Inspiring, upcycling, uplifting: This Face Serum is made with coffee oil from leftover coffee grounds to make your skin glow! As you know, moisturiser can really feel like it’s a short-lasting hit. It has its place, particularly morning and night. But to really benefit from the hydrating effects of your moisturiser, and to feel like your skin is blissfully hydrated all day long, you need a serum.

Absolutely! As I mentioned above, UpCircle (a play on words from the term 'upcycle' - geddit?) is one of the most sustainable skincare brands I've come across. UpCircle reuses and repurposes leftover ingredients like coffee granules, apricot stones and date seeds to be used in its skincare, rather than see it go to waste. Since it launched, its managed to repurpose more than 350 tonnes of ground coffee in its products, which is pretty impressive.

What is a face serum?

PS. Coffee grounds as a skincare exfoliant - hello long term skin damage and premature aging!!! *sheesh* The Cleansing Face Balm smells and feels amazing to use, acting as a fantastic, light exfoliator thanks to its use of discarded apricot stones. It's not too gritty, and provided a moment of mindfulness each morning and night.

Serums are typically rich in antioxidants like vitamin C and vitamin E. You can’t easily avoid the free radicals which lead to skin damage and the signs of premature ageing, but you can protect it if you use serum. 5. It’s fast and visible It’s easy to overlook the self-care aspect of your beauty regime. Yes it’s important in terms of your physical wellbeing, but it’s also an important part of your overall process of being kind to yourself. UpCircle offer refills on most products, including face cleanser, moisturiser, toner, body scrub, face masks, body lotions, serums, eye creams and hand soaps.If you're not sure on which UpCircle products or bundles to invest in you can take the brand's skincare quiz - it takes the pain away from being overwhelmed by choice. Face serum will soothe those sensitive patches of skin, but it’ll also prove to be very soothing just to apply. It’s a really tactile process. Even if your skin is prone to oiliness or outbreaks, a face serum soothes the skin and helps to make you feel loved and cherished. 3. It’s a collagen booster When you hear that something is oil-based it can make you worried that it will clog your pores or leave you feeling greasy. The reality is that with some oil-based skincare this is the truth. It’s not the case with serum.

After the morning cleanse, I followed up with my usual moisturiser daily, switching it up with regular toner or UpCircle's Organic Face Serum on days where needed some TLC - usually twice or three times a week. I also used the serum every night after my cleanse.How much to use: Just a few drops of Serum are needed for best results- between two and four should be plenty! It was a pleasure to use, but considering the size of the pot and its price, I wouldn't be rushing to refill it in the same way I would with the Cleansing Balm and Face Serum. In my opinion, it's probably more suitable for drier, mature skin. Face serum gives the collagen in your skin a boost, helping to keep it firm and plumping out fine lines and wrinkles. Fine lines and wrinkles are a normal part of skin maturation, but it is dullness and dryness which makes them seem ageing.

I have noticed a visible reduction in spots, my skin feels healthier and looks brighter, and (dare I say it) my wrinkles don't seem as deep-set as before.Clearly this company, its owners and those desperate enough to ‘work’ for them are only interested in profit and setting themselves up a cushy exit strategy for mass profit. Just goes to show what absolute nonsense ‘B Corp’ certification is (it is pretty meaningless and not regulated in any way). UpCircle's Return and Refill scheme is pretty revolutionary, in my humble opinion - it makes upcycling and being eco-conscious easy and cost-effective. Inside the box, each of the three skincare products from the Award-winners Bundle were wrapped securely in brown paper to save on plastic bubble wrap.