Retinols
Avène Eau Thermale Retrinal 0.1% Intensive Multi Corrective Cream felt lovely on the skin, and it has a nice dose of retinaldehyde. But it was edged out by our Youth To The People pick.
CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol Serum had a nice texture, and we appreciated that it was fragrance-free, but it didn’t stand out among similar sheer lotion serums.
With a silky feel and a fresh botanical fragrance, the Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream was a pleasure to use, but it seemed overpriced compared with others in the running.
We eliminated the Glow Recipe Blackberry Retinol Blemish Serum because of its cloying fragrance and sticky texture.
The Gold Bond Age Renew Retinol Overnight Body & Face Lotion was surprisingly luxurious: It’s a rich, nourishing cream for the body, but it feels way too heavy for faces.
The Innbeauty Project Retinol Remix 1% Retinol Treatment’s satin-like texture was nice, as was its fresh fragrance, but it didn’t stand up to our top picks.
La Roche-Posay’s Retinol B3 Serum ran a close second to L’Oréal Paris’s Revitalift drops. We liked its aroma and its efficient, sanitary dropper, but we also found it just a tad sticky.
L’Oréal Paris’s Revitalift Triple Power Anti-Aging Moisturizer earned lots of high marks, but it was edged out because it triggered irritation in one tester.
At nearly $100, the Murad Retinol Youth Renewal Serum should look and feel expensive. While the formula is elegant, the bottle isn’t special-looking enough to warrant the splurge.
Our testers enjoyed how readily the Neutrogena Retinol Regenerating Cream absorbed into skin, but across the board they gave it low marks for being way too fragrant. Similarly, the otherwise reliable Neutrogena Retinol Serum lost points for its polarizing aroma.
The No. 7 Pure Retinol Night Concentrate felt too slippery, both in our fingers and on our faces, and it had a slightly sour odor.
A hearty cream in a purple plastic pot, Olay Regenerist Retinol 24 Night Moisturizer required too much massaging to get it to fully absorb. And even then, it tended to feel greasy.
A very sheer, lotion-style serum, Paula’s Choice 1% Retinol Booster delivered a nice amount of moisture and not a bit of tingle or sensitivity. But ultimately we deemed it to be just a bit too slick.
Testers had wildly different experiences with RoC’s Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream. Most notably, though, one tester felt a burning sensation and had to wash it off entirely within five minutes.
There was a lot to love about the Shani Darden Retinol Reform Anti-Aging Serum, with its chic, sheer texture. But it was just edged out by the higher-strength SkinMedica serum.
The only breathtaking aspect of the SkinBetter Science AlphaRet Overnight Cream was its $140 price tag: The sheer, smooth serum was fine but not fantastic, and the plastic bottle rattled and felt cheap. Meanwhile, the SkinCeuticals Retinol 0.3 and SkinCeuticals Retinol 1.0 Maximum Strength (at $80 and $102 per ounce, respectively) didn’t feel like commensurate upgrades over many far-more-affordable options. Plus, the caps were small, tricky to handle, and easy to misplace.
The inky blue color of the Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil was polarizing for panelists, as was its post-application finish: Some testers loved how smooth their skin felt, while others thought the overall effect was greasy.
The Inkey List SuperSolutions 1% Retinol Serum had a perfectly serviceable sheer formula, but it smelled like musty leaves.
Adapalene formulas
Our testers said the Acne Free Adapalene Gel and the Differin Adapalene Gel 0.1% were fine but not fantastic. Nothing about either of these products set them above the other contenders.
The Glenmark Adapalene Gel caused dryness and irritation for one tester, and it also failed to improve her acne.
Overall, the Neutrogena Adapalene Gel 0.1% was a runner-up to our La Roche-Posay Effaclar pick, and testers noted that it had a wonderful, spreadable consistency. But a few testers deemed the Effaclar product to be a little more effective for treating acne.
We had high hopes for the PanOxyl Adapalene 0.1% Gel; there’s a PanOxyl pick in the best exfoliants guide as well as in the best pimple patches guide. But several testers found that this gel stung their skin.
Testers were split on the Taro Adapalene Gel USP 0.1%. Some found it totally fine and benign, while our tween tester noted that it burned going on.
We also ruled out a number of additional products from A313, Advanced Clinicals, Alastin, Beauty of Joseon, Biossance, Clinical Skin, Clinique, Cocokind, Creamy Skincare, Dermalogica, Dermaquest, Dr. Dennis Gross, E.L.F. Skin, Elizabeth Arden, Epi.Logic, Estée Lauder, First Aid Beauty, Global Beauty Care, Glow Recipe, Good Molecules, Innisfree, Josie Maran, Kiehl’s, Malin + Goetz, Naturium, No B.S., Obagi, Peace Out, Peter Thomas Roth, Pixi, Skin Script, Some By Mi, StriVectin, Sunday Riley, The Inkey List, The Ordinary, True Botanicals, TruSkin, Urban Skin Rx, Versed, Vichy, Vivier, and Zo Skin Health. We chose not to send them to panel testing for a variety of reasons, including insufficient or unfavorable reviews, the concentration of the active ingredient, and concerns related to value.
This article was edited by Jennifer G. Sullivan and Hannah Morrill.
