PRODUCT REVIEW: NATURIUM VITAMIN C COMPLEX SERUM - BEST VITAMIN C SERUM, BEST BRIGHTENING SERUM
NATURIUM | VITAMIN C COMPLEX SERUM
This product review was originally part of my blog article titled, My Top Vitamin C Picks Fw21: New Vitamin C Serums I’m Crushing on from Algenist, Naturium, Goop Glow 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 Vitamin B3, or Niacinamide. Both are indispensable antioxidants — and much, much more. In the case of a good Vitamin C treatment, it can be one of the best anti-aging serums in your arsenal.
Yes, like sunscreen, antioxidants are anti-aging. And you can’t get enough of them in your skincare and in your skin.
Back in my time working at Kiehl’s as the company’s first-ever copywriter, the marketers didn’t understand the value of antioxidants. In fact, no one really did. Antioxidants like Vitamin C were considered “preventable”; that is, they prevented signs of aging. They were marketed to young women in their 20s. As if everyone at every age isn’t interested in preventing signs of aging. We all know it can get worse!
What Are Antioxidants and What Do Antioxidants Do for Skin?
Antioxidants possess numerous benefits for the skin, including preventing skin damage and multiple signs of aging. There’s an excellent article from the experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team titled, How Antioxidants Fight the Signs of Aging that you can catch here. This is what I found most insightful:
Antioxidants for Skin Benefits
Antioxidants play a unique role when it comes to diminishing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Years of environmental damage (including unprotected sun exposure—one more reason to apply that broad-spectrum sunscreen!) slowly chip away at skin’s natural ability to look and feel healthy. As this damage builds up, skin gradually loses its ability to recover and bounce back as it once did. It’s not an exaggeration to say that after years of damage, skin becomes overwhelmed, and its “look young systems” begin to slow down.
Antioxidants in skin care step in to help shield skin’s surface from further deterioration by calming stressed skin and defending against the visible effects of pollution —something all of us encounter on a daily basis.
What happens as a result of applying antioxidants to your face is truly impressive: Skin’s appearance begins to turn around! It regains a firmer feel and more even skin tone—and those wrinkles you’re probably not fond of will visibly soften.
The Best Vitamin C Serums and Face Creams
Until very recently, Vitamin C was perhaps the most under-appreciated of all skincare ingredients. Mainly because it seemed to be old news. And marketers don’t push what’s old; they spend their marketing dollars on what’s new, fresh, sexy and innovative — whether it works or not. Their job is to make you believe what they’re pushing does.
Not so long ago, antioxidant Vitamin C was really tough to formulate with. It’s been nearly impossible to keep high levels of Vitamin C 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 that Vitamin C has to offer.
Right at the start of summer, I published my first article of the year on my favorite Vitamin C serums of 2021 in a piece titled, Collab with Antonio Jefferson Studio: New Vitamin C Serums I’m Crushing on from Wander Beauty, Glossier, Kat Burki and More – which you can catch here. It was a collection of the latest and greatest Vitamin C serums, brightening face oils, anti-aging lotions and I’d say, the best dark spot treatments out there.
COLLAB WITH ANTONIO JEFFERSON STUDIO: NEW VITAMIN C SERUMS I’M CRUSHING ON FROM WANDER BEAUTY, GLOSSIER, KAT BURKI & MORE
Among my top picks were some of my favorite brightening Vitamin C serums to this day, the turmeric-infused Beautycounter Counter+ All Bright C Serum, the Wander Beauty Sight C-er Vitamin C Concentrate and Glossier Super Glow Vitamin C + Magnesium Serum — one of the best Vitamin C serums for oily skin.
Also in the mix were the Kat Burki Retin-C Treatment Complex and Algenist Blue Algae Vitamin C Dark Spot Correcting Peel — a really wonderful brightening peel that’s perfect for reinvigorating your complexion on #selfcaresunday.
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. 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.
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. 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. This synergy of mitigating problems both before and after they occur makes vitamin C a force to be reckoned with.
When and How to Use Vitamin C in Your Skin Care Routine
All forms of vitamin C mix well and layer with other skin care ingredients, including exfoliating acids and other vitamins and antioxidants, such as retinol and niacinamide (11, 12).
Vitamin C can be used twice daily, both morning and night. After cleansing, toning and exfoliating, apply the rest of your products in order from thinnest to thickest texture (commonly: serum, moisturizer, treatments). During the day, always finish with a moisturizer with broad-spectrum SPF 30 or greater.
