Top 5 Vitamin C Serums

It’s like a whole new age these days. All this information about how to enhance your skin tone, diminish the signs of aging, look your best and brightest – I mean, there is so much out there, you’d have to be a chemist or dermatologist to understand it all! I’ve found me way around the beauty aisles over the past few years, trying new products, talking to specialists and just really taking the time to get to know my skin.  

When it comes to testing a new beauty product, I kind of go all out. I don’t just try one vitamin C serum to see if it works, I try all the vitamin C serums I can get my hands on so that I can do a cross-comparison. This is how I figure out if the hype is real and of course, which is the best of the best. 

I was originally introduced to vitamin C serums with SkinCeuticals (I also love their tinted BB cream, read about it here) about a year ago. We all understand the elemental benefits of vitamin C in our diet (read about here!), but did you know that putting it on your skin has incredible value as well? Here are my top 5 vitamin C serums and what makes them the cream of the crop…

SkinCeuticals

C E FEUROLIC

As I get older, my skin sees some of the more visible signs of aging. From sun spots and age spots to blemishes and uneven skin tone, that smooth, bright colour is something I have to work on now more than ever before. SkinCeuticals C E Feurolic vitamin C serum improves the appearance of lines and wrinkles, helps firm up the skin and brightens your overall complexion. I started this daily serum routine over a year ago and have seen serious results. Formulated with L-ascorbic acid and antioxidants, the effects last over 72 hours once absorbed by the skin. I found mine at Annie Young at Vic Park – it’s kind of hard to find in this city, so if you want to feel and test it for yourself before you buy it online, just walk in there and cop a feel!

Biossance

Squalane + Vitamin C Rose Oil

You know how when you make guacamole, you add a little lemon juice to avoid it turning black (from oxidization)? Well, that’s kind of what vitamin C serum does for your skin. The Biossance Squalane + Vitamin C Rose Oil is an incredible option for normal to dry skin. A luxurious face oil that smooths out uneven texture and brightens that dullness that inevitably takes over with age, I also find that this one has helped with my skin’s elasticity. The rose oil adds a hint of radiance to your skin as well.

Obagi

Professional-C Serum 10%

The Professional-C Serum 10% by Obagi is great for dry of sensitive skin. By using this serum daily, you will calm your skin if you’ve noticed it’s been irritated lately, improve texture, minimize appearance of lines and wrinkles, and brighten skin. Vitamin C directly targets dark spots, so if you use it daily for a long enough while, you’ll see amazing results – like a smooth and radiant glow. It’s not just hype, it’s for real.

Vivier

C E PEPTIDES

One important thing about vitamin C serums is that you really don’t need much when applying. A few drops on your fingertips to smooth over your face, neck and chest (sometimes I use it on my hands too) right before you put on your face cream. I used it once a day, but you can apply up to twice a day on a clean face. The Vivier C E Peptides has the added benefit of grapefruit, which just makes it smell incredible. They use a pharmaceutical-grade L-ascorbic acid and vitamin E which works in synergistic reaction with vitamin C to help reduce the signs of aging.

Étymologie

Probiotic Vitamin C Serum

I discovered Étymologie through Global Glow and Annie Young in Montreal, but you can snag the entire product line on their website as well. Their Probiotic Vitamin C Serum is said to protect and restore, using live probiotics to help create a skin barrier, promote collagen production and provide antioxidant and brightening effects. This vitamin C serum also has omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids to add moisture. Raquela Cheesmond, a local McGill biochemistry and food science graduate, created Étymologie as a way to deliver safe and sustainable products to the beauty industry. Safe for the environment and safe for our skin, I’m obsessed with this line!

Some daily moisturizers have vitamin C in their formulas, while others have collagen, rose oil, and other antioxidants that deliver amazing effects to our skin. But, there’s something so natural and simple about a vitamin C serum – it’s just so logical. So although there is a ton of craze out there and a whole variety of stuff people say we NEED to put on our skin, if you’re going to invest in one, let it be vitamin C.

Photography by Patrick Brochu