I'm a Tough Critic, But This Dewy Serum Makes My Skin Look Unbelievably Good

If a skincare product can promise me only one thing, I want it to be a next-level glow. The odd spot or blemish here and there is easy to overlook when your complexion is glowing and healthy-looking. Sadly, finding the ultimate glow-boosting serum is no mean feat—particularly when you're an oily skinned gal like me.

If you're asking me, a truly exceptional glow-boosting skincare product should give skin a dewy sheen that doesn't look greasy, deliver plumping hydration without flooding the face with pore-clogging moisture, and perhaps most importantly to me, encourage light to bounce off skin without even a hint of visible shimmer. Essentially, I just want Hailey Bieber–esque glazed-doughnut skin without having to spend thousands on in-clinic treatments. And after years of searching, I think I've finally found the product to get me there: Bloomeffects Tulip Dew Drops Serums. 

I'll admit when I was first introduced to Bloomeffects as a brand, I wasn't blown away by its promises. One day, over lunch with a colleague, an array of cutesie, floral boxes housing even prettier powder-blue and gold products were laid out one by one in front me. (One thing I have never doubted about Bloomeffects is the beauty of its products—it's like all of your cottagecore dreams got rolled up and packaged into one high-end skincare line.) All style, no substance, I assumed. But then I heard the story and got some more insight into the ingredients.

Bloomeffects, I was told, is a botanical brand that has already seen major success in the U.S. The brand's founder, Kim van Haaster, worked for a major beauty conglomerate in New York before moving to the Netherlands for love. Her now-husband, Hein, is a Dutch tulip farmer. It turns out the tulip is a flower far richer than most in skin-loving goodness. It contains antioxidants, natural moisturising factors and amino acids to help smooth and hydrate. Tulips are, I have learned, often deemed far superior to other go-to botanical skincare ingredients (say, for instance, rose). The problem is tulips are expensive and flower for only two weeks of the year, making them a very expensive skincare ingredient. Van Haaster, however, was in an ideal position. Hein's business trades tulip bulbs, meaning the rest of the tulip (the bit that's full of all of the skin-loving ingredients) would previously just go to waste. When Bloomeffects was born, however, those antioxidant-hoarding tulips were finally put to good use in skincare.

I know what you're thinking: a lovely story does not necessarily make for great skincare products. Trust me—I know. As someone who really champions science-led skincare (the terms clean and natural make me want to run for the hills), I was equally as dubious. But there was something about one product, Tulip Dew Drops, that was screaming out to me—I needed to give it a go. And wow am I pleased I did. 

Containing a very impressive concoction of niacinamide; vitamins C, D and E; and squalane, this water-based serum means serious hydrating business. It gives skin a thirst-quenching slurp of moisture that leaves it looking dewy and glowing all day long. Plus, light-reflecting pigments help with radiance and blurring without turning your face into a disco ball. 

Since discovering this product a couple of months ago, I've reached for it nearly every single day. And I promise you every time I wear it, somebody comments on my skin. In fact, just this morning, somebody stopped me on the Tube platform to compliment my skin. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but what do you have on your skin? Or is it a facial? You're glowing," she gushed.

If you don't believe me, that's fine—more glow for me. (It's selling like hot cakes since launching in the UK earlier last month.)

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