of blue things either, haha. Too like Jeyes Bloo Loo in my mind, maybe. 😉
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Hi V!
The names are so long now. Maybe they think they sound more impressive and scientific. I wasn’t a fan of the Indeed Labs HA. It just sat on the skin. The Ordinary’s version is much better and NiOD’s better again. Did you hear CeraVe is going to be sold in Boots starting next month?
Ha! Maybe that’s it re blue skincare 🙂
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In the last couple of months I’ve been using as little of anything skincare-wise as I could possibly do trying to figure out what causes my really bad skin allergic reactions. But when I was still using some products other than a moisturizer, I had several serums from Paula’s Choice. Probably I didn’t use them long enough, but I still can’t really figure out how many different products and in what combination one actually needs to use to get any benefits and not to harm your skin. There are dozens of different products with different active ingredients, similar promises of eternal youth and unclear instructions of combining them with other products – even from the same brand let alone all others. Nevertheless, I used some of the products just because I liked how they felt on the skin, which I cannot do any longer until I discover culprits that cause my eye lids to look as if I’ve been crying through the night (I didn’t! 🙂 ).
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I really feel for you Undina, It’s so difficult when you don’t know what is causing a reaction. I wonder if Vanessa will update us on the allergy test she had to find out what is causing the skin trouble she’s having around the eye/forehead area. The latest thing I’ve tried on my neck is the Omega serum from Paula’s Choice and that seems to be working so far. However I often find something works at first and then it’s back to square one. If it’s long term I’ll report back.
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