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MY 2021 VITAMIN C PICKS + THE BEST VITAMIN C SERUMS TO BRIGHTEN UP THE COMPLEXION!
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With the understanding that Vitamin C can be a real game changer for your skin health (and your complexion!), let’s take a look at five of the best Vitamin C serums that I’ve been crushing on over the last several months.
Meet one of my top picks of Vitamin C serums for FW21…
Naturium | Vitamin C Complex Serum
If you haven’t tried Naturium yet, I’m honored to introduce you to the brand! Naturium is a clean, affordable (make that super affordable!) skincare brand with the kind of “single-note” serums that have been popularized by brands like The Ordinary, Good Molecules and The Inkey List.
If you want to know more about this curious little brand that popped up out of nowhere, I found a great deep-dive into Naturium on the Allure website titled, 9 Naturium Skin-Care Products Our Editors Can’t Get Enough of.
Here is an excerpt:
Because the options are endless, consumers are becoming more discerning, more educated, and as a result, more determined to find products that actually work (and won’t cost them their entire rent check). It makes sense, then, why scientifically-backed, highly-effective, yet affordable brands like Naturium (available at Target) are finding huge success among skin-care newbies and devotees alike.
“Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen the interest in easy-to-digest skin-care education and results-driven products increase on social media,” Susan Yara, co-founder of Naturium, tells Allure. “What seemed to be lacking from the market was a brand that offered the education and the results, paired with elegant, well-rounded formulas and packaging at an accessible price.”
Yara should know — she’s been a popular beauty content creator for years, reviewing hundreds of skin-care products on her YouTube channel and listening closely to what her viewers were looking for to complete their skin-care regimens. “That’s what we offer with Naturium. Everyone that buys from us knows our products will work well, feel great, and fulfill our mantra that skin-care is self-care.” Naturium’s advising board-certified dermatologist Dr. Alexis Stephens supports Yara’s claim. “I like that Naturium makes highly effective, beautifully formulated products feel more accessible to everyday consumers. They use ingredients that are proven to help even skin tone, decongest pores, and encourage healthier skin in general. There’s a product that works for everyone,” Stephens tells Allure.
Over the last several weeks, I’ve been exploring several of the brand’s most popular, affordably priced serums. Not surprisingly, the Niacinamide Serum 12% Plus Zinc 2% is a personal fave.
With a solid 12% concentration of antioxidant Niacinamide, the Niacinamide Serum 12% Plus Zinc 2% has a silky, ever-so-slightly sticky texture. It makes sense since the formula pairs Niacinamide and Zinc — an ingredient with potential for regulating sebum in oily skin. It’s not off-putting and I really love the simple efficacy of the product.
PRODUCT REVIEW: NATURIUM NIACINAMIDE SERUM 12% PLUS ZINC 2% - BEST NIACINAMIDE SERUM FOR OILY SKIN,
Next up in my Naturium journey, I thought I’d give the brand’s three Vitamin C serums a try, starting with Naturium’s Vitamin C Complex Serum. It’s a water-based Vitamin C serum powered by a duo of pure Ascorbic Acid and the Vitamin C derivative, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate.
Notably, the Vitamin C Complex Serum formula also contains a healthy dose of Glutathione, a powerful antioxidant naturally produced by the body. At higher concentrations, Glutathione has a characteristic sulfuric odor, something Naturium has somehow managed to avoid here.
What is Glutathione?
According to the experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team, Glutathione is a “powerful, non-enzymatic antioxidant which naturally occurs in the skin where it serves to help defend it against the visible effects of environmental damage. The gradual decline of the natural supply of glutathione in the body is believed to be a key marker of many outward signs of aging. Glutathione is a tripeptide comprised of three amino acids (cysteine, glutamic acid, and glycine), which work in unison to offer skin-restoring and brightening benefits when used in topical products.”
From my deep-dive of the formula’s INCI, I surmise that Naturium’s Vitamin C Complex Serum is formulated with a 5% concentration of Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate. It’s ingredient number four, just ahead of Ascorbic Acid. By my estimation, the two combine for a 10% total concentration of brightening Vitamin C.
