The 8 Best Night Serums for Achieving Your Dream Skin

1. Best Night Serum for Dull Skin:

INNISFREE Green Tea Enzyme Vitamin C Brightening Serum

Is your dull skin looking for a pick-me-up? This brightening serum is infused with green tea enzymes and vitamin C, which work together to help exfoliate your skin and leave you with a natural glow. Hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and tangerine peel extract help up the radiance even more. After using this product for just a few days, we could already tell a difference in how lit up our skin looked. 

2. Best Barrier-Protecting Night Serum:

REN CLEAN SKINCARE Radiance Glow and Protect Serum

Get bright and glowy skin with the help of this lightweight serum. Powered by antioxidant-rich superfruits (like kakadu plum, dragon fruit, and pomegranate), this formula helps nourish skin while protecting it from free radicals, too. “The sensation on my skin is nothing short of luxurious, and the captivating aroma is simply divine,” raves one IPSY review. “My combination skin feels smooth without adding oiliness or residue.” Plus, this serum comes packaged in eco-friendly aluminum and can be recycled. 

3. Best Anti-Aging Night Serum:

FIRST AID BEAUTY Bounce-Boosting Serum with Collagen + Peptides

This lightweight face serum is like the Fountain of Youth in a bottle. Packed with collagen and peptides, this formula helps preserve your youthful glow and smooths any pesky expression lines (elevens and forehead wrinkles included). We found that this serum adapts well to all skin types and absorbs quickly, leaving us with bouncy and supple skin. 

4. Best Night Serum for Acne-Prone Skin:

BALANCE ME Congested Skin Serum

Say goodbye to breakouts with this soothing gel. Designed to help calm inflammation and banish blemishes, this serum is loaded with anti-bacterial essentials like kanuka and May Chang oils, which will keep your skin clear without leaving it too dry. We did notice that this formula has a bit of a minty medicinal scent, but we were happy to overlook that because of how balanced and radiant our skin looked after applying. Acne, be gone!

5. Best Brightening Night Serum:

SONÄGE SKINCARE Opaleze Brightening Serum

Transform your complexion with this powerful dark spot corrector. Formulated to help even skin tone and fade hyperpigmentation, this serum is infused with 5% tranexamic acid, niacinamide, and ayurvedic brightener manjistha to tackle any sun damage or post-acne marks. “After using this product for about a month, the dark areas I had from sun damage have really begun to disappear,” writes one IPSY reviewer. “This is a game changer, and it feels really nice when you apply it.” If you’re looking for a serum that makes a significant difference to dark spots, look no further. 

6. Best Night Serum for Uneven Texture:

INNISFREE Retinol Cica Moisture Recovery Serum

Uneven texture is no match for this daily retinol serum. Gentle enough for most skin types, this formula combines soothing centella asiatica (aka cica) with retinol to help visibly improve skin texture, reduce the look of fine lines, and clear pore buildup. And unlike harsher retinol products, this serum keeps your skin refreshed and hydrated with nourishing ceramides and hyaluronic acid, so you won’t have to worry about pilling or flaking. 

7. Best Night Serum for Hyperpigmentation:

TOPICALS Faded Serum

Stubborn discoloration? This hyperpigmentation-fighting serum’s got you. A powerful blend of niacinamide, kojic acid, and licorice root extract helps fade post-blemish marks and scars in as little as two weeks. We love how quickly this serum gets to work, and while the smell isn’t our favorite, it banishes dark spots like nobody’s business. 

8. Best Hydrating Night Serum:

KIRAMOON Flowermelon Hydrating Serum

This lightweight, oil-free serum is like a big gulp of water for your skin. Ingredients like hyaluronic acid, aloe leaf juice, and super-hydrating fruit extracts help minimize redness and fine lines, leaving your skin bouncy and plump. “My skin literally bounced back after using this serum,” writes one IPSY reviewer. “It moisturized my skin while leaving it luminous.” Though this serum feels a bit tacky after applying, we found that it doubled nicely as a makeup primer. 

Night Serum FAQs

What do night serums do?

“Serums are designed to deliver a high concentration of an active ingredient to the skin,” explains Dr. Camp. That means serums improve the penetration of certain ingredients like niacinamide or vitamin C. Dr. Camp says that when it comes to night serums, some common ingredients are hyaluronic acid—to improve skin hydration—and retinol, which addresses anti-aging concerns. 

What serum ingredients should I only use at night?

“At night, use serums that include ingredients that can potentially cause sun-sensitivity,” says Dr. Camp. “These include retinols, alpha-hydroxy acids like glycolic and lactic acids, and beta-hydroxy acid like salicylic acid.” When using these types of serums, make sure to use sunscreen during the day too, since these ingredients can make your skin more prone to sun damage. 

Can I use a vitamin C serum at night?

Vitamin C helps with brightening and evening tone, making it great for hyperpigmentation and dark under-eyes. According to Dr. Camp, vitamin C serums can be applied at night, but they might actually be more effective when used in the morning. “Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant that neutralizes the effects of free oxygen radicals,” he explains. “Free radicals accumulate as a result of normal cellular metabolism and exposure to UV rays.” Basically, sunlight helps vitamin C perform with more potency. 

How do I use night serums? 

Like most skincare products, you’ll want to apply serum to freshly cleaned and slightly damp skin. (Dr. Camp notes that if you use a toner after cleansing, you’ll want to apply your serum after the toner). That way, your skin will soak up the serum and stay hydrated. 

How do I know what serum is right for my skin type?

Before buying a night serum, ask yourself what skincare concerns you have. Are you more worried about acne, hydration, or anti-aging? Once you decide on a concern, select a serum with ingredients that specifically target that issue. 

Should I apply moisturizer after serum at night?

Even if you’re using a hydrating serum, you should never skip moisturizer. “Moisturizers seal in the ingredients in a serum and improve skin hydration,” says Dr. Camp. Make sure to round out your skincare routine with a moisturizer that doubles-down on keeping your skin smooth and plump, like this Nutrient-Charged Water Gel by MURAD. 

How do night serums differ from day serums?

There’s more to night and day serums than the time of day you’re applying them. “Night serums help skin repair and recover from the events of the prior day, and address and treat specific concerns,” says Dr. Camp. “Day serums typically include ingredients that protect skin from environmental stressor, pollution, and the effects of UV radiation that are encountered throughout the day.” Think of day serums as a protective layer, while night serums are the aftercare.