Mini-review: Paula’s Choice C15 Super Booster

As you know, vitamin C serums are one of the staples of my skincare routine.

I couldn’t find anything more effective to give my skin a glow plus a solid antioxidant protection!

But as I have already explained several times, it’s quite difficult to find a vitamin C serum that meets my demanding specifications.

In a vitamin C serum, I’m looking for:
– a liquid, non-greasy, water-based texture, for better absorption and effectiveness on my skin,
– a formula that contains vitamin C L-Ascorbic (I prefer this ingredient to its derivatives, which are less effective on me),
– a sufficient concentration of L-ascorbic acid (between 10 and 20%),
– ideally, I prefer when there are other antioxidant ingredients in its formula (vitamin E, ferulic acid…) to make it more stable,
– a formula with a pH of 3.5 or less to ensure better stability of the formula,
– a bottle that protects the formula from air and light (no transparent glass),
– a good price, and a decent quantity of product (ideally 30ml).

Reminder: If I’m so picky and have all these criteria, it’s because L-ascorbic acid/ vitamin C is certainly the most effective form of vitamin C but it’s also the least stable in a water-based formula (which is the case for a lot of vitamin C serums). And a non-stabilized formula has the opposite effect to what I expect from a vitamin C serum, which is mainly great antioxidant protection. A non-stabilized formula tends indeed to be pro-oxidant instead of anti-oxidant. Hence the importance of its stability!

Unfortunately, it’s quite difficult to find vitamin C serums that tick all these boxes!

Paula’s Choice is a brand I discovered quite late, when it became more accessible in France.

I already tried and loved their 10% Niacinamide Booster, so I decided to try their C15 Super Booster, which is their version of the vitamin C serum.

Ingredients Focus on: Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) products are everywhere at the moment. It’s not really surprising because this ingredient is really magic to give radiance to the complexion, the famous glow that everybody wants these days. But it’s also a very unstable ingredient that needs a certain environment to be able to deliver all its benefits. Read more

Mini-review:

I already explained in detail the philosophy of the brand Paula’s Choice in my 10% Niacinamide Booster review.

If I had to summarize it, I would say that the brand uses scientifically recognized ingredients in its formulas for better effectiveness (vitamin C, retinol, exfoliating acids, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, peptides, sunscreen…) and that they systematically discard any ingredient that may be irritating to the skin (alcohol, perfume, essential oils…).

You probably noticed it if you’re a regular BTY ALY reader, I really like this approach to cosmetics, especially the part on effective ingredients (for the so-called “irritating” ingredients, I’m a little more flexible than Paula, I have nothing against essential oils, I actually like them!).

I also like the idea of “boosters”, these treatments that you can add to your skincare routine to jazz it a little bit and to treat your skin when it needs it (or you can just do like me and use them all the time because #moreismore 😉 ).

I consider the C15 Super Booster as a serum and I use it every morning to give my complexion a glow and also to help my skin protect itself from environmental aggressions.

With its 15% vitamin C L-Ascorbic concentration, it’s supposed to be effective on dark pigmentation spots (but I don’t really have any, so it’s hard to give you my thoughts on this specific topic) and also on boosting collagen production.

For the boosting collagen effect, the results are visible in the very long term so I’ll probably talk about it again in ten years ?

If you check the specifications of the perfect vitamin C serum I gave you earlier, the C15 Super Booster is doing a pretty good job!

– its texture is liquid and non-greasy,
– it contains 15% L-ascorbic acid,
– it also contains vitamin E and Ferulic acid, and even a peptide and hyaluronic acid,
– its pH is 3.0,
– its bottle is not transparent (it’s an opaque white tinted glass).

However, when it comes to the quantity/price ratio, it’s not really the best… It retails for $49 for 20ml.

Not cheap for a product that lasts me a maximum of 2 and a half months, by using it once a day in the morning on my face and neck (I also apply it to the eye area as recommended by the brand).

Regarding my user experience, I appreciated it! I use it at the very beginning of my morning routine, before the rest of my products. It’s very liquid and absorbs quickly into the skin (it tends to be a little bit sticky, but nothing too bad).

It didn’t irritate my skin, despite its low pH, wasn’t drying either, thanks to its moisturizing ingredients (a peptide and some low molecular weight hyaluronic acid).

It also gave me good results on the radiance of my complexion, which is always good!

I also appreciate that it’s quite easy to find online. 

In conclusion:

I really like this C15 Super Booster from Paula’s Choice. Its formula is very well made, as often with Paula’s Choice products, with all the essential ingredients for a good result on the skin, and without unnecessary fillers.

But I still find that its price is quite high, especially considering its size (20ml). Fortunately, the brand often offers discounts so I usually wait for these to purchase it.

I must admit that I tend to prefer other cheaper vitamin C serums that I get delivered from the US (like the Maelove serum, for example).

That being said, I still enjoy using it so I would continue to watch for offers on Paula’s Choice’s website to repurchase from time to time ?

The Paula’s Choice C15 Super Booster retails for $49 for 20ml.