Soothe. Restore. Refine. The words sound like the skin care equivalent to the stress mantra: relax, relate, release, don’t they? Although, these sound bites aren’t intended to be chanted to the tightly wound Whitney Gilbert after she breaks up with A Different World’s hipster dude Dwayne Wayne, circa 1990. In fact, you don’t even need to say the words at all. You’ll see them written across on your face—their calming effects are, after all, purposefully skin deep.

That’s right. Skin care brands like Avene with their concentrated formulations found in serums like YstheAl Concentrate Intense boast this exact trifecta of benefits. By combining line-busting, wrinkle-zapping, collagen-boosting and radiance-restoring active ingredients such as, Retinaldehyde (a powerful version of retinol that won’t irritate your skin like Retinoic Acid), vitamins A and E and H2O, they are seemingly the answer to our never-ending demand for better, healthier and younger-looking skin.

Similar to a dermatologist prescribed cosmetic peel, these highly effective products work overtime while you sleep to smooth your fine lines and wrinkles and to restore radiance and luminosity into your dermis while refining your skin’s overall texture. They are safe to use on all skin types, after a laser treatment and in conjunction with your favourite nighttime moisturizer. Just make sure to apply the serum on clean skin before anything else. And if you need to, repeat the mantra to help you fall asleep.

Avène YsthéAl Renewal Concentrate Intense is $55, available at Shoppers Drug Mart.