QRxLabs 5% Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) + Retinol Serum - Anti-Aging, Pore & Wrinkle Reducer - Fights Acne Breakouts, Fades Blemishes & Spots, Tightens Skin - Retinol & Niacinamide Serum

I just started using serums this past year, at the age of 69. Many people compliment my complexion. Here’s my twice-daily regimen:Exfoliate with VIC washcloth and warm waterTone with 50:50 Thayers Alcohol-free Toner with Rosewater:Vegetable GlycerineHydrate with QRxLabs Hydrolific SerumBrighten with Mad Hippie Vitamin C SerumEncourage collagen production with QRxLabs Niacinimide + RetinolSeal it all in with the purple Cerave cream or QRxLabs Squalane CreamI use all these products on my face, around my eyes, and on my neck. Over the course of the day, I may mist rosewater and glycerin on my face several times, if I start to feel dry. I always wear a broad brimmed hat outdoors.My theory on adopting retinol is to plump your skin for a month or so with the hydrolific serum before you even try the retinol. That stuff is great! I first tried L’Oreal Retinol, but found it awfully harsh for a beginner, even following the guidelines to break my skin in. I was able to adopt this Niacinimide+Retinol for daily use almost immediately, and then step it up to twice daily soon thereafter. I had a mild purge, mostly around my mouth. Now I just see benefits. I had previously reduced my age spots with a cream containing kojic acid. I stopped using it when I adopted this niacinimide+retinol.I really wish QRxLabs would provide this serum and all their other serums in plain dropper bottles. I hate their locking caps and the pump on this product. If the goal is to make their excellent products harder to use, they are succeeding.

I am very happy with this serum. It is light and sinks in my skin seamlessly. Slight tingling sensation lets me know that it's doing its job. I recommend this serum.

Assuming there's no false advertising going on, this is a very cost effective 1% retinol serum. Even if the retinol were a lie, it's a good price for a 5% niacinamide serum, so I figured I wasn't losing out on much if the retinol turned out to be a lie.I did have a very mild purge when I started using this (every other day for the first week, daily after that). Which was a minor miracle in itself, as I've never really purged from AHA or BHA. After a couple months of usage, my skin was noticeably smoother and my pores looked smaller. As far as the retinol claims go, it looks legit. I only harp in this fact because literally everywhere else, 1% retinol anything is incredibly pricey, yet this no-name brand does even better than The Ordinary at retinol pricing? Amazeballs.The serum itself has a loose gel texture that goes on almost like a dry oil. It dries down incredibly fast and tends to dry up any dampness from previous layers of skincare. It has an odd smell that my brain calls "medicinal," which is a terrible description, but I can't articulate it any better than that. The scent doesn't linger.It comes in a brown glass pump bottle, but not a very dark brown as it's quite easy to see how much serum you have left. The pump kind of sucks. Mine is hard to press and more often than not ends up shooting the serum all over my hands instead of a nice dollop on my fingers. One pump is enough for my face, but I have a small face and am not generous with application.My main beef with this formulation is the amount of hyaluronic acid in it. For the love of somebody, why does there need to be so much? It's the second ingredient on the list! No wonder it's drying up my skincare layers! I can't get enough hydration in my cheeks during the dry summer months, so they end up feeling dehydrated during the day. It's excessive and makes this formula not friendly to skin that is prone to dehydration or to those who live in dry climates.It's not hydrating or moisturizing, so you would only use this for the retinol and niacinamide benefits. It's oddly gentle considering the high retinol percentage, so it's a good retinol starter if your skin isn't sensitive. And since this is retinol, always remember to wear sunscreen!

I was a little skeptical because I’ve never heard of this company, but this serum has really good ingredients so I took a chance. I bought this to fade my acne scars and while I’ve only been using it for one week, I can already see a noticeable difference in the marks. It’s not a miracle overnight product but it’s definitely working (slowly but surely). This product does not irritate or sensitize my skin at all, even though I’ve tried applying it twice a day on some days. The first couple days I did have a minor breakout but the spots were extremely small and went away quickly with the help of the serum. I think this might have been just a slight purge, but I chose to stick I out and now my skin just keeps looking more and more clear. My skin is also looking brighter (probably because of the Niacinamide?) and smoother. I am 23 and I’m hoping that this will help prevent wrinkles. The other products I use with this are: CosRx Low ph Good Morning Gel cleanser, Etude House Soon Jung 2x Intensive barrier cream, and Cerave AM facial moisturizing lotion with spf.The product itself is very thin and soaks into my skin pretty much immediately which I like as opposed to being thick and sticky because I don’t have to sit there and wait a long time to apply my moisturizer before the serum dries. The bottle is opaque which is great for storing retinol.Hopefully with more time it will completely fade my acne scars so I can finally have clear skin! Everyone has different skin but I would definitely recommend trying this and seeing if it works for you. Just keep in mind that patience is key and good things take time! Don’t give up if you don’t get overnight results (trust me I wish there was a silver bullet product too) Just give it a chance to see the full effects, it can take up to 8-12 weeks for retinol to have its full effect on the skin.I will update this post in 3 weeks to tell you guys my 1 month progress with my acne scars.