I bought this thinking it was just another hydrating serum. Then I accidentally squeezed too much out and rubbed it into my cuticles on a whim. Now I have three backups.
No one tells you that a $52 face serum will save your dry winter hands better than any hand cream you own. Absorbs in 10 seconds flat — no greasy keyboard situation.
It’s a squalane-based hydrating serum from Pestle & Mortar. $52 for 30ml. I tried it because they claimed it fixes “dehydrated barrier” — which I thought was marketing fluff until my skin stopped flaking.
Texture is liquid silk
Slides on like a thin oil, disappears, leaves zero tacky film.
Smells like nothing
No fragrance. Thank god. My nose is tired of “clean cotton” lies.
Plumps in real time
Five minutes after application, my fine lines look like they took a nap.
Photo: Masum Rahimi / Unsplash
Three hero ingredients doing actual heavy lifting. No fairy dust. No “proprietary blend” nonsense.
- Omega 3,6,9: Rebuilds your lipid barrier — stops moisture from escaping
- Squalane: Absorbs instantly, mimics your skin’s natural oils
- Vitamin E: The stabilizer. Keeps everything fresh without preservatives
- Hyaluronic Acid: Holds 1000x its weight in water — but you already knew that
Photo: Fleur Kaan / Unsplash
Feels like warm honey but thinner. One pump covers your whole face. Two pumps covers face + neck + dry elbows. I put it on damp skin and it sinks in before I finish blinking.
Week two: my nose stopped peeling under makeup. Week three: I used it as a hair mask booster (mixed into my conditioner) and my ends looked like I’d actually been to a salon.
Photo: Alexandra Tran / Unsplash
My skin stopped feeling like parchment paper after three days. My cuticles stopped cracking after a week. My t-zone still gets oily — this isn’t a miracle worker. But my cheeks actually hold moisture now.
Photo: Poko Skincare / Unsplash
Buy it if you want one bottle that does the work of four. Skip it if you need a single-purpose product — but why would you want that?