Vitamin C Edit: Brightening Skincare Solutions

Whenever anyone mentions Vitamin C, I get flashbacks to my mum’s claims that even when ill, a Vitamin C tablet can cure it all. But whilst that may not be the case (sorry, Mum..) Vitamin C is one of the best skincare ingredients - offering a whole host of benefits when added into your routine.

A hero ingredient, Vitamin C is an antioxidant, can boost collagen production, defend against free radicals, reduce inflammation and leave skin brighter and with reduced pigmentation. Often found in the form of a serum, Vitamin C is best applied underneath makeup. Because of its brightening and resurfacing properties, I’d always suggest wearing a high SPF on top of it to avoid sun damage or redness. And as with all new skincare, you may experience a bit of redness as your skin adjusts.

Finding the right Vitamin C product can be so tricky, which is why I’m sharing my top 3 offerings currently out there, that will hopefully sit naturally in your skincare routine. (Sidenote: please only use one Vitamin C product at a time - if you try layering them, you’ll destroy your skin! By all means, try more than one, just don’t use 3 in one go. Please, I beg of you.)

PIXI Vitamin C Tonic is one of the few Vitamin C products I’ve seen that hasn’t been in a serum - and I very much appreciate how easy it is to apply. Combined with Ferulic Acid in a brightening formula, PIXI’s toner gives a satisfying skin tingle, leaving skin feeling refreshed and glowing. I love using this in the morning as it leaves my skin looking incredibly fresh. I tend to reach for this when I’ve used a AHA based night serum to avoid over-exfoliating.

The first Vitamin C serum I tried was the Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum (gifted) - this is a bizarre delight. Strangely sticky, this feels so strange to apply to the skin, but it’s the product that I’ve noticed the most change in the shortest amount of time. I apply two pumps of this in the morning, pressing it into the skin until most of the tackiness has gone away. Because this is such an unusual sticky formula, I only use this in the morning as if I wear it at night, it picks up pillow fluff. Although this doesn’t give the same tingle as the PIXI tonic, it does still leave my complexion bright.

A slightly more bougie (am I cool now?) offering is the Omorovicza Daily Vitamin C Serum. Containing stabilised Vitamin C, this feels and looks more like a serum and has a creamy texture that sits really well under makeup. Enriched with Hyaluronic Acid, this leaves the skin bright and plump, so is a great option if you have drier skin. This is really expensive, but a little goes a long way.

Full disclosure, none of these options are cheap - but I have tried budget versions from big brands, and none of those have really worked (or have sat well under makeup) - so for Vitamin C, it’s worth the money. Trust me.

Have you tried anything with Vitamin C? Anything I need to try?