Get into bed lookin’ like a glazed donut.
We’d never rip on night creams, but if you’re looking to get the most skincare benefits at nighttime, you may want to consider swapping out your night cream for a night serum. “Serums can be a great option over creams because they are often formulated with more concentrated amounts of active ingredients for better and deeper delivery,” explains Michigan-based dermatologist Dr. Fatima Fahs. “Because they are lightweight, serums tend to absorb quickly into the skin and can therefore yield more dramatic results.”
While some serums are specifically marketed for nighttime, you really can use any serum, day or night. The night is just a great time to apply them, as this is when your skin (and body in general) goes into reparative mode. This means it will absorb and utilize the actives that much better.1 It’s truly a win-win.
We conducted hours of research on the best night serums, evaluating each formula on its active ingredients, benefits to your skin, the feeling when you apply it, and value. With expert recommendations from board-certified dermatologists, we considered dozens of brands for different skin types and concerns, and we landed on these top-rated night serums.
Best Overall: Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Multi-Recovery Complex
There’s a good reason why this is one of the brand’s biggest hits and a perennial beauty editor favorite. It works to address multiple signs of aging via one convenient formula, thanks to a patented technology that helps to repair and boost collagen production. It’s full of fermented ingredients (which can balance the good bacteria in the skin), as well as hydrating hyaluronic acid, leaving skin smoother, plumper, more radiant, and generally more youthful–looking after every use.2 Serums can sometimes feel sticky, but this one is so hydrating that it melts into the skin with a velvety finish.
Best Splurge: La Mer The Regenerating Serum
It may be the famous La Mer cream that gets all the attention, but this serum is equally as noteworthy. It is extremely expensive, but it does offer multiple benefits. Made with the brand’s signature Miracle Broth—a trademarked ingredient that’s formulated with fermented sea kelp alongside numerous skin-beneficial vitamins and minerals—this serum is designed to boost the skin’s natural collagen production (which keeps the skin soft and supple) and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The result is skin that looks glowy, smooth, and refreshed. We’re also obsessed with the silky texture of the serum that feels next-level luxurious, transforming your skincare routine into a truly special self care moment.
Best Splurge, Runner-Up: Defenage 8-in-1 Bioserum
“The technology of this serum is mind-blowing,” says Fahs. It has a patented formula that works to activate dormant young cells to rejuvenate and promote new, healthy, smooth skin, she explains. More specifically, it targets prominent pores, discoloration, redness, dullness, wrinkles, and more. The star ingredient of this formula is Alpha-Defensin 5, which is a lesser-known, more gentle retinol alternative that has been shown to improve the skin’s overall condition without causing irritation or dryness.3 So, although this pick is a bit more expensive, its multi-tasking but gentle proprietary formula makes it well worth every penny.
Best for Darker Skin Tones: Epara Hydrating Serum
This serum was formulated specifically with the unique skin care needs of women of color in mind. It contains licorice root extract to help combat hyperpigmentation (a common issue for those with darker skin, as well as plant-based oils to address increased dryness.4 It’s also a great choice for inflammation and irritated skin due to the inclusion of frankincense oil, which can soothe skin conditions like psoriasis, and cotton thistle flower extract, which has been shown to treat inflamed skin.56
When we tested the product, we loved that the formula was super lightweight and absorbed into our skin immediately. After just one use, our complexion already felt softer and smoother.
Best Exfoliating: OSEA Seaglow Overnight Serum AHA Treatment
This luxurious overnight treatment is chock-full of the ingredients that you should look for in a night serum—everything from a blend of exfoliating acids to fruit and plant extracts to hydrate the skin. It has lactic, malic, citric, and tartaric acids but is somehow still gentle enough to not irritate sensitive skin types. It also contains sea actives (like algae and spirulina) that are rich in compounds that work to keep the skin hydrated and protected.7 The result is softer, smoother skin when you wake up and a reduction in the appearance of pores and healed rough skin over time.
