Burt's Bees Radiance Serum

I picked up the Burt’s Bees Radiance Serum at Boots a while ago – a nice, affordable serum? Great! Here’s how I got on…

Get a more radiant complexion in just 4 weeks! This clinically tested serum combines royal jelly, licorice root extract and glycerin to bring out skin’s natural radiance. These ingredients increase moisturisation by 15% in only 2 weeks, while nourishing skin with 134 nutrients including vitamins A, C, D and K, minerals and 17 amino acids. In 4 weeks, you’ll notice your skin becoming more evenly toned. The result is more radiant beautiful looking skin, naturally.

Right, so the main sell is ‘Royal Jelly‘. Burt’s Bees certainly make it sound amazing (well, they kindof have to – don’t they?) but there’s little-to-no evidence to suggest that it does anything amazing to the skin beyond moisturising it a bit. No, what drew me to this serum was it’s fairly simple ingredients list and the fact that it featured licorice root quite high up – a proven skin brightener.

aqua (water, eau), glycerin, alcohol denat., royal jelly, glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice) root extract, glucose, xanthan gum, sodium chloride, glucose oxidase, lactoperoxidase, caramel

How to use it – Apply a few drops to your face before moisturising.

Pros – As I said, it’s a very simple serum so it’s nice if you’re looking to lessen the amount of stuff you use on your face. It’s very watery, a little bit sticky (it dries down though) and adds a bit of moisture to your skin.

Cons – Well, it didn’t really do much other than that! It’s a very mild serum and despite the licorice root it doesn’t do much brightening at all. That’s either down to formula or concentration. I expect you might see a bit of brightening if you get through two bottles but that’s a long time for minimal results. It also smells a lot like alcohol (which isn’t surprising, given that it contains more alcohol than ‘royal jelly’).

Overall, the Burt’s Bees Radiance Serum feels nice on the skin but doesn’t really do much apart from moisturise a little bit. Sustained use might brighten your skin up a tiny bit but don’t expect anything major to happen. If you’re going for a cheap ‘radiance’ serum, I’d suggest looking for this Vitamin C serum from Avalon Organics instead.