S5 Skincare Replenish Serum review

S5 Skincare is a new skincare brand created by Laura Rudoe, the person behind the Evolve skincare brand. The idea behind the range is to use botanical ingredients from 5 extreme ecosystems to target 5 specific skin concerns.

Cosmeceutical is a made-up word. The organic content of the products also varies; this one is only 30% organic ingredients, although all ingredients are natural/plant-based. With those grumbles out of the way, I like this product very much, and have found it useful for combating the drying effect of cold and windy weather and central heating.

The Replenish serum is a light oil formula, containing sea buckthorn, desert pomegranate, rosehip and argan oils. It's recommended for dry or scarred skin, and I've been using it for a few weeks, mixed with my moisturiser (not an S5 one, but the combination works perfectly well). I like adding a drop of the oil to a moisturiser as it's easy to control the dosage; I use one drop with the moisturiser for my face, but two drops for my drier neck and decolletage, allowing me to customise the richness of the mixture where I need to. I actually find this works better for me than applying the oil first and moisturiser afterwards; I find I sometimes get areas of congestion if I apply an oil directly to my skin.

I have found the Replenish serum works well to keep my skin comfortable and flake-free. If you have a moisturiser you love that isn't quite moisturising enough, this is a good product to consider to oomph up the richness where you need it.

S5 sells these try-me sizes on their website now, and I wish more brands would do this. It's better than a sample sachet to determine if a product suits your skin, but saves you putting down the whole £££ for a full product. I've just bought a try-me size of the Nourish cleanser and Restore cream to try out.

The Replenish serum costs £44 for 30ml. It is available from Selfridges, www.beingcontent.com and the S5 Skincare website at www.s5skincare.com. It's only available in the try-me size in a trio with the Illuminating and Renewing serums for £35, but but both of those look quite interesting too.

Ingredients:

Coco-Caprylate, Rosa Rubigiosa Seed Oil*, Hippophae Rhamnoides Oil*, Punica Granatum Seed Oil*, Argania Spinosa (Argan) Kernel Oil*, Parfum (Natural, Low Allergen Fragrance), Tocopherol. *ingredients from organic farming

Disclosure: PR Sample