Vitamin C Serums

Originally, my plan was to do the ultimate Vitamin C Beauty Battle (similar to my SPF Beauty Battle) where I would go through each one of these six and put them up against one another. But then I thought, that is going to take forever. So, I thought why don’t we just go through them all in one shot! We have six Vitamin C serums that I’ve used over the past two years. I have tried each of these individually and then moved onto a new one when I finished it up.

I have these Vitamin C serums ranked based on the results I noticed, the cost of each one and the quality of the ingredients. I also thought about where the actual Vitamin C ingredient ranked in the ingredient listing, because that makes a big difference in how the serum performs. Also, out of the six serums only two are considered Clean Beauty Vitamin C serums by my standards. Most of these I was using before I started my clean beauty journey and while I really love them I’m just not using them anymore. So that’s part of the ranking as well. So even though I might have really liked the product but if they were not clean, they may have fallen down to the bottom of the list.

I am going to start from number six and finish with my current number one Vitamin C serum. So let’s dive right in!

Pacifica Beauty Sea and C Love Vitamin Serum

Honestly, when I first started using this I actually really liked it. However, after a couple weeks I noticed that I really wasn’t seeing much difference in my skin. This is a smaller sized bottle so it went very quickly but at only $16.00 for a one ounce bottle, that is not too bad. One of my favorite things about this is the texture, it’s a gel texture so it absorbs into the skin very easily and very quickly.

My main issue with this one is that this is not a 100% clean beauty product based on my standards. As I have mentioned before, I have eczema and have foud that Phenoxyethanol causes my eczema to flare up. While the FDA says Phenoxyethanol is fine in small amounts, you can make a personal choice to use products with this ingredient. That’s a personal preference when it comes to your skincare routine. However, it does cause some sensitive reaction in my skin, so I choose to avoid it.

Vitamin C is the fourth ingredient so that’s pretty good. There are also a few other beneficial ingredients such as: green algae, green tea, and turmeric. I simply put this one at the bottom because the benefits were minimal and I choose to avoid Phenoxyethanol.

Pixi Beauty Vitamin C Line

Pixi Beauty actually sent me over their whole Vitamin C line to try when it launched. Their Vitamin C skincare line includes: a cleanser, toner, serum, a lotion and a Vitamin C mask. Now I do want to mention that no matter how brands market their cleansers, they are just going to be a cleanser. So for instance, a Vitamin C cleanser will not give you that much of a benefit because you’re putting it on your face and washing it off. So you’re not really getting any benefits from things like anti-aging cleansers, Vitamin C cleansers or Glycolic cleansers if you’re not leaving it on your face for a long enough time. This is why we get better results from products such as serums.

I really did like this line, although I used it before switching to a clean beauty skincare routine. My stand out products were the toner, the serum, the Vitamin C lotion and the mask. I actually really loved how my skin looked after using these products. I noticed an amazing difference in my skin as far as clarity and felt it definitely was brighter.

The Vitamin C serum is pretty affordable too, a one ounce bottle is $24.00. In addition to the Vitamin C this also has Ferulic Acid in it and those two work really well together for some amazing powerful antioxidant capabilities. My issue with the Pixi products are that they are not 100% clean. Pixi Beauty uses Phenoxyethanol in pretty much every product they formulate, so I have had to stop using a lot of the line. I definitely thought the whole line did an amazing job of brightening my skin. So if you’re not concerned with the use of Phenoxyethanol, I would definitely recommend checking out the Pixi Vitamin C line as the products are very affordable and I had amazing results.

Derma E Concentrated Vitamin C Serum

The Derma E Vitamin C Concentrated Serum also has Hyaluronic Acid in it, which is another ingredient we often see with your Vitamin C serums. In my first Beauty Battle video, I actually compared this serum to the Drunk Elephant Vitamin C serum and this one actually won. I chose this one as the winner mainly because I noticed a difference in my skin and this one was super affordable compared to the Drunk Elephant serum. In fact that is probably my most watched video on YouTube. I have the unpopular opinion that Drunk Elephant is overhyped and overpriced. While I don’t think the products are bad, I just think that they’re overhyped and overpriced.

The Derma E Vitamin C serum is a two ounce bottle that retails for just $19.99, which is super affordable! As far as ingredients are concerned, the Vitamin C falls in at the third ingredient and then your fourth ingredient is Hyaluronic Acid. So you are getting a bit more concentrated serum and you’re seeing those amazing results. I definitely noticed a difference with this one instantly

However, this one comes down to not being 100% clean. Like the previous ones mentioned, this does contain Phenoxyethanol. Minus that fact, this is definitely one of the best Vitamin C serums I have used.

Mad Hippie Vitamin C Serum

Next up we have the Mad Hippie Vitamin C! I recently did a full brand review of Mad Hippie products that you can check out here. In addition to the Vitamin C there is both Feurlic and Hyaluronic Acids. This has an oil like texture that is a bit heavier, but it does absorb really well into the skin. The one ounce bottle is about $34.00 so it is super affordable as well.

While this is 100% Clean Beauty, this one falls in the middle for me. While I like the texture and I felt like it went on really well, it only seemed to brighten the skin a little bit. I wasn’t super wowed by it. This is kind of in the middle for me. I don’t hate it but the next two serums just worked a bit more.

Acure Brightening Vitamin C Serum

The Acure Brightening Vitamin C and Ferulic Acid Oil Free Serum is the one I’m currently using and loving. This is tied for number one with the next serum. In addition to Vitamin C and Ferulic Acid this has some great anti-oxidants such as papaya, pineapple extract, and matcha tea. This has more of a cream like texture, so when you put this on it sits on the skin. It’s very thick but does absorbs into the skin after massaging it in.

I am in love with this serum and I’ve noticed a huge difference in my skin since I started using this. Skin looks brighter, texture is improved and it’s protecting your skin with all of the antioxidant benefits I mentioned in my previous Vitamin C post. The price on this one ounce bottle is $19.99 which is super affordable.

Biossance Squalane Vitamin C Rose Oil

Alright, time for my number one Vitamin C serum! Although, I would say this is more of a tie with the Acure Vitamin C serum above. The Biossance Squalane Vitamin C Rose Oil is one of the best Vitamin C serums I have ever used. I bought this as part of a discovery set when I traveled to LA back in November. Read my full review of all of those Biossance products in this post. I used all of those products exclusively for about month.

When I travel my skin tends to freak out, my eczema flares up, I start breaking out, my skin gets really dry and I get really puffy. But while using the Biossance products in LA, my skin looked the best it ever has. I’m dry and sensitive so facial oils tend to work really well for me. I tend to really like something that is thick and heavy, so the texture of this was perfect. During this trip and using these products my skin looked the best it ever has, despite traveling and dealing with the pollution and smog in LA.

The problem that I had with these products is that they are not clean, as three out of the four I tried had Phenoxyethanol. Luckily the Vitamin C serum is the only one that does not have that. The ingriedent listing for this is very little: Squalane, Mastic Gum, Rose Flower Extract, Vitamin C, and Triglycerides. This is definitely the most expensive of the serums I have tried; an ounce jar is $72.00. Based on the price, I just don’t know if it’s something I would use regularly, especially when there is more affordable options out there like the Acure serum, which I think does just as good of a job.

So that is my top 6 Vitamin C serums! I hope you have a favorite in here and if you have a Vitamin C serum you love, let me know in the comments below.