THE YEAR’S BEST VITAMIN C SERUMS WITH THE ORDINARY, CLINIQUE, BEAUTY STAT & MORE!
The Ordinary’s 100% L-Ascorbic Acid was the 2018 Skincarma Product of the Year.
Nearly a year ago now, I declared my first ever Skincarma Product of the Year — The Ordinary’s 100% L-Ascorbic Acid Powder.
And while I still consider it among the best, most affordable pro-skin health products, I’ve spent the year exploring many, many Vitamin C serums and Vitamin C non-serums. Funny, there has been so much innovation in Vitamin C formulations this year that many of them aren’t quite serums. (More on that in a few!)
I’ve made it my mission this year to uncover a few Vitamin C heroes; yet, while the science of formulating Vitamin C pushes the innovation forward, there are still many lackluster products on the market that don’t belong on your face. Or anywhere else for that matter!
Vitamin C is notoriously unstable when exposed to air, light and other actives and ingredients in the formula, including seemingly harmless water. This makes it highly challenging to formulate with. When selecting a Vitamin C product, you have to pay particular attention to water-based serums since the Vitamin C in them can more quickly oxidize as the product ages — and if it’s not well-formulated to begin with. If the vitamin has oxidized, you should stop using the product. Oxidized Vitamin C can have the reverse effect on skin; rather than protecting your skin from free radical damage as the powerful antioxidant it is, it can become “pro-oxidant” and cause damage.
My oxidized Pixi Vitamin C serum left me Vitamin C-less on my trip to the Hamptons.
What’s oxidation?
From an Oregon State University report, “The oxidation of vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is brought about by the loss of two hydrogen atoms as the vitamin is converted to dehydroascorbic acid.”
That’s the kind of wonky science stuff I love and can’t get enough of!
You can tell if your Vitamin C serum has oxidized because it will shift in color from the time you opened it. So first rule of thumb, make a mental note of how the product appears the first time you try it. Even take a picture!
I experienced oxidation first-hand recently with the Pixi Skintreats Vitamin C Serum. When I began using it, the formula was a light, creamy color. Six weeks later, I found myself Vitamin C-less on a trip to the Hamptons when I discovered that my Pixi serum had become a deeper, denser shade of orange. At that point, it was simply not worth the risk of compromising my skin health by stubbornly using it.
So, into the trash it went…
There is an excellent article on The Ordinary’s website entitled, “A Discussion of L-Ascorbic Acid and Dehydroascorbic Acid in Skincare”. Deciem’s The Ordinary happens to have the most comprehensive collection of well-formulated Vitamin C products I’ve seen. At last count, The Ordinary offered eight distinct options — and two of them are among my top Vitamin C picks in the recommendations that follow.
In skincare, Vitamin C gets a bad rap. It’s one of the least sexy ingredients — as exciting as Glycerin or Panthenol aka Vitamin B5. It feels like old news, right? Stuff you knew about as a kid couldn’t possibly be cool, new or innovative. It certainly doesn’t feel innovative; but the innovation comes in the advances made to stabilize Vitamin C at higher, more effective concentrations. Fortunately for us Vitamin C has made a roaring comeback in the last two years. Why?
Because it’s still one of the best ingredients for your skin!
People are starting to realize that a $5 jar of pure Vitamin C like The Ordinary’s 100% L-Ascorbic Acid Powder is more of a game-changer for their skin than La Mer’s $370 The Concentrate. Hey, there’s a reason that one of them was the 2018 Skincarma Product of the Year — and one of them wasn’t!
A great Vitamin C serum is hard to come by — but the offerings from Clinique and BeautyStat are exceptional.
“Words of wisdom from my skincare muse Paula Begoun…
“Vitamin C is one of the most well-researched and beneficial vitamins you can apply topically. Ongoing use has been shown to improve the look of multiple signs of aging, brighten an uneven skin tone, as well as provide skin-restoring and soothing benefits.””
So, a Vitamin C serum is a must, right up there with sunscreen. Both are among the seven products I consider essential to maintaining healthy skin. You can see what those seven must-haves are in my recent blog article, “A Complete $100 Skincare Routine with The Inkey List, The Ordinary, Benton & More!”
