Reviews count for a lot when we’re shopping, real or fake—after all, why drop your hard-earned cash on something everyone hates? So seeing that the newest hyaluronic acid serum from L’Oréal Paris, which only just launched in January, already has thousands of rave reviews to back it up caught my attention. But what led to my subsequent double-take was the news that one bottle is sold every minute in the U.S.
Do you know what that means? In the past hour, during which I’ve made tea, rewritten this paragraph several times, repeatedly checked my phone, and meditated on all the snack foods in my fridge, 60 people bought this stuff. I had to try it, even if I didn’t quite get the hype at first. I mean, it’s a hyaluronic acid serum. And there are a lot of H.A. serums out there.
You’re probably familiar by now with hyaluronic acid. If not, you—and your skin—are in for a real treat, since hyaluronic acid is a skincare MVP if we ever saw one. The molecule, which occurs naturally in the human body, is a regular in serums, moisturizers, eye creams, lip balms, and beyond for a reason. Not only is it a humectant, meaning it pulls water from the environment into skin, but it can also hold up to 1000 times its weight in water.
That makes it a moisturizing powerhouse as well as a must-have in the winter, when the chilly air is dry and your full-blast heater is only making matters worse. Unless you can book a season-long vacation in the Bahamas, skin inevitably starts to feel and look dry, dull, or even flaky. That’s why hyaluronic acid is especially valuable this time of year. With it, skin texture suddenly becomes smoother, lines soften, and skin feels firmer and plumper. It’s a no-brainer that most moisturizing serums contain at least some hyaluronic acid for that reason.
So…why has this one won a popularity contest?
First, the bottle feels super-luxe for something you can pick up while stocking up on tampons, and the texture is even better. It’s slippery without feeling oily or heavy, and absorbs in seconds. And it left my skin feeling super-smooth, so much so that I swear my foundation looked better as a result. And while my cheeks tend to get dry in the winter and everything else seems to chap within minutes of being outside, that wasn’t the case with this—even though I first tried it on a day with a sub-zero windchill. My skin stayed freakishly smooth all day, after which I went home and promptly applied more.
Another bonus is that this combines different types of hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid has six different molecular weights, meaning it’s available in six sizes. This formula gives you two: H.A. with a low molecular weight, which is smaller and therefore can better penetrate deeper into your skin, where it basically stockpiles moisture, and an H.A. with a high molecular weight, which remains closer to the surface and delivers more visible benefits (e.g. softness, bounce, that sort of thing). So you’re reaping short-term and long-term perks.
So far, it’s kept my skin smooth and soft, and maybe I’m imagining things, but it seems to have also calmed the inflammation around a few rogue blemishes. My sole complaint is that I wish the bottle were bigger, because while I’ve been using it as the most moisturizing primer out there, I kind of want to slather it on everywhere. It’s a perfect serum for winter—and, if I were to guess, for spring, summer, and fall.
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