Trust Me, This Product Will Make Your Other Skincare Work Harder

Even before I worked in the beauty industry, I was totally obsessed with skincare. As a 16-year-old with a Saturday job at Boots, I would spend many an hour searching for a miracle product to cure my teenage acne (spoiler: there wasn't one) while today, as a 30-year-old beauty editor, I spend even more time searching out the best cleansers, serums and moisturisers for every skin type and budget. However, every now and then a new product enters the skincare arena and leaves me totally bewildered about what it is, what it does and whether I actually need to add one to my skincare routine. This year, it's the beauty booster.

From what I could initially gather, skincare boosters seemed to be the beauty equivalent of adding a dusting of turmeric to your morning latte or putting on a bracelet once you get dressed: nice but not wholly essential. However, the sheer number of press releases that I've received for beauty boosters over the past few months has made me think that I might just be missing a trick. And when celebrity-favourite skincare brand 111Skin launched a whole range of boosters, I decided it might just be time to sit up, take notice and ask the experts what all the fuss is about.

Keep scrolling to find out what the heck a beauty booster even is, whether you should be using one and to shop the best skin boosters on the market right now.

What is a beauty booster anyway?

"Skin boosters are fundamentally targeted treatments that focus on a niche skincare condition," explained Dr. Yannis Alexandrides, founder of 111Skin. So in essence, you should think of them as a way to personalise your skincare routine even further.

"Boosters are designed to be slotted in to your existing skincare routine to address the specific concerns as and when they arise. While most skincare products focus on overall skin health, boosters are concentrated formulas that address specific concerns such as pigmentation, dehydration or breakouts."

Where do they fit into our skincare routines?

"Boosters are perhaps the most flexible of all skincare products, as they can be used alone or mixed in with serums, emulsions or moisturisers to (you guessed it) 'boost' them," said Dr. Alexandrides. You'll still get all of the benefits of a beauty booster whether you use it solo or in conjunction with other products—it's really just a case of personal preference when it comes to texture.

"If you want to use a booster by itself, apply it before your serum. Boosters traditionally have a lighter texture as opposed to the heavier, gel-like nature of serums. A good rule of thumb in skincare is to work your way up from the lightest to the most viscous."

So can we skip using serums now?

As I personally opt for serums that contain specific ingredients like salicylic acid and vitamin C to care for my skin, I was keen to find out if beauty boosters could replace this stage of my skincare routine. In a word? No.

"As above, boosters are simply meant to boost a formula or a skincare routine," advised Dr. Alexandrides. "They are not a substitute for serums, which [often] have a more holistic and less-targeted approach to treating the skin."

Which skin type will benefit most from a booster?

"There are as many boosters as there are skin types," explained Dr. Alexandrides. "They were literally designed to cater to each different condition, so everyone can benefit from a booster."

In fact, that's exactly why 111Skin decided to launch its own range of skin boosters. "All of the products developed are created by Dr Yannis Alexandrides in reaction to his [Harley Street] clients' concerns. It is a precise, targeted approach to addressing the skin, which is why launching boosters—an incredibly focused range of products—was a natural extension of the brand philosophy.

Shop the best beauty boosters

Best for boosting glow:

Best for protecting city-dweller skin:

Best for softening dry skin:

Best for minimising pores:

Best for reducing redness:

Best for: treating breakouts

Best for mature skin:

Best for dehydrated skin:

Best for tired skin:

Next up, eight trending beauty gadgets that Rosie, VB and Jennifer Aniston use at home.