Positive, an ingredient like vitamin C (like most others) is deserving of a extra concentrated components like a vitamin C serum, however lotions are nice, particularly when you’re in search of extra intense hydration alongside the opposite aforementioned advantages. Listed here are the 7 greatest vitamin C lotions, moisturizers, and oils that’ll assist maintain your pores and skin wanting radiant day in and time out.
Regularly Requested Questions
Finest General: Then I Met You Bong² Bounce Cream
Why it’s value it: From the gorgeous baby-blue packaging to the marigold hue inside, Then I Met You Bong² Bounce Cream seems like just a little jar of sunshine, each visually and in what it does in your pores and skin. Hallabong (a vitamin C-rich citrus fruit) from Korea’s Jeju Island helps brighten and even pores and skin tone whereas defending towards environmental stressors. The bouncy, gel texture is filled with barrier-boosting ceramides, sea buckthorn oil, and hydrating squalane, so it sinks in like a dream and leaves your pores and skin wanting dewy, hydrated, and easy. And whereas it’s made with honey—a pure humectant with antibacterial perks—it sinks in fantastically with out leaving your pores and skin oily or sticky.
Tester suggestions from commerce editor Sarah Han
“I completely adore Then I Met You’s Residing Cleaning Balm, so it is no shock I am equally in love with Bong² Bounce Cream, which additionally comprises seaberry and persimmons to lend it that cheerful marigold hue. I really like vitamin C all the pieces through the daytime, so hallabong extract is ideal for the brightening, tone-evening job. The gel texture is so ethereal and layers seamlessly beneath my sunscreen and make-up, too.” —Sarah Han, commerce editor
- Key elements: citrus reticulata fruit extract (a.ok.a. hallabong), squalane, sea buckthorn extract, hyaluronic acid, hydrolyzed collagen
- Who it is for: all pores and skin varieties, however particularly mixture and oily pores and skin
Finest with SPF: Perricone MD Vitamin C Ester Photograph-Brightening Moisturizer SPF 30
Why it is value it: An amazing moisturizer has to multitask—absorbing shortly, delivering deep hydration, and smoothing nice strains. Perricone MD’s Vitamin C Ester Photograph-Brightening Moisturizer SPF 30 does all that and extra, combining a brightening dose of vitamin C ester with mineral-based SPF for daytime safety. The oil-free components feels light-weight on the pores and skin and received’t clog pores, making it best for acne-prone pores and skin varieties or these avoiding extra shine. It additionally contains alpha lipoic acid, a robust antioxidant that helps cut back the look of nice strains and wrinkles, particularly useful for mature pores and skin. Better of all, it glides on effortlessly and sinks in like a dream.
“If you happen to often dread placing on sunscreen, this one’s completely different. It feels far more like a bouncy, whipped moisturizer that simply so occurs to have SPF 30. The mousse-like texture is so satisfying, and it melts proper in with none greasiness or white solid. I additionally love the delicate pink hue—seems that’s from astaxanthin, which is a robust antioxidant that I found you possibly can naturally discover in algae or salmon. It’s light-weight, glowy, and simply makes my pores and skin appear like a greater model of itself. I’m undoubtedly hooked.” —Christa Joanna Lee, contributing commerce author
- Key elements: vitamin C ester, alpha lipoic acid, 4.2% titanium dioxide
- Who it is for: individuals with uninteresting, dehydrated pores and skin in search of the added safety of SPF
Finest for Uneven Texture: Sunday Riley C.E.O. Afterglow Brightening Vitamin C Gel Cream
Why it is value it: Though vitamin C is an eternally beloved and hyped ingredient, a whole lot of merchandise do not ship on its magical brightening properties. On the brilliant facet, Sunday Riley’s C.E.O. Afterglow Brightening Vitamin C Gel Cream—much like its predecessor, C.E.O. Vitamin C Brightening Serum—is a radiance-making standout that makes pores and skin really feel virtually reborn. After only a few weeks of twice-daily use, this sunshine-yellow jelly made senior information editor Nicola Dall’Asen‘s pores and skin plumper, extra even-toned, and brighter—a lot in order that she typically skips her traditional highlighter as a result of her pores and skin glows by itself.
