Did you know? Retinal (short for Retinaldehyde) is more potent than Retinol! While all these Vitamin A derived ingredients are called Retinoids, they have completely different strengths. That is why percentages on products can confuse consumers. You can not compare a 1% Retinol serum with a 0.1% Retin-A cream. The Retin-A cream is much more potent- even though the percentage seems much lower.

It goes like this:

So, here are the best Retinaldehyde serums:

Expertly stabilized retinaldehyde at 0.11% concentration delivers prescription level benefits by helping to improve uneven skin tone and appearances of photoaged skin. And because retinaldehyde is also antibacterial, Moonlight can help with acne as well. Now, you can finally enjoy all the promises you have hoped from retinoids without the harshness.

3. Avene RetrinAL 0.1 Intensive Cream // Amazon 

Avène Retinal 0.1 Intensive Cream visibly reduces the appearance of wrinkles to shave years off of your appearance. Patented relastide is a pro-elastin peptide that fills in wrinkles and fine lines to tone and firm your complexion while vitamin E reflects free radical damage and protects against damaging sunrays. Irregularities are reduced, leaving a radiantly youthful complexion in its wake.

4. Murad Retinal ReSculpt Overnight Treatment // Sephora // Ulta

One of the most efficacious forms encapsulated in an exclusive delivery system for enhanced stability and targeted delivery deep within skin’s surface, allowing for 2.5x more effectiveness (vs. free retinal)—while still being gentle on skin.

5. PEACH & LILY Retinal For All Renewing Serum // Ulta

Retinal For All Renewing Serum, featuring patent-pending R-IQTM technology, is powered by a potent dose of 0.1% retinal, the most powerful non-prescription retinoid available, and ectoin — a revolutionary extremolyte that stops retinoid-induced inflammation before it starts. 

6. Youth To The People Retinal + Niacinamide Youth Serum // Sephora

This multi-effect retinal night (0.15%) serum uses the power of retinaldehyde (the most potent retinoid next to an Rx) to smooth textured and blemished skin, improve the look of fine lines and wrinkles, and brighten uneven skin tone.

7. Medik8 Crystal Retinal Serum // Amazon

Available in 5 Progressive Strengths! Ladder up your results with 5 available strengths: 1, 3, 6, 10, and 20. This is a great system to adjust your skin to Retinal.

There you go- these are the best Retinal serums currently on the market. Enjoy.

Here is what I had in my September Glambag by Ipsy!

1. Benefit the POREfesional Super Setter

2. hey Honey Show your Glow Colloidal Gold and Honey Beauty Mask

3. Kokie Gel Ink Dual Ended Eyeliner

4. Earth Harbor Marina Biome Brighenting Ampoule

5. First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream 

I’d say this is pretty cool for $13!

Here are my recent beauty empties!

Let’s start with skin care:

This is such a good facial cleanser! It lathers well and you only need one pump to cleanse your face. It is very gentle, but still strong enough to remove even makeup and mascara. Smells a bit like green tea to me. This bottle lasted me probably 6 month! A winner!

I ALWAYS include a Vitamin C serum in my morning skin care routine and this one is a great one. I have used up multiple bottles already. Vitamin C gets rid of any brown spots on your skin!

A very nice moisturizer with copper peptides- which are so amazing for your collagen production! Feels not heavy but is very moisturizing. It smells very strong like lavender- which I do not mind.

MY ABSOLUTE FAVORIT SCRUB IN THE WORLD! I will always have this in my bathroom cabinet! 

Here are my hair care empties:

I love this stuff! Smells good, makes my hair feel soft and healthy and the price is good too!

Here are my body care empties:

I enjoyed this. A fresh scent and it feels hydrating and works also great as a shaving gel.

I am surprised to see this is available on Amazon! Usually my good friend from Germany sends me this. If you love ginger, then you must try it. It smells so invigorating! Wakes you up in an instant. LOVE!

A very lightweight body lotion with a hint of Vanilla-  not overpowering. Really lovely!

So glad they came out with this new version. Same amazing Pina colada scent, not greasy but without the glitter of the original! My fave!

This is a good sunscreen, however, the scent is so chemical! Smells literally like plastic. 

This is a fantastic foot cream! Super moisturizing but without feeling heavy or greasy. Has a nice peppermint scent. Lovely!

Here are more miscellaneous empties:

One of my favorite foundations! Looks so natural. Feels very light on my skin and almost undetectable. Neither matte, nor shiny. The perfect middle of radiance. Great for mature skin!

