This Plumping Serum Brought My Skin Back to Life After a Week in the Desert

Last month, I packed eight swimsuits, sunblock, and snacks and booked it to the Mojave desert. As a last-drops-of-summer trip, I spent a week by the pool, and when the 100-degree dry heat grew exhausting, I retreated inside to cool-tiled rooms blasting A/C. It was bliss—but the getaway did a number on my face.

Thanks to SPF, it wasn’t sunburned skin that I had to worry about, but that my complexion (as accustomed to LA heat as it is) became really, really dry.  Like, crack a smile, and my cheeks and forehead would sting kind of dry. As soon as I got home, I dropped my luggage without unpacking and slathered on a serum I knew would immediately infuse much-needed hydration into my skin.

“TIP”

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Farmacy Filling Good Hyaluronic Acid Plumping Serum — $44.00

Farmacy recently launched Filling Good, a multi-molecular weight hyaluronic acid plumping serum that promises to rejuvenate, moisturize, and smooth fine lines. It’s formulated with a vegan collagen peptide, a natural anti-aging ingredient that Farmacy claims is “200 times more effective than marine collagen,” plus, it’s got amino acids that hydrate skin and leave it more radiant.

It only took one application post-desert vacation to help bring my skin back to life. Minutes after massaging about two pumps of the serum into my face, it felt more supple and smooth.

To be honest, this is not all that groundbreaking: Hyaluronic acid is one of the best things you can give your skin to either maintain hydration or replenish it. This serum gets extra points for containing hyaluronic acids of different molecular weights. With low and medium-weight hyaluronic acid, you’re deeply adding moisture to your complexion, while with high-weight hyaluronic acid, you’re delivering surface moisture to the skin. This means that Filling Good’s superpower is maximizing hydration while also leaving skin softer and firmer, too.

Whether you’re doing damage control after a particularly sunny vacation or prepping for the dry, cold seasons ahead, having a skin-care regimen stocked with hyaluronic acid is your best bet to maintain optimal skin health. Plus, hyaluronic acid helps other skin-care products absorb better, so let the ingredient do what it does best by applying it before your other serums and moisturizers. “It’s important to apply HA before your other serums because it helps to seal in the moisturizer you’ll be putting on top,” board-certified dermatologist Shari Sperling, DO, previously told Well+Good.

At $44 a pop, Farmacy Filling Good isn’t cheap—but considering it only takes a pump or two to cover your entire face (meaning, it’ll last you for months) and that it delivers such speedy results, I’d say it’s worth every penny.

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