As you may know, there are multiple forms of Vitamin C available for use in skincare products. You’ve likely seen them in your ingredient lists. Some of the best Vitamin C serums for face are formulated with the purest form of Vitamin C, L-Ascorbic Acid, or just Ascorbic Acid. It’s the gold standard.
But there are numerous derivatives of Vitamin C that are just as effective at delivering antioxidant protection, brightening the complexion and even stimulating collagen production to plump skin from within to smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles on the surface.
But, some forms of Vitamin C can even do more. The Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate in Naturium’s Vitamin C Complex Serum is one of them. A compound of Ascorbic Acid with a phosphate and salt, it is considered among the best forms of Vitamin C for oily and acne prone skin.
Which Vitamin C Is Good for Oily Skin and Is Vitamin C Safe for Oily Skin?
There’s an excellent, thoroughly sourced breakdown of the unique benefits Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate from the experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team that you can catch on the brand’s website here. This is what I found most insightful:
Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate Description
Sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP, for short) is a stable, water-soluble form of vitamin C made from combining ascorbic acid with a phosphate and a salt, compounds which work with enzymes in skin to cleave (split) the ingredient and release pure ascorbic acid, which is the most researched form of vitamin C.
Just like pure vitamin C, sodium ascorbyl phosphate functions as an antioxidant on and within skin. When used in higher amounts, it can be effective for brightening a dull skin tone, smoothing wrinkles, visibly firming skin, and reducing discolorations.
The usual concentration of sodium ascorbyl phosphate in skin care ranges from 0.2–3%, an effective range to help improve skin’s environmental defenses and target lines and wrinkles, especially when paired with oil-soluble vitamin E for antioxidant synergy that improves the stability of both ingredients.
A 5% concentration of sodium ascorbyl phosphate was shown in a comparative study with the same amount of ascorbic acid to have equivalent wrinkle-smoothing and elasticity-increasing benefit to skin around the eyes.
Amounts above 3% are considered necessary to target discolorations, similar to the range research has shown ascorbic acid works within to target this concern.
There is also research showing amounts of 1% and 5% concentrations of sodium ascorbyl phosphate can influence factors linked to breakouts, likely due to its skin soothing effect. Thus, this form of vitamin C may be an effective adjunct to anti-acne products that contain benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid.
Along with other forms of vitamin C, it is considered safe as used in skin care products. This versatile form of vitamin C works in both water- and oil-based formulas without breaking down, but despite this impressive stability, packaging is still important. This is because such stability isn’t impenetrable, meaning ongoing exposure to light and air can still weaken its efficacy, although certainly not as quickly as occurs with pure vitamin C (ascorbic acid).
Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate References
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, January 2021, pages 174–180
Pharmaceutics, December 2018, ePublication
Annals of Dermatology, August 2015, pages 376–382
Chemical Society of Pakistan, March 2013, pages 1,096–1,102
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, June 2005, pages 171-176
International Journal of Toxicology, Supplement 2, March 2005, pages 51–111
International Journal of Pharmaceutics, April 2003, pages 65–73
At just $20, the Naturium Vitamin C Complex Serum punches far above its weight. Beyond its two forms of Vitamin C and Glutathione, the formula also contains numerous other antioxidants in the form of botanical extracts.
It’s a really well-rounded Vitamin C serum and with its air-tight pump packaging and opaque glass bottle, quite a good product that should retain its efficacy for the life of the product. Give it a try!
What I like about it: Naturium’s Vitamin C Complex Serum is a really well formulated Vitamin C serum with a smart blend of pro-skin health actives. And it’s just $20, making it super accessible to most people in the market for a solid Vitamin C serum.
What I don’t like about it: What I believe is a result of the oil-moderating zinc, the formula has a slightly slimy and sticky feel that may be off-putting to some. It does absorb well after a minute or so but the stickiness kind of sticks around.
Who it’s for: All skin types, but particularly oily and blemish-prone skins.
SHOP THE BLOG: Want to try it yourself? Purchase the Naturium Vitamin C Complex Serum for $20 here.
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THE YEAR’S BEST VITAMIN C SERUMS WITH PAULA'S CHOICE, SUNDAY RILEY, THE INKEY LIST AND MORE!
