Save and Splurge: Night Repair Anti-Aging Serums and a recipe for glowing skin

Usually in  the Save and Splurge edition, I show you one high end department store product and I tell you of a pharmacy/drugstore brand that might perform similarly.

In the night repair serum range, I found none in the drugstore category but that isn’t to say there aren’t any. I just found none that work as well as these two I will show you. But worry not! There is still a splurge and save element to it 😉 And I have a super potent skin glow boosting recipe to share too 😉

Splurge: Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex RM290/50ml

The EL ANR serum (as its affectionately known) is an oldie and a goodie for me. It keeps my skin hydrated and I swear it does do some repair work. But there isn’t anything drastic to see in the skin. I like to call it the “maintenance serum”. One you use when you just want to start getting into anti-aging skincare but where you have no real concerns about sagging skin, deep lines, bad pigmentation etc. At RM290/50ml its a bit of a splurge. You can read my full review on the EL ANR serum here.

Save: Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate RM200/30ml

At RM200/30ml I know you’re staring at the screen going “Is she stark raving bonkers? That’s a saving?! Can’t she do the math?!”

Yes I can do the math and yes, ml for ml this is more expensive, fiscally speaking. However, if you look at it from a dollar per use point of view, this is where the save element comes in. You only use a maximum of 2 drops of this elixir each time. For the EL ANR serum you use 1 pump.  That is a marked difference.

I’ve owned the Kiehl’s serum far longer than I have the Advanced Night Repair serum and I’ve barely made a dent in the Kiehl’s one. I’m already halfway through ANR. So dollar for dollar, you do get better value with this Kiehl’s serum.

And coming back to how it performs, I personally find that it performs about as well as the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum. It keeps my skin hydrated and gives my skin a glow and is an all round good enough “maintenance serum” if you don’t have serious skin problems.You can read my full review here for a more well formed view.

Which serum should I get?

Here’s another suggestion. Try both. Get some samples and see which you prefer. Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery smells much better than Estee Lauder ANR if you like the smell of lavender. Performance-wise I’d say they are both decent enough.

If you have both, here’s a super potent recipe I use when I feel my skin needs that extra boost in the morning:-

• mix 1 pump of Estee Lauder ANR serum with 1-2 drops of Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery concentrate
• Rub palms to mix and apply on skin.
• Go to sleep and wake up with super glowy skin

I swear I wake up the next morning with super glowy skin, like I’d gotten a vitamin injection or something… without the pain or side effects 🙂 I’ve done this a few times already but not on a regular basis. Just for a bit of oomph! and I do like the effects.

So yeah, that’s my save and splurge choices for night serums or anti-aging serums. Please feel free to share what you think or if you know of a drugstore serum that works as well.

Paris B

Save and Splurge is where I show you similar items by different brands that I have tried. They may not work quite the same way, but it’ll offer you options for your wallet for a similar effect/product. Do note however, that it is based on products I have tried, so whilst there are many save and splurge options out there, these are my views. You can find more under the category of Challenges.