La Roche-Posay Hydraphase Intense Serum: review and thoughts!

I'm a firm believer in serums: I enjoy the idea of a lighter consistency that has beneficial properties to one's skin and that can be layered underneath other products. They make the building of your custom skincare routine easier - add the serum of your choice and, boom!, skincare routine updated without having to reconsider every single item from scratch.

So, the chance of testing out a new serum and sharing my thoughts on it on this blog, came as a pleasant surprise. The product I'll be reviewing today is the La Roche-Posay Hydraphase Intense Serum Concentrated Rehydrating Gel (yet another too long name, but oh, well).

This product is meant to be a hydrating serum, suitable for dry & sensitive skins. It contains hyaluronic acid fragments as well as aminoacids, that are meant to hold the moisture into your skin, and it's highly concentrated by La Roche-Posay's infamous Thermal Spring Water. The formula is a runny gel, that spreads easily and feels lightweight:

The best way to describe this when I first apply it would be "condensed milky water": it's cooling and soothing to my poor, parched skin, which drinks it up straight away! It's a light product, that adds hydration and elasticity to the skin, without any unpleasant sticky feeling.

Now, as good as this product is, it's not a substitute for your moisturizer: it's meant to be used in conjuction with it. I feel that my dry skin needs a cream on top, especially during the hotter and colder months, so I see this more as a hydration boost, rather than the be all and end all of my skincare (let's not forget that I'm also acne-prone and concerned about preventing fine lines, so I naturally couldn't stop there). Of course, the oilier skintypes out there may be fine with just this serum.

To sum it up, this is a great product and I really see a difference when I use it. I'm thinking that I'll probably go out and get it once my 30ml bottle runs out, but first I need to sort out my skins (many) needs and see where I can fit it: between creams, serums, acne treatments and anti-ageing products, I feel that my skin (and head) is about to explode! Update on that, though, in the future.

Disclaimer: product is a pr sample.

Have you tried this serum by La Roche-Posay? How do you feel about serums in general?
How do you come up with your skincare routine? Any recommendations are welcome!