Runner-Up, Best Exfoliating: Pixi Overnight Glow Serum
This aptly-named pick will indeed leave your skin glowier and more radiant come morning. Credit the hero ingredient: a 10% concentration of glycolic acid, which is an exfoliating alpha hydroxy acid that can help improve texture and tone. Also nice: glycolic acid has also been shown to stimulate collagen production for smoother, plumper skin.8)
We also like this serum because it’s balanced out with soothing cucumber and aloe extracts, reducing the likelihood of redness and/or irritation—which can sometimes be a side effect of using exfoliating ingredients.
Best Retinol-Based: Dr. Dennis Gross Advanced Retinol + Ferulic Texture Serum
Retinol is one of the best anti-aging ingredients out there, but it can also make your skin sensitive to sunlight—which is why retinol products are best used at night. You’ll find the powerhouse in plenty of serums, but this serum, in particular, is one of our all-time favorites. Not only does the retinol help to smooth out uneven texture, but it also keeps clogged pores and blemishes at bay by stimulating cell turnover.9 We love that it also contains two gentler natural retinol alternatives, bakuchiol and rambutan, to boost the anti-aging effects even more. Still, it’s not in the least bit irritating; even super-sensitive skin can tolerate it. Plus, it contains ferulic acid, a powerful antioxidant that’s been shown to be particularly effective at combating the damaging effects of pollution.10
Best Drugstore: CeraVe Skin Renewing Retinol Serum
Here’s another great retinol-based option, and it’s one that you can nab at the drugstore for cheap. It touts a time-release form of the superstar ingredient to help minimize the likelihood of irritation, a side effect retinol is notorious for. In related news, there are also skin barrier-strengthening ceramides, hydrating hyaluronic acid, and soothing niacinamide in the mix, all helping to ensure this is gentle enough to be a great choice for all skin types.11
Best for Oily Skin: La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Pure Hyaluronic Acid Face Serum
While this is a good pick for all skin types, it’s an especially great choice for those with oily skin. (Because yes, you still need to moisturize, even if you’re oily). It’s a favorite of New York City board-certified dermatologist Dr. Debra Jaliman, who lauds it for being oil-free yet hydrating, thanks to the addition of hyaluronic acid and glycerin. Both are humectants, meaning they attract water to and trap it in the skin, plumping it and minimizing the look of fine lines in the process, without feeling too heavy on oilier skin.12
Best for Dry Skin: Mary Kay Clinical Solutions HA+ Ceramide Hydrator
There are two different types of hyaluronic acid in this formula; each has a different weight, meaning they penetrate different layers of the skin, so you get even more hydrating benefits. Ceramides in the formula help to support skin barrier function, while verbena officinalis extract, a natural moisturizing factor, is able to hydrate and protect the skin from environmental stressors.1314 The point is that if you have dry skin, you need this.
Best with Vitamin C: Mad Hippie Vitamin C Serum
Jaliman raves about this formula for relying on the ingredient sodium ascorbyl phosphate, a more stable form of Vitamin C that’s just as powerful.15 It also contains antioxidants vitamin E and ferulic acid, the latter of which increases the effectiveness of the vitamins C and E, she says. In short, this serum not only gives your skin a hefty dose of protective antioxidants, but it also hydrates and improves wrinkles and discoloration, according to Jaliman.
Best Radiance-Booster: Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Dark Spot Serum
“I love this serum for improving hyperpigmentation and evening skin tone,” says Dr. Fahs. She adds that because it relies on a patented vine sap viniferine (which has been shown to be a strong antioxidant that can ward off free radicals, similar to vitamin C) and hydrating squalane, it’s a great alternative to traditional vitamin C serums that some people find can irritate their skin. It’s so effective that, in a clinical study by the brand, 63% of dark spots appeared reduced after using one bottle.16
Best for Sensitive Skin: Sunday Riley Good Genes All-in-One Lactic Acid Treatment
Fahs recommends applying this serum in the evening if you want to wake up to glowier skin: “It’s a great option for non-irritating exfoliation,” she says. Credit lactic acid, one of the gentler alpha-hydroxy acids. Plus, this ingredient has the added benefit of acting as a humectant, which means it attracts moisture to the skin as well.)17 This serum is also great for sensitive skin because it contains skin-soothing prickly pear extract, and it can even be used as a wash-off mask for super-sensitive types. Although this pick is on the expensive side, we love that the formula’s benefits have been clinically researched.
