I’ve never met a single person who doesn’t want bright, glowy skin. We all want it…so below you will find the absolute best brightening and renewing skincare products for every budget. Treat the below like your official encyclopedia of the best brightening and renewing skincare products. Read now, thank me later.
I’ve done the research. I’ve tested them all out thoroughly. Now I hope you love them as much as I do.
Often times when you think ‘skin renewal’ or ‘resurfacing’ – expensive spa and laser treatments come to mind. And yes, these work great – but in these lockdown times, it’s nice to have insidethehouse, DIY options that can easily be incorporated into your daily routine.
Grab a snack, buckle up, and let’s get glowing!
Biossance Squalane + Lactic Acid Resurfacing Night Serum |$82
A new favourite of mine, this Eco-conscious, efficacious, and sustainability-focused brand has released some BANGERS lately. And their Squalane + Lactic Acid Resurfacing Night Serum is one of them. Seriously. This is the type of product you use once and wake up in the morning to seriously soft and smooth skin.
Containing retexturizing lactic acid serum that dissolved dead surface cells, and squalane that soothes and fortifies the skin…this is a powerful one, two punch.
Lactic acid is a superstar ingredient – this AHA helps uneven texture, minimizes the signs of aging, and brightens the skin. I find two pumps covers my whole face. I use this only at night on clean skin (once I apply my eye cream) and follow up with moisturizer. I also use this on my neck and décolleté. Its powerful but gentle enough to use nightly.
This product is so great it just won the Women’s Health Beauty Awards for ‘Best Serum’.
Versed The Shortcut Overnight Facial Peel | $26.99
I was thrilled when this brand came to Shoppers, once only found in Target, Versed was developed to be the ‘cleanest drugstore skincare brand‘. Their mission is to ‘make good skin and clean products for all’. And that is a mission statement I can get behind. Efficacious products at great prices.
Their The Shortcut Overnight Facial Peel is simply fantastic. It really is a glowy skin shortcut. One step that contains our faves, lactic, glycolic acid, and vitamin A. It’s a leave-on exfoliator that works gently overnight to renew, hydrate, and brighten your complexion. It is non-irritating and won’t leave your skin flaky or patchy. You could use it every night, but I use this 2-3 times per week. I like its creamy texture that absorbs right away – leaving no sticky residue. What I also like is you can use this product alone. I am pretty dry – so I do top it with a night moisturizer.
SkinCeuticals Glycolic Brightening Renew Overnight | $110
Glycolic acid is another heavy-lifting, superstar ingredient. Glycolic acid is an AHA with the smallest molecular structure allowing it to penetrate the skin for deeper exfoliation. Glycolic acid is used to improve the skin’s appearance and texture through exfoliation while reducing fine lines, hyper-pigmentation, dark spots, and uneven skin tone. It also boosts natural collagen and elastin production. It is also great to add into your skincare routine because it boosts your skin’s natural hyaluronic acid production and improves overall skin hydration. I mean. Can we get a slow clap??
Designed for mature skin, the SkinCeuticals Glycolic Brightening Renew Overnight nightly treatment was launched this past summer and I’ve been hooked ever since. With 4% free acid value glycolic, this is not for the faint hearted;). I had to build up my use, starting with once per week.
KORA Organics Noni Night AHA Resurfacing Serum | $95
The KORA Noni Night AHA Resurfacing Serum contains a blend of active ingredients that, 91% of those tested said, made their skin appear more youthful and minimized the appearance of dark spots and hyper-pigmentation.
This lightweight serum contains:
- Lemon Peel Ferment to help oil production
- Tonka Bean Bio-Ferment that provides antioxidant benefits
- Caviar Lime Extract – a gentle fruit acid
- Willow Bark Extract which is a natural source of BHA
- Sicilian White Grapes which are AHAs
I like how smooth is makes my skin feel and think you will, too. To note, it is a yellow colour…it has not gone ‘off’ 😉
The New Reversa Radiance-GLOW cream |$60
Reversa is Canadian brand I have been a fan of for some time. Founded in 1986, it was the first completely Canadian pharmaceutical company specializing in the development and manufacturing of dermatological products – creating Ombrelle in 1990 (which was later sold to L’Oreal).
Oooh this Reversa Radiance-GLOW cream is a one hit wonder. It does SO MUCH. Combining glycolic acid, nonpeptide-1, Murunga plum, fragmented Hyaluronic acid, shea butter, and watermelon fruit extracts – this cream smoothes, plumps, hydrates, and illuminates – restoring the skin’s natural glow.
I love the texture and how quickly it absorbs into my skin. I use this after cleansing in the evening, but you can use this day and night and it is suitable for the eye contour as well.
The New Biossance Squalane + Glycolic Renewal Mask | $63
This spanking new mask from Biossance acts like an Instagram filter. It instantly exfoliates and boosts skin’s radiance. It is an all-in-one peel, exfoliator, and mask that visibly reduces fines lines, discolouration, and leaves your skin looking fabulous.
I really am loving it and think you will, too. What I love most is it doesn’t need to sit on your face forever – just 3-10 minutes and you can use up to twice per week. Not a major commitment for major results.
The iconic Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Universal Daily Peel |$115
I am such a big fan of this brand…so big I gave away two of my favourites products for this year’s birthday giveaway celebration.
This daily treatment has a patented two-step anti-aging AHA/BHA peel. Pre-dosed pads contain five acids to visibly reduce dullness, improve texture, decrease the look of pores, and help diminish dark spots.
Using these are easy – you first apply the pre-dosed pad, labelled ‘Exfoliate & Smooth‘ to your entire face (and I also apply to my neck and chest). You let this dry for two minutes letting the AHAs and BHAs gently exfoliate your skin, refine pores, and kick start cell renewal. You then apply the pre-dosed pad, labelled ‘Anti-Aging Neutralizer‘ all over the same areas – letting that sit for two minutes as its retinol and resveratrol set to work maximizing all the anti-aging benefits, while stopping the acid activity, and leaving your skin smooth and radiant.
You do not need to rinse your face afterwards, just let it sit to work its magic. I like to think of the results of this product as professional results at home.
Now, a hot tip if you’ve made it this far – wear SPF, friends. Please! Protect that investment and slather up in a good sunscreen as AHAs increase sun sensitivity.
MFabrightening