With my mission accomplished, I thought now was the perfect time to share my top Vitamin C product picks. As with sunscreen, it’s important to find a well-formulated Vitamin C product that works — and that works well with your skin. And, you gotta stick with it. Use it in both of your skincare routines, AM and PM!
Clinique’s Fresh Pressed is simply an excellent source of Vitamin C for your skin.
Clinique Fresh Pressed Daily Booster with Pure Vitamin C 10%
I love anything that’s freshly activated. I live down the block from a pizzeria. Five minutes out of the oven and that pizza is at my door. That’s fresh! Freshness is particularly important with an ingredient like Vitamin C — due, of course, to its instability in the presence of light, air, and a multitude of other ingredients used in skin care.
And, that’s precisely the wisdom behind using a separate Vitamin C serum in your skincare routine, rather than relying on the efficacy, potency and stability of the Vitamin C found in a more complex daily moisturizer.
I’ve been a fan of the Clinique Fresh Pressed Daily Booster with Pure Vitamin C 10% for the better part of a year now. It’s simply an excellent source of Vitamin C for your skin.
Clinique wisely packages Fresh Pressed in a set of four to assure fresh activation, potency and stability. I find that I can go through about one a week — so it’s safe to say that four of them is at least a one-month supply. You may find it lasts longer as I tend to get carried away.
Each individual vial is activated by pressing one end to burst an inner sac. Doing so mixes pure Ascorbic Acid powder with a liquid activator. You know it’s potent because it can tingle a bit on application. It’s a good kind of tingling, sometimes even more of a warming sensation. It’s just enough to let you know it’s still potent, and will still work as expected. In the Fresh Pressed formula, Ascorbic Acid — the most potent form of Vitamin C — is the second ingredient.
As an added benefit, Clinique fortified Fresh Pressed with several non-fragrant plant oils to nourish, soothe and replenish skin. You get extra antioxidant protection from several beneficial plant extracts and perhaps some plumping from the addition of replenishing peptides. There’s even humectant Sodium Hyaluronate — the salt form of Hyaluronic Acid that’s actually most compatible with skin.
A four-pack, one month-supply of Fresh Pressed will set you back $76 — or about $20 a week.
It’s a really well-rounded, well-formulated serum. Honestly, it’s the perfect boost for stepping up your game. With its super lightweight formula, Fresh Pressed is also really easy to layer.
Interestingly, it’s not as affordably priced as many Clinique staples — including the brand’s iconic “three-step” routine that includes a cleansing bar, moisturizer and exfoliating toner for just about $50. A four-pack, one month-supply of Fresh Pressed will set you back $76 — or you can try a one-week supply for just twenty-bucks. But hey, it’s reliable, effective and will stay potent long enough to use up.
And, you’ll get no surprises on those weekends away!
SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase a one-week supply of the Clinique Fresh Pressed Daily Booster with Pure Vitamin C 10% for $20 here.
BeautyStat Universal C Skin Refiner
I could literally spend the rest of my life testing and posting about Vitamin C products and be perfectly happy. (But you’d get bored and find a more interesting blog to read!) That’s the thing though — I’m never bored with Vitamin C! And it’s so crazy to me that recent test results from my nutritionist showed I have extreme Vitamin C deficiency. What?! I’m gonna have to find a serum I can ingest.
The BeautyStat Universal C Skin Refiner is a really well-formulated Vitamin C product!
While the BeautyStat Universal C Skin Refiner isn’t ingestible, it’s a really, really well-formulated Vitamin C serum! Unlike the Clinique Fresh Pressed, the BeautyStat Universal C is not a water-based serum. It’s more like a richly-textured, silky lotion — a “suspension” in formulary parlance.
Formulated with 20% L-Ascorbic Acid, arguably the most potent form of Vitamin C, and an encapsulated delivery system, the silky, waterless formula contains an active ingredient called Epigallocatechin Gallate (GCG).
I had no idea what that was either. So I googled it. And…GCG is the most important component of green tea! It happens to perfectly sync up with Vitamin C for reliable, potent antioxidant protection that prevents skin damage. With just seven ingredients, the Universal C Skin Refiner has a very tight ingredient list, accounting for the fact that the vitamin doesn’t play well with other actives.
