This All-in-One Serum is Every Skincare Minimalist’s Dream, so I Tried It

When it comes to my everyday makeup and skincare routine, I try to keep things simple. Okay, as simple as a beauty-loving editor can. I’ve realized that more isn’t always more—you can achieve the same results you’re looking for with less products as long as they’re quality. Sure, I still throw in a skincare device or two a few times a week, but for the most part, I now like to keep my sensitive skin happy by keeping my product lineup to a minimum.

Luckily for me, I found a new product that does it all andthat my skin loves—a rare feat when you have hypersensitive, acne-prone skin. Westman Atelier’s Skin Activator Serum contains a multitude of ingredients that help with all the things—fine lines, wrinkles, hydration, barrier repair, firmness—you name it! I was fortunate enough to give it a test drive for a few weeks and am sharing my experience below. Keep on reading.

Co-founder and creative director of Westman Atelier, Gucci Westman, shared a bit about what makes the brand’s first venture into skincare unique. For starters, it’s truly an all-in-one serum packed with 12 active ingredients known to soften fine lines while dramatically boosting hydration levels and firmness within the skin.

“We worked with the leading skincare scientist in Korea who invented the multi-lamellar emulsion, the world’s first skin-like non-prescription formula to treat the skin barrier,” Westman shared. “With this technology, we were able to use 12 potent ingredients that work together to achieve a healthy skin barrier. The key ingredients are hyaluronic acid (four types) that delivers hydration continuously throughout the day and treats the skin barrier while strengthening it, niacinamide to even the skin tone, minimize pores, lighten pigmentation, smooth fine lines, and create plumper and juicy skin, and prickly pear cactus extract to sooth. Noni fruit [in the formula also] supports natural collagen [production], peptides smooth lines, and EGCG prevents premature skin damage.”

Westman, being a beloved industry makeup artist, also kept artistry in mind when creating this product. After all, it wouldn’t be a Westman Atelier product unless it worked well under makeup. What makes the perfect base for makeup, you ask? Hydrated, dewy skin and the skin activator offers it up on a silver platter. “I wanted to create something that had a meaningful effect on the skin that enters the dermis,” Westman says. “I loved this proprietary lamellar system formula where we could include several potent ingredients that don’t cancel each other out and work together. It creates a juicier, plumper finish to the skin that lasts the entire day.”

The ingredient list for this particular product immediately sparked my interest upon discovering it. As someone who has been dealing with skin barrier damage for some time now, this product seemed like just the thing my skincare routine needed. Prickly pear cactus extract in the formula is known to be good for supporting the skin barrier. It’s also worth noting that this product is labeled as Sephora-clean, contains no questionable ingredients, and the formula is noncomedogenic.

My first impression of the product was that it was really silky and glided onto my skin really easily. It also gave my skin an immediate glow after using it and calmed some redness I had around my nose (that’s where the barrier damage is most prominent for me). I also loved using this under makeup. I always pack on the hydration before applying a primer, but what was nice about this formula is that I didn’t have to do a whole lot to create the base I was looking for. Some days, I would even use the Skin Activator alone and no primer—it worked just as well and my foundation looked lovely on top of it

I’ll be honest, I have a tiny bit of Botox in my forehead and I use a microcurrent device regularly, so I can’t say it fully erased any fine lines for me, but the ingredients speak for themselves. Hyaluronic acid and peptides do give your skin a really juicy, plump look and do work so well on fine lines. I’m on the tail end of a Botox treatment and am not really planning to get more so it will just be me, my skin activator, and microcurrent device from now on. I still think I’ll be able to achieve the results I’m looking for because this formula is really great for the skin. My particular complexion is also super sensitive and acne-prone and I can say that it caused no new breakouts for me which is huge. As you can see in the above photo, I have makeup on, but used the Skin Activator underneath and I think it made my foundation look dewier and gave my skin an overall brighter look.

I can only speak for myself when it comes to skincare because I know it’s so personal, but I would definitely recommend this to a friend who has a similar skin type and wants to take their routine up a notch. I also know that this formula isn’t exactly cheap. $150 is a lot to drop on one skincare product alone, but I think it can actually help you simplify your routine since it combines so many great ingredients into one formula. It helps repair the skin barrier, firms, hydrates, softens lines, and can help with things like dark spots thanks to niacinamide.