The best body serums

It’s been the year for butt masks, boob creams and body contouring. But while some might look to more extreme corners of the booming bodycare market, others have settled on simpler pleasures: serums – fast-absorbing liquids that, much like their face-focused equivalents, are designed to tackle a variety of concerns.

U Beauty The Super Body Hydrator, £118

Nécessaire The Body Serum, $45

When U Beauty launched its Super Body Hydrator earlier this year, it sold out twice within the first month. The serum, says Caroline Sands, VP of product development, “is clinically shown to provide 48 hours of sustained hydration after just one application”. It does this by harnessing long-chain hyaluronic acid, a molecule that can absorb and retain more than 1,000 times its weight in water. Similar technology is used in the equally popular serum by Nécessaire, which combines five different weights of hyaluronic acid with protective ceramides.

Ren Clean Skincare AHA Smart Renewal Body Serum, £37

RéVive Supérieur Body Nightly Renewing Serum, £165

Once you go below the décolletage, skin becomes much thicker. For many, that means the skin can withstand more potent doses of active ingredients. That goes for hydrating serums – see U Beauty and Nécessaire’s use of hyaluronic acid – or products geared towards smoother skin (try RéVive, Paula’s Choice or REN Clean Skincare). Looking for more targeted application? Typology’s Purifying Body Serum fights blemishes with an easy pipette.

Typology Purifying Body Serum, £26

Sisley Black Rose Beautifying Emulsion, £122

I personally enjoy the ritual of a body serum, ideally applied before bed, with a hint of fragrance. For that I opt for Sisley’s Beautifying Emulsion, which restores the skin’s natural glow with black rose, camelina and white ginger.