The Beauty Stat Universal C is so innovative, it’s patented!
The first ingredient in Universal C is Cyclopentasiloxane, an innocuous, lightweight silicone that forms the formula base and helps to prevent oxidation.
Plant-derived Squalane, a bio-available substance recognized by the skin, helps to nourish and moisturize.
And, the addition of Tartaric Acid in the formula helps to balance skin’s pH as it enhances absorption of the other actives. Tartaric Acid is one of the six alpha hydroxy acids and is found in many plants, including grapes and tamarinds. It’s also one of the main component acids in wine!
The fact that Universal C is packaged in an airtight pump makes it one of the best Vitamin C products I’ve come across in my year-long mission — and why it’s made it to my top five Vitamin C picks of the year.
Really great Vitamin C products are knocked off by brands all the time. In fact, you may have heard or read about a lawsuit filed by L’Oreal on behalf of its SkinCeuticals brand. The beauty beast sued indie brand Drunk Elephant for allegedly knocking off the patented Vitamin C technology that powers the SkinCeuticals icon, CE Ferulic. Drunk Elephant’s C-Firma serum has been dubbed by fans a dupe for the $165 serum.
So, about that innovative BeautyStat delivery system? It’s patented! You won’t find it in any other Vitamin C product anywhere. There are two patents, in fact: #9,901,532 and #9,901,533.
SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase the BeautyStat Universal C Skin Refiner for $80 here.
The BeautyStat delivery system is so innovative, it’s patented!
**WATCH MY VIDEO REVIEW OF “THE YEAR’S BEST VITAMIN C SERUMS WITH THE ORDINARY, CLINIQUE, BEAUTY STAT & MORE!” NOW PLAYING ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE.**
Garden of Wisdom Vitamin C 23% Serum & Ferulic Acid
The necessity of Vitamin C to a pro-skin health routine goes without saying. Honestly, if you’re not already using a separate, well-formulated Vitamin C serum in your skincare regimen, I hope you’ll select one of the year’s best Vitamin C Serums!
Earlier in the year, I wrote a blog article about the benefits of Vitamin C. Feel welcome to read it here.
In my original piece I said that, “Vitamin C is old news. I get it. But, fortunately for all of us, it’s made a real resurgence lately as marketers and consumers alike have begun to focus on tried-and-true ingredients rather than sexy product launches powered by massive marketing campaigns.”
As I said, Vitamin C loathes three common elements — sunlight, air and water. In its most potent forms, including a water-free Ascorbic Acid powder, it can even be sensitive to peptides. If you’re using a Vitamin C serum that contains Ascorbic Acid, as all of the options in my top picks, you would be wise to either separate them by regimen (perhaps Vitamin C in the evening, peptides in the morning) — or at least wait 10-15 minutes after applying the Vitamin C serum before you apply peptides.
The Garden of Wisdom Vitamin C 23% Serum & Ferulic Acid is a solid option.
Often quite needlessly, Vitamin C serums are costly and the five I’ve recommended run the gamut — from a simple $5 powder to a super innovative $80 suspension. When assembling my recent complete $100 skincare routine, selecting the perfect Vitamin C serum was fun — with so many well-priced, well-formulated options.
It’s no stretch to say that my collaborator Michael and I scoured the world for the perfect Vitamin C — perfect in formulation, perfect in price. We settled on indie brand Garden of Wisdom. Sure it sounds so smart and cool, but beyond that the Garden of Wisdom Vitamin C 23% Serum & Ferulic Acid happens to be a really solid option that costs just $12.47.
The GOW serum has a relatively tight formulation with just nine ingredients. The texture is super light and easily absorbed, making layering a cinch. It comes in an air tight, opaque bottle with a pump (bravo!) and is stabilized by Vitamin C’s all-time BFF Ferulic Acid — a potent antioxidant that has the remarkable ability to prevent oxidation.
Garden of Wisdom isn’t readily available in the US yet, so I had to pay to have it shipped from the UK. (Hey, Garden of Wisdom, I waited nearly five weeks to receive it; that’s hardly wise!) Shipping woes aside, if their top-shelf Vitamin C serum is any indication, I’m looking forward to discovering more of what the brand has to offer.