Unfortunately I did not like this mascara. The wand is way too big for my small eyes and it smudged everywhere. I did not think that my lashes looked good with this either. I can only imagine this working for women with big eyes!

My favorite nail polish color (pastel blue)! I have already repurchased. 

After my favorite top coat was discontinued, I was on the hunt for a new fave. However, this one ain’t it! The brush is so small and the coat is too thin. 

I like how smooth this goes on- but the color “dark blonde” is still too warm for my taste. I have another one to use up but I am on the hunt for a cooler more ashy eyebrow pencil.

There you have it! All my beauty empties.

So, you are looking for the best dermaroller? 

1. The most important thing is that you do not purchase FAKE/IMITATION dermarollers that are made with wheeled discs, but instead a dermaroller with REAL needles. You might wonder, how do you know the dermaroller uses real needles though?

Easy!

If the dermaroller has 540 needles (or more)– it is 100% a FAKE dermaroller that does not use real needles. These can cause more harm than not and I would totally at all costs avoid them!

Once you get the hang of it how different they look, you spot it immediatly. 

I’ll show you a couple of fake/imitation dermarollers:

Do you see on each of these the line that is dividing the roller in different sections? Those are clearly stacked discs and not real needles. Often times fake dermarollers look metallic (top 2) or like solid plastic (bottom 2).

Now let me show how real dermarollers with real needles look like:

A real dermaroller has 192 real needles inside of a rubber roller- the rubber part is often see-through. Turquoise, blue but also yellow rubber are common. The roller- head does not look metallic or like solid plastic. Do you see it?

2. The other difference of dermarollers to consider is from which material the needles are made: titanium or stainless steel. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Titanium needles are more durable and they stay longer sharp. However, stainless steel is more sterile than titanium! I think you can not go wrong with either one though. Keep it clean, have your rubbing alcohol ready to disinfect and throw the dermaroller out if it feels like it got blunt.

3. The needle length is another important thing to consider!

• 0.25mm: a good starter for the face, especially the under-eye area to treat fine lines wrinkles- can be done every 2 days if your skin allows it.
• 0.5 mm: if you are used to 0.25, use this up to 1x/week on your face 
• 0.75 mm: if you are ok for a while with the 0.5mm you could try this every 3 or 4 weeks.
• 1.00 mm: for the pro: no more than every 4 weeks!

Honestly I do not recommend to go deeper than 1.00mm yourself. Go see an esthetician.

Here are my recommondations of the best dermarollers:

1. Angel Kiss 192 Derma Roller REAL NEEDLES // Amazon

2. INCELLICE Derma Roller Professional Microneedle Roller // Amazon

3. Derma Microneedling Roller Real Needle MOOKARDILANE // Amazon

4. Derma Microneedling Roller 192 Real Individual Needles Stainless Steel by MOOKARDILANE // 

5. ZGTS Derma Roller Micro Needle – 0.25MM 192 Needle Titanium Luxury Roller // 

Happy dermarolling!

Disclaimer: Contains Affiliate links. Read my full disclosure.

Here is what I had in my Ipsy Iconbox in November 2023:

Get the ICON BOX with 8 full-size beauty products for only $58/quarter.

Here is what’s in my November Ipsy Boxycharm:

1. ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS Satin Lipstick 
2. L OCCITANE Shea Light Comforting Face Cream
3. GLOSS MODERNE Clean Luxury Body Creme in Universelle
4. LAPALETTE BEAUTY Hydra Blue Petal Serum Toner
5. ALAMAR COSMETICS Destino Eyeshadow Palette

Here is what’s in my November Ipsy Glambag:

1. SUTRA Heat Guard Leave-In Cream
2. BENEFIT COSMETICS 24-HR Brow Setter Clear Brow Gel
3. BEAUTY FOR REAL Perfect Perfection Concealer Brush
4. ESTATE COSMETICS Most Wanted Lip Balm
5. SONÄGE SKINCARE Hydrating Mist

Disclaimer: I received the products mentioned above for free. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. Contains Affiliate links. Read my full disclosure.

Looking for some amazing Black Friday deals at Ulta? Here are some of my favorites that are ON SALE right now! Get them before they are gone!

One of the best foundations for mature skin! I also bought a backup today.

I just did a makeup look with this palette over on Instagram. Love the shades! Mostly natural colors with a couple pops of color like that metallic blue! 

I love this because it blurs fine lines and pores and feels like silk. Great for everyday!

One of my all-time favorite leave-in hair conditioners.

There you have my best recommondations what to buy at the Ulta Black Friday Sale! You are welcome.

