Do You Need A Pressed Serum?

Do you need a pressed serum?

Made famous by Blithe, pressed serums are a hybrid between a serum and a moisturiser. Because why use two products when the one will do?

I love the versatility of pressed serums, but are they really enough? Can you really combine these steps together and call it a day?

I’ve put Blithe Pressed Serums to the test to find out:

Blithe Crystal Iceplant Pressed Serum

Blithe Crystal Iceplant Pressed Serum is my fave of the lot. Why? It’s the most hydrating and has the best texture.

I wasn’t sure what texture to expect from a pressed serum. Turns out, they’re all a bit different. This one feels like a thick gel moisturiser. It’s a little tacky, but fast-absorbing, refreshing, and leaves a nice sheen on the skin.

The formula is a combination of:

• Glycerin: A moisture magnet, it attracts water from the environment and binds it into your skin, keeping it hydrated for longer.
• Lactobacillus/ Soybean Ferment Extract: A skin-conditioning agent that keeps skin softer and smoother.
• Antioxidants: This baby is packed to the brim with natural plants extracts with antioxidant properties to fight free radicals, the main causes of premature aging.

Its main job is hydration and it does it really well. A pea-sized amount plumps up my skin, so my fine lines look smaller. My skin is softer to the touch. And my complexion has a subtle sheen that makes it naturally glow.

If you have oily skin, this could double up as a moisturiser. But for everyone else, this isn’t enough on its own. It’ll up your hydration game, but you still need to use a moisturiser with it.

One more thing: the serum smells like cucumbers laced in aloe. So refreshing!

Related: If Your Skin Is Perfectly Hydrated, Do You Still Need To Worry About Anti-Aging?

Do you need how to layer your skincare products and match them together? Download the “How To Combine Your Actives Like A Pro” below to find out:

Blithe Gold Apricot Pressed Serum

Blithe Gold Apricot Pressed Serum is my LEAST fave of the lot. It’s not that it doesn’t work. I just can’t stand its texture.

It’s a sticky gel that takes a few minutes to absorb and dries down to a shiny finish. My skin isn’t particularly oily and I usually like a glowy look, but this is way too much.

But hey, I guess that’s one way to achieve brighter skin. Skin-brightening is what this serum is all about. Here’s what it contains:

• Glycerin: A moisture magnet, it attracts water from the environment and binds it into your skin, keeping it hydrated for longer.
• Silicones: No, they don’t suffocate skin. But they improve texture, make skin smoother, and fill in fine lines and wrinkles so they look smaller.
• Niacinamide: This is the brightening ingredient. It reduces sallowness, fades away dark spots, hydrates skin, treats wrinkles and even helps with acne. Yep, it can do everything.

If you want to fade away dark spots, Niacinamide can help. But it can’t single-handedly do the job.

If you use this serum alone, you won’t see results. But, together with retinoids, azelaic acid and/or exfoliation, it does help dark spots fade away that little big faster.

The only thing I love about this serum is the citrusy scent. It’s slightly bitter, yet refreshing.

Related: Is Niacinamide The Most Multitasking Skincare Ingredient Ever?

Blithe Tundra Chaga Pressed Serum

Call me a snob, but I don’t dig the brown colour of Blithe Tundra Chaga Pressed Serum. Brown reminds me of dirt – not exactly what I want from my skincare…

Mental associations aside, this serum has a wonderful gel texture that sinks in quickly into the skin and doesn’t feel greasy or tacky.

Here’s what’s inside:

• Inonotus Obliquus (Mushroom) Extract (56.4%!): A type of mushroom that grows on birch bark trees. It has powerful antioxidant and skin-lightening properties that can fight both discolourations and premature aging.
• Glycerin: A moisture magnet, it attracts water from the environment and binds it into your skin, keeping it hydrated for longer.
• Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil: It creates a barrier on the skin that prevents water loss, keeping it hydrated for longer. It also strengthens its protective barrier.

This serum is said to be a multitasking powerhouse that hydrates skin and fights premature aging at the same time.

Hydrating, it definitely is. It boosts your skin’s moisture level, plumps up fine lines and wrinkles, and makes the complexion softer and smoother.

Sure, you need to seal it in with a moisturiser. But if your skin could do with the extra moisture, it’ll lap this up.

Does it prevent wrinkles and treat dark spots, too? Inonotus Obliquus (Mushroom) Extract is a promising ingredient. But like all preventative anti-aging actives, it takes years to see results.

I’d personally add it to my routine for hydration only and keep using my retinoids with it. Why?

Inonotus Obliquus (Mushroom) Extract may have anti-aging properties, but we don’t know how well it compares to retinoids (the gold standard for anti-aging).

You don’t want to abandon what’s been proven to work for decades to chase the new, shiny thing that may not give you the same results. But you can totally use them together. 🙂

One more thing: this has no added scent. But the few drops of essential oils Blithe sneaked in give it a subtle earthy aroma.

Related: Prevention VS Treatment: What Really Works Against Wrinkles

Blithe Velvet Yam Pressed Serum

If you have dry or dehydrated skin, Blithe Velvet Yam Pressed Serum is for you.

For starters, it feels more like a lightweight lotion than a serum. Unless you apply too much, it sinks in quickly without leaving any greasy residue behind.

The formula is a godsend for healing dryness. Here’s what’s inside:

• Glycerin: A moisture magnet, it attracts water from the environment and binds it into your skin, keeping it hydrated for longer.
• Macadamia Seed Oil: Derived from Macadamia nut (a native Australian nut), it’s loaded with fatty acids that strengthen your skin protective barrier and deeply moisturise dry skin.
• Shea butter: Derived from the nut of the Shea tree, it creates a barrier on the skin that locks moisture in. Studies show that shea butter is more moisturizing than mineral oil (what dermatologists consider the gold standard for moisturisation).

Now that’s summer, I’m using this as a moisturiser. It does just what a moisturiser should do: it strengthens my skin’s protective barrier, it makes skin softer and smoother, and it plumps up fine lines, so they look smaller.

Come winter, I’ll layer it under my moisturiser for that extra hydration boost. I’ve already tried it and I didn’t experience any problems with pilling whatsoever.

Did I mention it smells like rosewood?

Related: The Best Skincare Routine For Dry Skin

Price & Availability

About Gio

Hi, I'm Gio. I'm a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is skin coach and writer on a mission to help you achieve your best skin day ever - every day. I bust skincare myths and debunk marketing jargon to help you figure out what's worth the splurge and what's best left on the shelf - using science, not hype. I also offer skincare consultations to help you create the best skincare routine for your unique needs.