It’s our best-selling serum for boosting radiance.
Harper's Bazaar awarded it Best Brightening Serum in 2020.
It has garnered nearly 500 5-star reviews in its short time since launch in June 2020
I’m talking about Flawless Brightly Serum. So often,I’m asked which is my favourite product from the line. And whilst, I’m attached to all the products we’ve released so far, I have a real soft spot for this daytime complexion warrior. But what exactly makes it so special? Let’s go deep with Brightly!
I think the first thing to say is it can be hard to grasp all the benefits Brightly has to offer. Acne-fighting. Pore-clearing. Redness-calming. And above all, radiance-boosting.
It sounds too good to be true. We’re so used to products making outlandish claims with skincare, that many of us have become mistrustful.
But I started to make skincare because I genuinely want to make a difference in your life by helping you reach your greatest skin aspirations. So let me take you on the journey that produced our game-changing serum.
Let’s go right back to the beginning. Flawless Brightly Serum was in the Dr Sam’s roadmap from the outset... but it was also the hardest to get right.
I based my one-of-a-kind formulations for my serums on the topicals I’d use every day in my clinic. So it all had to start with azelaic acid.
What does Azelaic Acid Do To Your Skin?
So I KNEW how important azelaic acid was going to be in the range as it’s fundamental to treating my patients, whether they have acne, rosacea or hyperpigmentation. I call it my acid with extra. It calms skin inflammation and redness, unclogs pores, has antibacterial properties and suppresses melanin over-production, thus brightening the skin. Talk about hard working.
Can You Use Azelaic Acid Everyday?
And the wonderful thing is it can be used up to twice a day, every day. In fact, that’s ideal if you’re trying to regulate redness-prone skin - this can often lead to skin that’s more tolerant after time, and facilitate adding in other ingredients like retinoids. It works its magic over a 6-12 week period.
I worked with my chemist to create a blueprint of a serum based on azelaic acid - 10% azelaic acid was the maximum permitted in cosmetics. So I decided to combine it with other ingredients renowned for their brightening power. Because after all, achieving bright clear skin is a universal goal. Who doesn’t look better with skin like that?
What does Niacinamide do for the skin?
So next in the line-up was niacinamide. This has a huge number of benefits that compliment how azelaic acid works and it’s highly effective at 5% strength. It boosts ceramides, unclogs pores, calms inflammation and reduces pigmentation and redness. Again it's best used daily and can be used up to twice a day.
These 2 actives fit together like a glove, enhancing the other’s benefits in synergy. What next?
What does Vitamin C Do For Your Skin?
A brightening serum wouldn’t be complete without vitamin C, the champion antioxidant that helps boost collagen, reduces fine lines and helps with pigmentation. So we added in ascorbyl glucoside - L-ascorbic acid with an attached glucose molecule that gets hydrolysed off in the skin, meaning it’s more stable and less irritating, hence it can be formulated with all the other ingredients.
Is Bakuchiol as Good As Retinol?
And because I wanted to dial up the anti-blemish properties, I added bakuchiol, a plant-derived ingredient dubbed “natural retinol”. We know that 0.5% Bakuchiol used twice a day is as effective as 0.5% retinol used at night - so we upped the ante and used 1% bakuchiol. So not only does this have a retinoid-like effect, reducing pore clogging and boosting collagen, it also acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, calming new blemishes. And the beauty of it is it can be used day or night, unlike nocturnal retinoids as it’s not sensitive to UV light.
The Final Hurdle - The Texture
The bit that took *so* long was finessing the formula. I knew it had to absorb readily and layer well with moisturiser and sunscreen to fit in effortlessly with your morning routine - otherwise it’s game over, as bad layering just ruins your morning. Hence it took us 3 years and 34 iterations to reach the ideal level of cosmetic elegance that allows you to merge your skincare with your make-up without a hitch!!!!
But we got there and I’m SO thrilled to be able to share Flawless Brightly Serum with you, given all its benefits. There really is a special alchemy that happens when you put the right actives, at the right percentages into a single formula. And it’s just so easy. So if you’re blemish-prone and concerned about premature ageing, this is the brightening serum of your dreams!
