- Hello, my name is Amy Clark,
I'm the Senior Editor here at Adore Beauty,
and you might recognise me from such videos
as "How to reapply sunscreen."
What else have I done?
Something I'm very excellent at
is comparing two serums that look the same
and seemingly do the same thing,
but explaining to them you why they're different.
You always hear about C E Ferulic,
like it's how good C E Ferulic.
So if you'd like to understand
why SkinCeuticals vitamin C serums
are basically the godfather of vitamin C serums,
what they actually do,
and how to distinguish between C E Ferulic
and Phloretin CF, keep watching until the end.
First things first, what is vitamin C?
Well, I'm glad you asked because Joanna has done
a whole video explaining exactly what vitamin C is
and what it does for your skin.
So listen, where are they?
Where am I pointing, here?
Generally speaking, top line overview,
vitamin C is an antioxidant ingredient
and its main job is to protect your beautiful face
from free radicals.
Free radicals are just little (beeps) heads
that try to cause damage on your skin.
You can find free radicals floating around
in the environment, smoking, pollution, as well as sun,
sun damage is a major form of free radical damage.
So essentially vitamin C is like the bouncer for your face,
it's gonna kick these free radicals out.
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
(imitates gun banging)
That's basically what vitamin C does,
that brilliant analogy actually comes
from Michelle Wong from Lab Muffin Beauty Science,
who is my amazing co-host on the Skincare School Podcast.
Just some more sciencey and far more eloquent explanation
of what vitamin C is.
Some common skincare concerns that are related
to free radical damage are just all the fun things,
you know, skin texture, the appearance of fine lines
and wrinkles, the appearance of pigmentation, glow.
So if you're after that glow,
vitamin C is definitely an ingredient
to add to your routine.
Another thing to know about vitamin C
before we get into the SkinCeuticals serums is
it's a notoriously unstable ingredient.
Vitamin C is very complex,
so that's gonna be important when we talk
about why SkinCeuticals serums
in vitamin C are so damn good.
Today, we're here for these two serums.
As I mentioned before, SkinCeuticals vitamin C products
are the godfather of vitamin C serums.
- [Man] Good.
- SkinCeuticals are actually pretty much one
of the first brands to come up
with a way to formulate vitamin C in a way
that you can get it in a serum, put it on your face
and experience all this glow.
Now for some story time.
Once upon a time, some scientists decided to get into a room
and think about how can we formulate vitamin C
into a skincare product
that can deliver seriously enviable glow,
be the best bouncer for free radicals that there ever is
without causing irritation.
They spent millions of dollars
and a long time researching vitamin C, testing it,
I don't know, I assume they mix some things.
There were test tubes and beakers and steam,
and I don't know whatever happens in a lab.
They came up with the perfect vitamin C formula.
The formula that delivered the vitamin C
at the perfect concentration to actually get the results
that you want, at the right pH for your skin,
so it wouldn't break your skin out or cause sensitivity.
So all of these things got packaged up
into these beautiful little glass bottles.
SkinCeuticals actually owns the patent
for this exact formula, and it means that other brands
can't actually copy that formula.
Well if they do copy that formula,
they're kind of breaking the law, it's a bit awkward.
And then these scientists thought, "You know what,
maybe we should start a skincare brand?"
And thus SkinCeuticals was born.
Now let's talk about the product specifically
and we're gonna start with the OG,
the one and only SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic serum.
This guy is consistently one
of the top selling products on Adore Beauty.
There's so many questions that come about this serum,
so let me try and answer some of them.
The first one is "Why is it so (beeps) expensive?"
Look, it's an excellent question.
And the reason why it's so expensive is you are paying
for the patented formula that has been clinically
proven to be effective.
It has so much research and evidence behind it
that this really is the gold standard when it comes
to a vitamin C serum.
"Okay, cool Amy, but it's still over $200."
I understand, I really do.
I actually used to hear a lot about this when I was working
as a beauty editor in publishing.
I was like, "Yeah, right, a serum over $200
is gonna change my face.
Nope, not doing it."
But then you try it, and once you go C E Ferulic,
it's very difficult to go back.
So what's actually in this?
The name kind of says it all, C E Ferulic,
it's got vitamin C, so L-Ascorbic acid
is the form of vitamin C, which is the derivative
of vitamin C that has the most clinical research behind it.
And that research actually shows that it needs to be
in a concentration of at least 10% to be effective,
but she needs to be at a certain pH to be able to
not irritate the (beeps) out of your skin.