“This sunshine-yellow jelly rides that good line between too thick and never thick sufficient with a components that hydrates immediately and successfully but seems like nothing as soon as it sinks into the pores and skin. After a couple of weeks of constant (twice day by day) use, my pores and skin feels not solely plumper than traditional however appears to be like brighter, extra even-toned, and all-around dewier, particularly round my eyes and cheekbones. No extra highlighter in my make-up for me, thanks—my pores and skin glows sufficient by itself now.” —Nicola Dall’Asen, senior information editor
- Key elements: THD ascorbate, sodium hyaluronate, lutein
- Who it is for: individuals with uninteresting, dehydrated pores and skin
Finest for Delicate Pores and skin: Belif Aqua Bomb Brightening Vitamin C Cream
Why it is value it: Like gossip in a bunch chat along with your greatest mates, pores and skin is greatest when it is further juicy—and that is precisely what you get from Belif’s Aqua Bomb Brightening Vitamin C Cream. This glow-boosting components is filled with Vitamin C to brighten pores and skin, moisture-locking hyaluronic acid, and soothing vitamin E to ship glassy, bouncy pores and skin. It doesn’t cease there—this cream additionally smooths the look of pores, providing you with that coveted easy end. Plus, “Vitamin C’s effectiveness will increase when mixed with different antioxidants, comparable to vitamin E,” explains New York Metropolis-based board-certified dermatologist Patricia Wexler, MD, in a earlier interview with Attract. This implies it primarily doubles your protection towards free-radical harm.
“It feels thicker than the common gel-cream, however massages onto pores and skin to put on comfortably alone or below make-up. It’s loaded with the good things—like radiance-boosting vitamin C, moisture-retaining hyaluronic acid, and anti inflammatory vitamin E—to provide dry, drained pores and skin like mine some much-needed TLC. It instantly creates glassy pores and skin that’s bouncy with moisture, whereas one can count on a healthier-looking, extra luminous complexion with long-term use.” —Jesa Marie Calaor, senior editor
- Key elements: alchemilla vulgaris, ascorbic acid, ascorbyl palmitate, hyaluronic acid
- Who it is for: individuals with enlarged pores
Finest for Dry Pores and skin: Biossance Squalane + Vitamin C Rose Oil
Biossance
Squalane + Vitamin C Rose Oil
Why it is value it: The Biossance Squalane + Vitamin C Rose Oil—a Readers’ Alternative Award-winning and editor-beloved facial oil from Biossance—nourishes pores and skin like a dream, due to a beyond-luxurious base of rose-infused squalane. Samantha Fisher, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in Palm Seaside Gardens, FL, has beforehand confirmed that squalane can “help in skin-care issues whereby the pores and skin barrier is disrupted and transepidermal water loss is a matter,” which incorporates circumstances comparable to eczema, pimples, and even psoriasis. With continued use, the luxe oil provides firming advantages and promotes easy pores and skin texture.
“When utilized to pores and skin post-moisturizer—evenly pressed into all areas of my face and neck—my thirsty pores and skin drinks it up. It leaves behind a little bit of a moist, sticky feeling because it’s being absorbed, however shortly dries down earlier than it is time to apply sunscreen and make-up. Really, I’ve discovered that once I’m making use of my BB cream after I’ve used the oil, my pores and skin appears to be like dewier and glowier—by no means oily. So, it seems that facial oils actually aren’t the enemy right here.” —Sarah Kinonen, affiliate magnificence director
- Key elements: squalane, vitamin C, damascus rose extract, chios crystal oil
- Who it is for: individuals with dry and delicate pores and skin circumstances
Finest for Darkish Spots: Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Vitamin C Lactic Dewy Deep Cream
Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare
Vitamin C Lactic Dewy Deep Cream
Why it is value it: Dullness, dryness, and uneven texture are frequent skincare issues, and Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Vitamin C Lactic Dewy Deep Cream is designed to deal with all of them. The standout ingredient, 3-O-ethyl ascorbic acid, is the simplest, stabilized type of vitamin C that penetrates deeply to cut back hyperpigmentation, nice strains, and wrinkles, whereas delivering a noticeable plumping impact. In the meantime, squalane, niacinamide, and lactic acid work collectively to strengthen your pores and skin’s barrier and forestall water loss, leaving your complexion smoother, softer, and dare we are saying dewy. It builds on the identical award-winning components because the model’s beloved Dr. Dennis Gross Vitamin C Lactic 15% Agency & Brighten Serum, which nabbed an Attract Better of Magnificence Award, for radiant outcomes that talk for themselves.
- Key elements: 3-O-ethyl ascorbic acid, lactic acid, niacinamide, squalene
- Who it is for: individuals with uninteresting, dehydrated pores and skin
Finest for Dullness: Kat Burki Vitamin C Intensive Face Cream
Kat Burki
Vitamin C Intensive Face Cream
Why it is value it: Enjoyable reality: Kat Burki is a scientific nutritionist who introduced her background in therapeutic and mobile regeneration to skincare, so it’s no marvel her Vitamin C Intensive Face Cream is a standout amongst derms. “Kat Burki Vitamin C Intensive Face Cream is deeply hydrating and comprises stabilized 15% vitamin C in addition to colloidal silver, which helps a wholesome pores and skin barrier,” says Claire Wolinsky, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York Metropolis. “It’s uncommon to discover a cream-based formulation of vitamin C skin-care as efficient and nourishing as this.” The wealthy (but by no means greasy) texture melts proper in, serving to to brighten, agency, and revive the pores and skin, making it a go-to for attaining glowing pores and skin with out irritation.