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The Ingredient List of the Algenist Blue Algae Vitamin C Skinclarity Brightening Serum:
sii|h 0 0, Butylene Glycol h|solv|vc 0 1, Ascorbic Acid aox|sb|buff, Triheptanoin emo, Pseudoalteromonas Ferment Extract 
so|h, C13-15 Alkane solv|emo, Parachlorella Beijerinckii Exopolysaccharides, Biosaccharide Gum-1 so|h, Bakuchiol cci|aox|amic, Beta Vulgaris Root Extract aox|h, Hydrolyzed Corn Starch h|vc, Sodium Hyaluronate sii|h 0 0, Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract, Corallina Officinalis Extract, Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract, Solanum Melongena Fruit Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Flower Extract emo, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil emo 0 0-2, Curcuma Longa Root Extract aox|so|sb|perf, Ocimum Basilicum Flower/Leaf Extract, Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract, Salicylic Acid exf|aacne|so|pres, Tocopherol aox 0-3 0-3, Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate vc, Sodium Citrate chel|buff, Phycocyanin aox, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil 
amic|perf, Tanacetum Vulgare Extract, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate chel, Potassium Sorbate pres, Caprylyl Glycol h|emo, Ethylhexylglycerin pres, Phenoxyethanol pres, Sodium Salicylate pres, Linalool perf, Limonene perf|solvThe Ingredient List of the Naturium Vitamin C Complex Serum:
sii|h 0 0, Propanediol solv|h, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate aox|aacne, Ascorbic Acid aox|sb|buff, Glutathione, Ananas Sativus (Pineapple) Fruit Extract so|h, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Fruit Extract, Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract aox|sb, Pleiogynium Timoriense Fruit Extract, Podocarpus Elatus Fruit Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice so|h, Sodium Hyaluronate sii|h 0 0, Carbomer vc 0 1, Tocopheryl Acetate aox 0 0, Phenoxyethanol pres, Caprylyl Glycol h|emo, Citric Acid buff, Hydroxyethylcellulose vc, Sodium Hydroxide buff, Beta-Glucan so|h, Potassium Sorbate pres, Hexylene Glycol solv|emu|perf|surf 0-1 0-2, Sorbitol h 0 0, Xanthan Gum vc, Algin vc 4 4, Benzoic Acid pres, Sorbic Acid pres, 1,2-Hexanediol solv, Sodium Benzoate pres, Disodium Phosphate buff, Gold col, Polysorbate 60 emu|surf, Sodium Phosphate buffThe Ingredient List of the goop beauty GOOPGLOW 20% Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Glow Serum:
aox|sb|buff, Glycerin sii|h 0 0, Dimethyl Isosorbide solv|vc, Pentylene Glycol solv|h, Propanediol solv|h, Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract aox|sb, Sodium Hyaluronate sii|h 0 0, Ferulic Acid aox|amic, Olea Europaea (Olive) Leaf Extract perf, Ziziphus Jujuba Seed Extract, Levan, Decyl Glucoside surf, Galactoarabinan aox, Sodium Citrate chel|buff, Xylitol h, Caprylic Acid surf|emu|perf 3 1, Sodium Hydroxide buff, Citric Acid buff, Phenethyl Alcohol, Ethylhexylglycerin pres, Potassium Sorbate pres, Caprylyl Glycol h|emoThe Ingredient List of the Replenix Vitamin C Pro Collagen Serum:
aox|sb, Cyclopentasiloxane emo|solv, Trimethylsiloxysilicate emo, Ascorbyl Glucoside aox|sb, Ascorbic Acid aox|sb|buff, Alpha-Arbutin aox|sb, Phyllanthus Emblica Fruit Extract h, Ascorbic Acid/Orange/Citrus Limon/Citrus Aurantifolia Polypeptides, Arctostaphylos Uva-Ursi (Bearberry) Leaf Extract aox|sb, Ascorbyl Palmitate aox 0 2, Purified Water solv, Orange Terpenes, Phospholipids sii|emo, Tocopheryl Acetate aox 0 0, Retinyl Palmitate cci 1-3 1-3, Superoxide Dismutase aox, Ubiquinone (Coq-10) aox, Phenoxyethanol presThe Ingredient List of the ALPHA-H Vitamin C With Grape Seed Serum:
h, Ethyl Ascorbic Acid aox|sb, Vitis Vinifera Seed Extract aox|amic, Sodium Hyaluronate sii|h 0 0, Sodium Citrate chel|buff, Citric Acid buff, Phenoxyethanol pres, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6 vc, Caprylyl Glycol h|emo, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract so|sb, Sodium Bisulfite aox|pres