Disclaimer: Contains Affiliate links. Read my full disclosure.

Do you want to get Tretinoin (aka Retin-A) online without a prescription? I hear you! Here are the best websites, including a price comparison, so you know which one is the cheapest! Tube sizes also vary a lot. Some sites charge a consultation fee- others don’t, so calculate wisely!

1. Redbox RX

$20/month + free shipping (billed as $60/3 months) 

+ $20 consultation fee

tube size: 45ml 

2. Rory: 

$21.50/month + free shipping (billed as $43/2 months with first order.)

$29/month + free shipping (billed as $58/2 months with 2nd order)

tube size: 45ml

3. Apostrophe:

$25/month + free shipping (billed as $75/3 months)

+ $20 consultation fee

tube size: 21ml

4. Reliable RX (online pharmacy in India!)

$10/ 1 tube  + $18 shipping (billed as $28) 

$26/ 3 tubes + $18 shipping (billed as $44) GREAT DEAL!

$48.50 /6 tubes + $18 shipping (billed as $66.50)

tube size: 30ml

5. Hers

$29/month + free shipping

tube size: 15ml? (reddit info- not confirmed)

6. Curology

$29.95/month + free shipping (billed as $59.90/2 months)

or $5 trial (1 month- 12ml)

tube size: 24ml

7. Nurx

$30/ month + free shipping (billed as $90/3 months)

+ $30 consultation fee

tube size: 20ml

8. Agency 

$40/month + free shipping (billed as $80/2 months)

30 day trial – just pay shipping $4.95

tube size: 24ml

So there you have the best places to get Tretinoin online! Do you know another website that you can recommend? Let me know!

I started using the GrandeLash-MD Lash Enhancing Serum 3 months ago and these are my results! I am so happy with the results and definitely see a major improvement. My lashes have not only gotten much longer, but also fuller! Applying mascare is so much more fun these days!

Here is a before/after pic without mascara and even here you can clearly see the results. I went from barely any lashes to actual lashes. This is despite the fact that I have not even used this serum every single day! 

A couple of side effects I noticed: 

Sometimes my eyes would feel a bit dry, at other times I noticed that my under-eye area would get darker (brown specks- which is unusual for my under-eye area that usually tends to get either blue or purple). I also have noticed sometimes that my upper lid would become red and a little irritated. 

If any of these side effects would happen, I always skipped the next day the serum. 

I have also noticed, that I would get really long lashes on the inside of my tear duct- which looks a bit weird, so I plucked them out (which was a major ouch). I try to be very careful not to get any serum on that area, so this will hopefully not happen again.

A couple of tips:

I have bought the mini size 2x (which is supposed to last 6 weeks, but because I do not use it every day, it lasts much longer). For hygienic reasons I would personally not go for the larger tube! 

If I notice that some of the serum gets on my lower lashes, I wipe it immediately of with a tissue (that seemed to help to not get brown specks under my eyes). I am also super careful that no serum goes ever into my eyes- it happened only once to me (when I wasn’t careful enough) which STUNG a bunch!  

Since I do like to have longer lashes on the outside corner of my eyes than on the inside, I have started applying the serum from the outside to the inside, so that most of the serum is applied on the outside (does this make sense?). Try not to touch the skin- only apply one thin layer right on the lashes- as close to the lash-line as you can, but without getting any serum on the skin.

Super happy with my results and I will keep using it (2-3x/week).

Disclaimer: Contains Affiliate links.. Read my full disclosure.

Here is a list of the best Vitamin C sera! I have tried out so many and it seems we get every year new formulations on the market (when I search ‘Vitamin C serum‘ on Ulta alone, I get 265 results!). 

While marketed as Vitamin C serum, they can contain different ingredients, such as: L-ascorbic acid, Ascorbyl palmitate, Tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate or Magnesium ascorbyl phosphate. However, I included in my best list only those, that contain L-Ascorbic Acid because this is the strongest form of Vitamin C- oh and also only the ones and that do not cost an arm an a leg (looking at you Skinceuticals)! 

However, L-Ascorbic Acid does have the disadvantage to expire much faster than the other -more stable formulations- that is why the packaging is important! You notice fast if the product has expired, because it will get cloudy, dark or brown or smell weird. 

However, I want to mention that L-Ascorbic Acid always smells a bit funny (and totally not like citrus or oranges)- to some it smells like “hot dog water”- personally I find it smells on my skin like metal/coppery (I have also heard people say it smells like cat food or coffee lol). So, do not get turned off by this natural ocurring scent- that is acutally a good sign.