- Key elements: vitamin C, reishi mushroom, colloidal silver
- Who it’s for: individuals with uninteresting, lackluster pores and skin
Regularly Requested Questions
Which vitamin C cream is the most effective?
Search for one which pairs vitamin C with different elements. Vitamin C is its standout ingredient, sure, nevertheless it works fantastically alongside niacinamide. Whereas niacinamide works to fight hyperpigmentation, reduce the look of pores, and cut back extra oil manufacturing, vitamin C targets discoloration and free radical harm for smoother, extra even pores and skin, says Dr. Yadav.
Is vitamin C cream good for older pores and skin?
Briefly, vitamin C merchandise are nice for older pores and skin. Except for being a potent antioxidant, vitamin C has anti-inflammatory properties that stave off discoloration, brown spots, and melasma. The ingredient can also be liable for stimulating collagen manufacturing and works properly when paired with different finicky elements like retinol.
For these with pores and skin of metal, a better focus of vitamin C as an lively ingredient could be well-tolerated. Most remedies that fall into the ten to fifteen% vary, per Minnesota-based board-certified dermatologist Jenny Liu, MD.
Which topical vitamin C is greatest?
As a result of there are fairly a couple of completely different types of vitamin C, selecting the most effective type in your skin-care routine can get a tad difficult. Ascorbic acid (also referred to as L-ascorbic acid) is probably the most potent of the bunch, nevertheless it does include a couple of qualms—specifically, it isn’t all the time well-tolerated, particularly by these with delicate pores and skin, says Dr. Yadav. It is also notoriously unstable (a.ok.a. it is liable to oxidizing over time, which might have an effect on its efficacy), so selecting formulation which might be housed in darkish bottles and customarily storing them in cool, darkish locations is vital.
If you happen to’re liable to sensitivity however nonetheless drawn to the ingredient’s laundry listing of advantages, Dr. Yadav recommends in search of out tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, one of many gentlest types of vitamin C, as a result of it absorbs properly into the pores and skin whereas maintaining it moisturized, she says.
Lastly, ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate is “extra steady than conventional ascorbic acid in beauty formulations,” Joshua Zeichner, MD, director of beauty and scientific analysis at Mount Sinai in New York Metropolis, beforehand defined.
Meet the specialists
- Geeta Yadav, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and founding father of Side Dermatology in Toronto
- Patricia Wexler, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and founding father of Wexler Dermatology in New York Metropolis
- Samantha Fisher, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in Palm Seaside Gardens, FL
- Jenny Liu, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in Minnesota
- Joshua Zeichner, MD, director of beauty and scientific analysis at Mount Sinai in New York Metropolis
- Claire Wolinsky, MD, a board-certified dermatologist of Spring Avenue Dermatology in New York Metropolis
How we take a look at and overview merchandise
When Attract checks a product, our editors take a look at it from each angle in an effort to greatest serve you. We overview elements, scrutinize model claims, and, when mandatory, look at peer-reviewed scientific and medical research. Along with testing every product that is included in every overview, we depend on specialists who form their fields, together with dermatology, beauty chemistry, and drugs, to assist us vet the elements and formulation.
For our listing of the most effective vitamin C lotions, we thought of every product’s efficiency throughout 5 main classes: product elements and efficacy, packaging, perfume, texture, and product put on. Each product was decided to have excelled in every class by our editorial group, which consists of in-house writers and editors in addition to contributors—together with particular consideration from dermatologists. To study extra data on our reporting and testing processes, learn our full critiques course of and methodology web page.
Our employees and testers
A magnificence product is a private buy. You may be looking for a face cream to handle persistent dryness or a brand new nail product so as to add to your Sunday self-care routine; it’s possible you’ll merely be looking round for the newest launches to hit the hair market. It doesn’t matter what you search or your particular person wants and issues, Attract desires to make sure that you’re keen on something we advocate in our tales. We consider that having a various group of writers and editors—along with the wide selection of outdoor testers and business specialists we recurrently name upon—is important to reaching that purpose.
In any case, can we actually say a skin-care product is the “greatest” for individuals over 50 if the one testers we have solicited opinions from people who’ve but to hit 30? Can we actually deem a high-end diffuser worthy of your hard-earned money if it is by no means been examined on curls? We’re proud that our employees spans a variety of ages, pores and skin tones, hair textures, genders, and backgrounds, which implies that we’re capable of pretty assess any magnificence product that comes into the sweetness closet.