You can get it on the Victoria Health website here. Yeah, it’s worth the wait.
SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase the Garden of Wisdom Vitamin C 23% Serum & Ferulic Acid for about $12.47 here.
Two of my top Vitamin C product picks include options from indie brands The Ordinary and Garden of Wisdom.
The Ordinary Ethylated Ascorbic Acid 15% Solution
Sometimes, less is more. And in the case of The Ordinary’s Ethylated Ascorbic Acid 15% Solution, you can’t get more less than just two ingredients: Propanediol and Ethyl Ascorbic Acid.
It’s funny that until I started exploring clean skin care for a “clean routine” I was working on, I had never even considered this Vitamin C serum. It’s not that I didn’t want to try it; rather, it was because I really love The Ordinary’s Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate Solution 20% in Vitamin F. It has such an amazing, silky texture — and it’s even got antioxidant, Lycopene-rich Tomato Fruit Extract thrown in for good measure.
The form of Vitamin C in the Ethylated Ascorbic Acid 15% formula, Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, acts similarly to Ascorbic Acid and is similar in molecular weight to pure Vitamin C — for quick, visible brightening of the complexion.
It’s stabilized, too, in the absence of water, and suspended instead in Propanediol — a commonly used, well-tolerated glycol that enhances the absorption of actives like Vitamin C. Propanediol also possesses hydrating properties that leave skin feeling soft and velvety.
Deciem distinguishes its Ethylated Ascorbic Acid 15% Solution this way:
“Unlike other Vitamin C derivatives, this ethylated form acts directly like Vitamin C, is closer in molecular weight to actual Vitamin C which allows for faster visible results, and offers a much better stability profile than any known direct-acting form of Vitamin C.”
They had me at hello — but hit it outta the park with that! The texture of the Ethylated Ascorbic Acid treatment is quite interesting. It feels only slightly oily for about ten seconds; then it’s gone. It absorbs right into your skin.
But it isn’t the Vitamin C that makes that happen. It’s the Propanediol which, again, enhances the absorption of the vitamin into the skin’s upper layers where it’s most beneficial.
Perhaps more than any of my top Vitamin C picks, I love the texture of the Ethylated Ascorbic Acid 15% Solution. I love, too, that it’s stabilized, and that it’s packaged in an opaque glass bottle with a dropper. It’s simple, it’s clean, and it’s affordable — at just $18.
Seriously, you can’t go wrong with this one.
SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase The Ordinary Ethylated Ascorbic Acid 15% Solution for $18 here.
The Ordinary 100% L-Ascorbic Acid Powder
At least once every two weeks or so, I get asked a rather reasonable, yet provocative question that goes something like this:
“What’s the one product you can’t live without?”
Bakuchiol Booster contains just two ingredients — Bakuchiol and Squalane.
It’s actually kind of a hard question to answer because I really just want to say sunscreen. But that’s not a product per se; it’s a class of products, and no single sunscreen product stands out to me — except maybe my OG, the RHOTO Skin Aqua UV Milk. Certainly, if I were stranded on a desert island, as the saying goes, I’d want that one sunscreen with me.
But since I haven’t yet been stranded on a desert island, the one product that I feel I wouldn't want to be without, that I wouldn’t want missing from my daily regimen, is a powerful Vitamin C treatment — and particularly The Ordinary’s 100% L-Ascorbic Acid Powder, or LAA.
So what makes Deciem’s cute little pot of powder desert-island worthy?
First and foremost is the potency of the Vitamin C itself. I’ve told this quick story before, but I love sharing it! A few months ago, a good friend asked me for advice on revamping his skincare routine. Like me, he’s been in skincare and beauty for years and still finds it all confusing and unreliable.
If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I’m all about pro-skin health ingredients and a regimen centered around three “ABC” products — Vitamin A (Retinol), Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide) and Vitamin C, along with Hyaluronic Acid and a multitude of replenishing plant oils. My recommendations for him included a few well-formulated serums and oils and, of course, The Ordinary’s 100% L-Ascorbic Acid Powder.