Oh- why do you want to include a Vitamin C serum in your skin care routine? Because it will give you an even skin tone! It will brighten your face and get rid of brown spots. I swear by it for years and use a Vitamin C serum every single day and I think my skin is very even now.

So, here is my list of the best Vitamin C sera out there (in no chronological order! The best one is the one, that you use everyday!).

1. CeraVe Skin Renewing Vitamin C serum // Amazon // Ulta

This Vitamin C serum contains 10% L-Ascorbic Acid- great for beginners with sensitive skin! This is a thin yellowish serum- applies easy peasy. Let it dry before you apply more products.

2. The Ordinary Ascorbic Acid 8% Plus Alpha Arbutin 2% // Amazon

A great affordable solution that contains 8% Ascorbic Acid! This formulation is a water-free, stable solution, and may feel slightly “oily” for a few seconds after application, despite the fact that it is completely free of oil.

3. Neutrogena Rapid Tone Repair 20% Vitamin C Serum // Amazon

Each capsule contains 20% L-Ascorbic Acid, vitamin C in its pure form! The capsules contain a thin white lotion that is super easy to apply. I would not recommend this for sensitive skin.

4. Pixi Vitamin C CapsuleCare Brightening Face Serum // Ulta

I love these capsules that make sure the Ascorbic Acid is always fresh. The consistency is a thin light-yellow lotion that applies very easy. I have not found any info on how much  L-Ascorbic Acid it contains. I can tell though it must be a decent amount from using it as I could feel slight tingling. I truly enjoyed these capsules. Not for sensitive skin!

COSRX is a K-Brand that rocks. This serum contains 23% Ascorbic acid, Vitamin E and Hyaluronic acid. Great combo! This contains also oils, so it is moisturizing as well.

6. Timeless Skin Care Vitamin C Serum with Vitamin E & Ferulic Acid // Amazon

This vitamin C serum contains a blend of 20% Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin E and Ferulic Acid- therefore this is a affordable dupe to the now ridiculous expensive SkinCeuticals Vitamin C serum ($182 no thx ). Very thin water-like consistency that applies easy.

7. BeautyStat Universal C Skin Refiner // Amazon // Ulta

This Vitamin C serum is more of a very lightweight lotion- but I actually happen to like this a lot and I find it super easy to apply. It contains 20% Ascorbic Acid, Squalane and Tartaric Acid. This is STRONG so not for sensitive skin! 

I see some people complaining about the pump but I have had not any issues and I am on my second tube already. 

Update: Oops! Now it happened to me too, the pump quit working, but I found a solution! I placed the tube upside down and the pump worked the very next day again. I believe there must be air inside!

There you have it! My current best Vitamin C sera! What is your favorite Vitamin C serum?
 

Disclaimer: Contains Affiliate links. Read my full disclosure.

I ordered Tretinoin from an Indian online pharmacy- let me tell you about my experience! 

1 tube was $10 but if you order 3 tubes they were $26 plus $18 shipping- the total sum was $44. Not bad!

The system wants you to put in your doctors information and to upload a prescription. I filled out the information with a random doctor in my area, however, I did not upload a prescription and it still worked.

You can pay with Bitcoin, bank transfer, echeck, or money order. I did a bank transfer, so you will need your account number and routing number for that.

I put my order in on February 12th and my order arrived on February 28! 16 days- not bad at all. Throughout I felt well informed about the shipping progress.

To the product: I received Tretinoin by H&H Hedge & Hedge Pharmaceutica LLP (301, om Chambers, 123 August Kranti Marfg, Kemps Corner, Mumbai- 400 036.) and I have to say: I am very pleased with the quality, though it looks different than other Tretinoin creams I have tried. Usually they (the ones I have tried) have a yellow color and are more difficult to spread. This one is white, almost shiny like mother of pearl and it spreads so easy – like a dream honestly! I am using this Tretinoin now since March and I am very happy with the quality! My skin is loving it and I have had no issues (I am tolerating 0.05% very well and can apply it daily and only occasionally flake a little around my mouth. I will probably go for 0.1% when these tubes are empty).

H&H Tretinoin

Overall I can honestly say that I can recommend buying from Reliable RX Pharmacy. This was a very pleasant transaction and I have absolutely no complaints. I give it a big thumbs up!

Did you order from Reliable RX Pharmacy? Leave your experience below, so we all know if you were happy too! 

Disclaimer: This post is NOT sponsored, however, I am using an Affiliate link since I am very happy with Reliable RX Pharmacy. Read my full disclosure.