Best K-Beauty: MISSHA Time Revolution Night Repair Ampoule 5X
Korean skincare is known for using hydrating and gentle ingredients instead of strong actives to heal all types of skin issues, and this formula from iconic brand Missha is no different. It’s formulated with ten types of probiotics, and the brand puts the ingredients through a unique three-step fermentation process to make them even more potent and effective. The star ingredient is bifida ferment lysate, a probiotic that’s well-known for its anti-inflammatory abilities—it can even work to heal acne. (In fact, it’s one of the main ingredients in our top pick, the Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Multi-Recovery Complex).18 There’s also a multitude of other skin-beneficial ingredients in the formula, like niacinamide, squalane, hyaluronic acid, and more, to boost radiance, hydrate, and smooth skin tone and texture.
Where We Stand
Our top pick is the classic Esteé Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Multi-Recovery Complex Serum, which delivers a host of different youth-boosting benefits in one bottle and contains such hydrating actives that it feels velvety smooth on your skin. For a more affordable pick, consider CeraVe Skin Renewing Retinol Serum, which contains a concentration retinol to help with skin turnover without irritating sensitive skin.
How We Researched
To compile this list, our team of editors and contributors spent hours researching the best products on the market in this category, evaluating their key features, in addition to reviews from customers and other trusted sources. We then worked with experts to further investigate which products deserve to be called the very best. Some key factors we took into consideration when judging each product included:
- Active ingredients
- Skin benefits
- Application
- Value
What to Look For in a Night Serum
- Moisturizing Ingredients: Night serums that provide moisturizers and moisture-protecting ingredients are key. Moisture support will help your skin stay plump and replace any moisture lost when cleansing or from makeup use. Look for emollients, occlusives, and humectants—ingredients like hyaluronic acid (found in the La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Pure Hyaluronic Acid Face Serum) and nourishing botanical oils.12
- Anti-Aging Ingredients: Boosting your skin’s collagen and elastin will help keep it looking plump and fresh and may prevent or minimize fine lines—so lean into marine peptides and vitamin C. Retinol and ferulic acid are other effective anti-aging and free-radical fighting ingredients to look for in your night serum. Retinol is one of the best ingredients to use at night and is found in many serums like the Dr. Dennis Gross Advanced Retinol + Ferulic Texture Serum and the CeraVe Skin Renewing Retinol Serum.
- Chemical Exfoliants: Chemical exfoliants in your night serum can work to resurface and replenish your skin’s surface. Look for serums that include ingredients like glycolic acid, ferulic acid, lactic acid, and malic acid. You can also find many formulas that have a combo of these acids, like in the Seaglow Overnight Serum AHA Treatment (which has citric, lactic, and more).
FAQWhat does night serum do?
Night serums vary, but most will increase skin moisture, provide skin-boosting ingredients, and help fight signs of aging. Many night serums are heavier than day serums or lotions since they have time to sink in and work overnight. This means they typically contain nourishing oils. Night serums also often include ingredients like retinol that increase photosensitivity and should be avoided during the day.
Should I use a night serum?
If you want a highly effective and potent product that will work while you sleep, a night serum is an excellent choice. Night serums are useful for a variety of skin concerns, from hydration to blemish fighting.
Do I need both serum and moisturizer?
You can find serums that provide moisturizing ingredients, but a moisturizer is also a good idea. Moisturizers contain ingredients that help to lock this moisture in, creating a barrier to prevent dryness. Most serums provide moisturizing oils but lack the ability to lock in the hydration.