SKIN TYPE: I have dry-combination skin that is highly reactive to the elements, i.e. if it’s hot and humid, I breakout; if it’s cold or the weather keeps fluctuating, my skin feels tight and dehydrated—and I breakout. I have acne-prone skin that’s hard to keep balanced. | APPLICATION: First thing I noticed is that it stings. When I have breakouts that are still healing, this serum feels like little pin pricks on my face. I have a decently high pain tolerance so I don’t really mind, and the sensation goes away after the formula absorbs, but take note if you’d like to avoid experiencing that at all. It also made my skin a bit sensitive during the first few days. As in, if tiny dust particles would land on my face, I would feel it there and it would make my skin itch. The sensitivity went away after I started pairing the serum with a calming moisturizer. I think my skin just needed time to adjust to the concentration. For the first week, I used this serum almost every night, but I switched to an every-other-night schedule after experiencing a bit of redness. Again, the calming moisturizer helped with that, as well as spacing out applications throughout the week. This method worked best for me: the formula didn’t sting as much, the oversensitivity calmed down, and my skin had an easier time adjusting. | TEXTURE & SMELL: The serum feels halfway between water and oil, but it doesn’t separate. It absorbs fast and feels ever-so slightly thicker than your average toner. I apply this all over my face and wait about a minute before applying any lotions or moisturizers on top. I know some dermatologists say you don’t really need to wait, but with this, it really felt like it would just slide or lift off my skin if I don’t give it time to absorb. It doesn’t have much of a smell when I’m sniffing it from the bottle, but it has a mild scent on my skin. It’s not quite a chemical smell, nor is it sour or metallic (which are bad signs). I’ve read up on vitamin C and some people describe its smell as similar to “hot dog water,” because of the ascorbic acid. I believe that’s in the vicinity of what I’m smelling. It’s not really unpleasant, but heads up if you’re picky about smells. | EFFECTS: The reason I can forgive the sensitivity and stinging I experienced is because this stuff *really* works for me. First, I haven’t experienced any breakouts or bumpy texture, which is what usually happens when my skin doesn’t like an ingredient or formula. Second, it made my face glow literally the morning after my first use, and it’s been improving my dullness ever since. Third and most importantly, it’s been doing wonders for my acne scars, dark spots, and excess oil, which is why I wanted to try this in the first place. I have regular hormonal breakouts, but this managed to keep them to a minimum throughout my most recent period. It made me less oily, which made my skin less prone to acne. But what it’s done for my dark spots and texture are really impressive—they’ve been steadily improving over the last few weeks, all thanks to this. My skin looks and feels so much healthier with this in my routine and I’m glad I gave it a chance. The high concentration might give you pause, but if you ease your skin into it and have a calming moisturizer ready to pair it with, it’s well worth testing out for yourself. I feel like I won the raffle, finding a powerful vitamin C serum that’s actually compatible with my skin. Maybe this one’s your winning ticket, too.