So we need to have at least 10% of L-Ascorbic acid
and it needs to be formulated at under a pH of 3.5.
So it's a very delicate balance.
This serum has 15% L-Ascorbic acid,
so we're above the minimum of 10%.
And the pH is 3.2,
which is pretty close to the ideal 3.5.
So it doesn't really get much better than that.
Then we've got, C E, vitamin E,
L-Ascorbic acid's wing woman, vitamin E
and then it has Ferulic acid.
And Ferulic acid is another antioxidant.
And essentially together
these ingredients are like the Holy Trinity,
they are the like triad of great skin power.
They are The Powerpuff Girls, Charlie's Angels,
they actually work together to enhance the overall results.
So it's specifically in this dark glass bottle
to stop the product inside from oxidising.
If you have a look at the consistency,
I can't even believe I'm gonna waste a drop of this serum
just to show you the texture,
that's how much I love you.
So the texture is very kind of water-like,
but it also is a little bit oily
and we need to talk about the scent.
It stinks, but there's no way to sugarcoat it.
This serum has a very distinct scent,
some call it hotdog water, like walking into a deli,
I personally think it smells like a Christmas ham
that has been left in 30 degree heat for several days.
It's something you get used to with using this serum
because a lot of vitamin C products
have fragrances put in them to smell like oranges or citrus
but vitamin C doesn't actually smell like citrus.
That's just kind of part of the marketing
that we associate vitamin C with oranges
and orange juice and things like that.
I think it's a Testament to the fact
that we still are all obsessed with this product
and we put it on our faces even though
it doesn't have the most pleasant scent.
So where does C E Ferulic go in your routine?
I personally like to use this in the morning
because it makes the best
of its free radical fighting powers.
That's when you're out and about, you know,
you're kind of out and about living your life
and there's just free radicals all around you.
And you're like, "Ah, ah", that's what this is gonna do
when you wear it in the morning.
You can use antioxidant products at night,
but often there's just too many steps at night already.
So I applied this onto cleansed skin
a few drops in the morning on cleansed skin,
a little goes a long way and considering the price,
every drop counts, okay?
I like to press the product into the skin
and the texture does have a bit of oiliness to it.
So wait 30-60 seconds, then you can layer
any other products you want on top,
your hydrating serum, moisturiser, sunscreen always.
That's what you need to know about C E Ferulic,
but then here's the thing,
C E Ferulic isn't the perfect vitamin C for everybody.
(dramatic music)
It's perfect if you have normal to dry skin,
but if you have oily or combination skin,
you might find that C E Ferulic breaks you out
or it irritates your skin.
And so they made another one
called SkinCeuticals Phloretin CF.
Same price, same size, almost the same formula,
but with just a few tweaks to make this more suitable
if you have oily, acne-prone or combination skin.
So it still has the same form of vitamin C, L-Ascorbic acid,
but it's at 10% instead of 15%.
It's also still got the F for Ferulic acid,
so exactly the same amount of Ferulic acid as in this serum.
But the biggest difference is the Phloretin.
So what the (beeps) is Phloretin?
I've just prepared some notes earlier,
Phloretin is a flavonoid, it's basically it's a new age
antioxidant that essentially is really suitable
for that oily, acne-prone, combination skin type.
Texture is actually very similar.
Again, this is a very expensive drop.
Oh, that's like just withdrawing $50 from your bank account.
And so the texture is that same oily,
like light oily texture.
I describe CF, Phloretin CF
as being like spicy hotdog water.
There's a bit of paprika in here,
chuck some chilli flakes on that hotdog water.
Again, it's a scent you get used to,
to be honest, I've been using C Ferulic
for probably a year now,
and I've come to love the scent.
Is that some kind of manipulation of my mind?
I don't know, you get used to it,
and I personally don't think it lingers on the skin.
You apply it in the same way,
so in the morning on cleansed skin, just a few drops,
pad it in, let it sink in,
chuck your sunscreen on and Bob's your uncle.
So I think I've just talked enough about Cs and Es
and Ferulics and all of this jazz, but just to summarise,
if you have dry to normal skin
that isn't quite as sensitised, C E Ferulic is your gal,
got oily, acne-prone or sensitised skin, combination skin,
then your perfect SkinCeuticals vitamin C is Phloretin CF.
So we're gonna put all the links you need down here
in the description, but you know,
we've got some free radicals to fight, okay?
Come on girls. (imitates gun banging)
See you later.