Because of Vitamin C’s instability, a pure powder is the best means of delivering the game-changing benefits of Vitamin C to your skin, including antioxidant protection, fading dark spots, evening out skin tone, boosting collagen production to firm skin and smooth wrinkles — and, most visibly, to brighten the complexion.
My friend took my recommendation to heart, got his hands on a pot of it and tried it that very first night. The next day, a co-worker complimented his visibly brighter complexion — the first time in his life anyone had ever done so!
The one unique thing about an Ascorbic Acid powder, beyond its singular ability to visibly brighten the skin overnight, is the challenge of using it properly. It’s both simple and vexing. You’ll need a favorite serum or moisturizer; in my experience a watery serum is best for dissolving the Vitamin C sufficiently.
Among the serums that tend to blend best with the vitamin powder are a Hyaluronic Acid serum or an amino acid serum — both of which The Ordinary offers. I’ve even mixed it with a Niacinamide serum. The trick is to assure that the powder has dissolved and blended well before applying it to the skin. As stated earlier, you have to avoid mixing it with peptides as they’ll deactivate the Vitamin C.
SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase The Ordinary’s 100% L-Ascorbic Acid Powder for $5 here.
So, yeah, Vitamin C is a game-changer!
Find a well-formulated serum you love and get using it immediately — like tonight. People will rave in the morning that your complexion never looked brighter…
🖤 SKINCARMA
**WATCH MY VIDEO REVIEW OF “THE YEAR’S BEST VITAMIN C SERUMS WITH THE ORDINARY, CLINIQUE, BEAUTY STAT & MORE!” NOW PLAYING ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE.**
The Ingredient List of the Clinique Fresh Pressed Daily Booster with Pure Vitamin C 10%:
aox|sb|buff, Glycerin sii|h 0 0, Dimethicone emo 0 1, Squalane 
sii|emo 0 1, Butylene Glycol h|solv|vc 0 1, Dipropylene Glycol solv|perf|vc, Acetyl Glucosamine sii|sb, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract so|emo, Hordeum Vulgare (Barley) Extract\Extrait D'Orge emo, Molasses Extract\Saccharum Officinarum\Extrait De Mélasse, Laminaria Digitata Extract, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 cci|h, Algae Extract emo|h, Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12 cci, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 cci, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7 cci, Alcaligenes Polysaccharides emo|h|vc, Caffeine aox|perf, Sucrose h|so, Betaine h, Whey Protein\Lactis Protein\Protéine Du Petit-Lait cci, Salicylic Acid exf|aacne|so|pres, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Protein emu, Sodium Hyaluronate sii|h 0 0, Caprylyl Glycol h|emo, Sigesbeckia Orientalis (St. Paul'S Wort) Extract, Bis-PEG-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane emo|h|surf, Propylene Glycol Dicaprate emo, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seedcake abrasive/scrub, Allyl Methacrylates Crosspolymer vc, Carbomer vc 0 1, Glyceryl Polymethacrylate vc, Tromethamine buff, Xanthan Gum vc|emu|surf, Potassium Sorbate pres, PEG-8 h|solv, Calcium Chloride vc, Polysorbate 20 emu|surf 0 0, Sodium Citrate chel|buff, Disodium EDTA chel|vc, Phenoxyethanol presThe Ingredient List of the Beauty Stat Universal C Skin Refiner:
Cyclopentasiloxane, L-Ascorbic Acid (Pure Vitamin C), Isocetyl Stearate, Squalane, Polysilicone-11, Petrolatum, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract Pure Egcg Green Tea), Tartaric Acid.
The Ingredient List of the Garden of Wisdom Vitamin C 23% Serum & Ferulic Acid:
aox|sb|buff, Alkyl Benzoate emo|amic, D-Panthenol so|h 0 0, Carbomer vc 0 1, Ferulic Acid aox|amic, Sclerotium Gum vc, Phenoxyethanol pres, Caprylyl Glycol h|emo, Hyaluronic Acid sii|hThe Ingredient List of The Ordinary Ethylated Ascorbic Acid 15% Solution:
The Ingredient List of The Ordinary 100% L-Ascorbic Acid Powder:
Orpheus always takes his morning vitamins!
