Pigment Perfecting Serum

A dark spot serum built around alpha-arbutin, for skin where uneven tone, sun spots or marks left behind by blemishes are the main concern. Despite the name it is a light lotion rather than a watery serum, and it suits all skin types.

Alpha-arbutin is the ninth ingredient. It slows tyrosinase, the enzyme that makes melanin, so it works on new pigment rather than bleaching what is already there, and EU law allows it at up to 2% in face creams. It is paired with Bidens pilosa extract, a plant extract used in skincare as a retinol alternative, and with sodium PCA and two forms of hyaluronic acid to hold water. Sunflower, cotton seed and linseed oils with murumuru butter give the lotion its texture, and vitamin E protects them.

Apply once a day to clean skin, before your moisturiser, and wear sunscreen every morning: daylight keeps darkening spots, and pigment fades slowly, so judge it after eight to twelve weeks. It contains fragrance: parfum with lemon peel, patchouli, juniper and cedarwood oils, plus menthol, which some people feel as a tingle. Patch-test first if scent tends to irritate your skin.