5 Ways To Glowing Skin with an Ampoule
So we’ve done a deep dive on essences vs. serums and essences toners vs. toners. And we thought it was high time to give a little love to another recent skincare hotword – ampoules.
Ampoules are very concentrated treatments that are used to target skin concerns such as fine lines, dullness and rough texture, and infuse skin with a natural glow. They often come in smaller sizes due to their concentration and some brands even sell them in sets of one-time use vials or capsules as a special treatment program.
We get a lot of questions about how to integrate ampoules into your skincare routine, so without further ado, here are 5 easy ways to glowing skin with an ampoule:
1. In place of your regular serum
There’s no rule that ampoules can’t be used as a serum – essentially the treatment step of your routine. Both ampoules and serums are designed to penetrate efficiently into the skin and deliver a concentrated dose of beneficial ingredients. Use after prepping skin with cleansing and toning, and follow with a moisturizer to seal in the ampoule.
A cheat sheet from our Evening Skincare Routine post
2. As 2~3 week ‘skincare bootcamp’
Ampoules are formulated to supercharge your routine, so if you want to go a step further, it’s a great way to get more actives into your skin before your serum. Use a few drops of your favorite ampoule, then your usual serum and follow with your moisturizer. The order in which to use products can be confusing, but an easy way to remember is to start from the most viscose (ie. runny, thin, more fluid) and then move to thicker textures.
LJH’s Vita Propolis Ampoule gives your skin quite a ‘workout’.
3. A few drops in your cream
Ampoules not only have anti-aging ingredients, but many also have hydrating ingredients. A few drops mixed into your cream can help boost its effects on skin and even make your moisturizer more spreadable. On nights we feel especially dry (something that has happened pretty often during this never-ending NYC winter), this is one of our favorite tricks to ensure we wake up with radiant skin the next day.
Mix in a few drops of serum into your cream
4. Mix in your foundation
When we were at JHJ Parapam, one of Korea’s top beauty salons, the head makeup artist blended a few drops of serum into a liquid foundation to give a dewy, naturally luminescent finish (“gwang”). This is a great way to ensure that your foundation application doesn’t become cakey or dry throughout the course of the day. She also liked to dispense a drop of serum or ampoule onto her finger tips and gently dab on the apples and brow bones of the face – a great way to brighten up the face, with a more subtle shimmer than a highlighter.
Start with a drop to test the texture before mixing further!
5. To give that finishing touch of ‘glow’
We recently had the chance to meet with makeup artist extraordinaire Kira Nasrat (@kiranasrat) and we were amazed by her depth of skincare expertise. One of her tips is to finish makeup application with skincare. She likes to warm a serum or moisturizer in between her hands and then use her fingertips and palms to very gently press the treatment into the skin to help ‘set’ makeup and leave skin glowing. As ampoules are often very lightweight, it would be a perfect candidate for this type of application.
Blurring the lines between skincare & makeup
Let us know if you have any comments or feedback – we’d love to hear how you use ampoules in your own regimen!
Get your glow on,
The Glow Recipe Team
P.S. See all Glow Recipe-approved essences, serums & ampoules here.