PRODUCT REVIEW: PAULA’S CHOICE C25 SUPER BOOSTER - BEST DARK SPOT TREATMENT, BEST VITAMIN C SERUM, BEST BRIGHTENING SERUM
This review was originally part of my blog article titled, The Year’s Best Vitamin C Serums With Paula's Choice, Sunday Riley, The Inkey List And More! You can catch the full piece here.
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There are two ingredients that I wish everyone on Earth who’s serious about their skin health would incorporate into their own skincare routines — Vitamin C and Niacinamide. Both are indispensable antioxidants — and more. In the case of a good Vitamin C treatment, it can be one of the best anti-aging serums in your arsenal.
Last spring, I published an article about my favorite Vitamin C serums in a piece titled, New Vitamin C Facial Serums I Love But You’ve Probably Never Heard Of! – which you can catch here. It was a collection of some of the best Vitamin C serums, all of which were relatively new to the market, and new to me.
Among my top picks were some of my favorite brightening serums to this day, including the clean, oil-based Ghost Democracy Lightbulb Vitamin C Serum with an 18% concentration of Vitamin C. It’s literally the crème de la crème for me.
My selection also included the all-natural Purito Pure Vitamin C Serum. If you’re sensitive to higher levels of Vitamin C, Purito’s serum contains a modest 5% concentration of it. And it just might be what you’re looking for.
(In spite of the brand’s recent controversy over the erroneous, inflated claim on its Centella Green Level Safe Sun SPF 50+, the brand’s natural formulations are quite good. I’m a #puritofanboy and will remain so.)
If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that Vitamin C serums are like precious gems to me. Until recently, Vitamin C was perhaps the most under-appreciated of all skincare ingredients. Mainly because it seemed to be old news. And, because it’s been nearly impossible to keep the vitamin stable in a skincare formula, the truly effective levels weren’t possible. Until you get to ten percent or more, you don’t really get the power brightening, collagen building benefits of the active.
As the science has progressed, there are now Vitamin C serums with super high concentrations of the antioxidant powerhouse — like the Allies of Skin 35% Vitamin C Collagen Rebuilding Serum. Thirty-five percent still seems crazy to me. I’m not convinced to this day that it’s even necessary. At least for me, levels that high turn my complexion hot pink for an hour or so.
What does Vitamin C do for skin?
There’s an excellent article on the remarkable benefits of Vitamin C for the skin from the experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team titled, What is Vitamin C and How Does it Benefit Skin?
Vitamin C is one of the most exciting, research-proven ingredients you can apply to skin (1). This water-soluble antioxidant is a natural component of healthy skin. When we’re young, vitamin C levels in skin’s outermost two layers (epidermis and dermis) are abundant, but as we age, these levels naturally deplete. Unprotected sun exposure (UV damage) and pollution can accelerate this decline, leading to skin looking and feeling dull, uneven, and less firm than it once was (2).
Luckily, there are topical skin care solutions that can help mitigate this damage, so skin looks and feels healthier and younger longer.
Vitamin C Benefits for Skin
Vitamin C’s benefits for skin are vast, including its ability to even out skin tone and diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles (3). While this powerhouse ingredient is well-known for its skin-brightening benefits, research also shows it can shield skin from the visible impacts of environmental stressors, including free radical damage (4). This synergy of mitigating problems both before and after they occur makes vitamin C a force to be reckoned with.
So, for me (and for skin everywhere) Vitamin C is everything! With that, let’s take a look at one of my favorite Vitamin C serums of the past year…
Paula’s Choice | C25 Super Booster
Unlike with the Paula’s Choice C15 Super Booster, I have actually tried this targeted treatment before — in its previous packaging iteration. Yes as indicated, the Paula’s Choice C25 Super Booster contains a 25% concentration of Vitamin C. But that doesn’t mean it should be your go-to.
Think of the C25 Super Booster as a highly concentrated targeted treatment for brightening and even erasing dark spots.
C25 Super Booster has a thick, goopy texture that’s more like a putty than a serum, allowing it to stay in place. Its patented delivery system releases the Vitamin C throughout the day (or night) to attack dark spots, sun spots and age spots.
In fact, I have a dark spot on the back of my right hand that’s been there for years. Likely a sun spot, I never even tried to do much about it and have now begun to treat it with the C25 Super Booster. The problem is that I can’t seem to do it consistently enough to make any progress at lightening it effectively! Oh well.
It’s a relatively simple, clean formulation with just just eight ingredients in all. While it’s perfectly fine using it over broader areas for the treatment of wrinkles and dark patches, I wouldn’t recommend using the C25 Super Booster serum over your entire face. It’s just not made for that — and isn’t very comfortable.
SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase the Paula’s Choice C25 Super Booster for $55 here.
WATCH MY VIDEO REVIEW OF
2021’s BEST VITAMIN C SERUMS WITH PAULA'S CHOICE, SUNDAY RILEY, THE INKEY LIST AND MORE!
ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE.**
WATCH MY VIDEO REVIEW OF
2020’s BEST VITAMIN C SERUMS WITH THE ORDINARY, CLINIQUE, BEAUTY STAT & MORE!
NOW PLAYING ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE
The Ingredient List of the Sunday Riley C. E.O. 15% Vitamin C Brightening Serum:
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 Paula’s Choice C15 Super Booster:
aox|sb|buff, Butylene Glycol h|solv|vc 0 1, Ethoxydiglycol solv|h|perf 0 0, Glycerin sii|h 0 0, PPG-26-Buteth-26, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil emu|surf, Pentylene Glycol solv|h, Tocopherol aox 0-3 0-3, Sodium Hyaluronate sii|h 0 0, Hexanoyl Dipeptide-3 Norleucine Acetate cci, Lecithin emo|emu, Ferulic Acid aox|amic, Panthenol so|h 0 0, Bisabolol so, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Extract, Propyl Gallate aox|perf, Sodium Gluconate chel|h, Sodium Hydroxide buff, Phenoxyethanol pres, Ethylhexylglycerin 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 Paula’s Choice C25 Super Booster:
aox|sb|buff, Ethylhexyl Hydroxystearate (Emollient) emo, Polysilicone-11 (Texture-Enhancing), Dimethicone (Hydration) emo 0 1, Polymethylsilsesquioxane (Texture-Enhancing), Disteardimonium Hectorite (Texture-Enhancing) vc, Propylene Carbonate (Preservative) solv|vcThe Ingredient List of The Inkey List 15% Vitamin C and EGF Brightening Serum:
aox|sb, Sodium Hydroxide buff, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil emu|surf, Phenoxyethanol pres, Benzyl Alcohol pres|perf|solv|vc, Butylene Glycol h|solv|vc 0 1, Xanthan Gum vc|emu|surf, Ethylhexylglycerin pres, Sodium Metabisulfite aox|pres, Dehydroacetic Acid pres, Phytic Acid chel, Oligopeptide-1The Ingredient List of the Josie Maran Argan Bright Skin Vitamin C Serum:
aox|emo, Coconut Alkanes emo|solv, Oleyl Lactate emo, Octyldodecyl PCA emo, Dimethyl Isosorbide solv|vc, Glyceryl Oleate emo|emu|perf, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate aox|sb, Isostearyl Lactate emo, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate emo, Brassica Campestris (Rapeseed) Seed Oil, Bisabolol so, Squalane sii|emo 0 1, Pterocarpus Marsupium Bark Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract so|sb, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate emu 0 4, Althaea Officinalis Root Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Extract, Dunaliella Salina Extract, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil aox|emo|perf 0 0-2, Aqua (Water) solv, Phloretin aox
Orpheus always takes his morning vitamins!
