Garnier Vitamin C Brightening Serum

As a background, I have oily/combo skin that is prone to breakouts and acne scarring. I have tried a variety of products to get it under control and am still battling with it but things have definitely improved since my high school days.

Now to the product. I like the packaging. I think the glass bottle feels very luxurious and I love pipette droppers as they're just more hygienic.

The first thing I noticed about this serum is how strong it smelt. It's heavily citrus-fragranced so if you have sensitive skin, this might not work great for you. I've been using it morning and night for about 7 days but can't say that I've seen any improvement yet in terms of dark spots.

I do wonder if my skin is purging as I seem to be having quite a few small breakouts and blackheads. I think the serum is quite moisturising, it's not sticky but it does sit on your skin for a couple minutes before being absorbed.

I'll have to keep using it more before I see any noticeable difference but so far, I'm not hugely impressed. It's just like any other serum to me.

I am really enjoying this trial team, thanks Beauty Review!

The serum is a silky oil that's easy to rub in to your skin - it sits beautifully under moisturiser and makeup, with no pilling or balling.

It has a sort of scent, but I can't place it. It's not overpowering so don't be put off if scented skincare isn't your thing.

I like the functional glass dropper bottle and the box is full of information. It's very practical packaging but also pleasing.

I think my skin feels and looks better. It's softer, more supple and definitely brighter. I was worried this would make me look shiny but it doesn't at all.

Highly recommend, especially to those wanted an introductory serum.

I think this serum is pretty good for its price point. I am glad to see it it cruelty free too. I also like how the packaging sets out each ingredient and what each does.

I used it at least once a day for around a week, and I do think it made my skin feel refreshed and look a little more glowy.

The consistency is nice. It’s not too thin so it doesn’t dribble down your face, but it’s not too thick. It absorbs into my combination skin quickly.

I quite like the smell too, although I would prefer to use a product with no added fragrance. It just smells kind of clean, but the scent doesn’t linger (which I think is good).

I can’t say I noticed any anti-dark spot action as promised, so that is where this product loses points for me. Maybe I need to keep using it consistently.

I think I've been thinking of Garnier as the Garnier from 15 years ago - a young-skewing brand with ok-ish products.

I think everyone needs to get reacquainted with the brand - it's really, really good.

I love that Garnier are certified cruelty-free and seems to be making an effort to be more green, for example this comes in a recyclable glass bottle.

The Vitamin C Brightening Serum has Vitamin C, Niacinamide & Salicylic Acid in it, all ingredients I love, and yet I haven't used a product combining them all.

It's a very light, non-greasy serum that soaks into the skin. Looking at the product claims: - Immediately skin looks healthier and more radiant - I agree with this! It leaves skin dewy and soft. - From 3 days, skin appears more even, brighter and smoother - yeap I agree, - From 6 days, the density of dark spots appear reduced - hmm I think I noticed improvement to my dark spots around 10 days.

This is a reasonably priced, easy to buy, great serum!

This is a great product and I have had a lovely time using it.

I like the bright white, yellow and orange packaging, which is made of cardboard so is completely recyclable. The packaging also states to recycle the glass serum bottle meaning only the dropper is going to landfill. The packaging has very clear instructions, claims about what the product does and when you should expect to see results. I really liked the “What’s inside” section which lists every ingredient and why it is in the product which was very informative. I also love the clear glass serum bottle which is labelled clearly again with the instructions as well as leaving plenty of space to see the product and how much you have used. There’s nothing worse than not knowing when you are going to run out of something!

The dropper lid is easy to unscrew from the bottle and doesn’t leak but a lot of serum sticks to the outside of the dropper, so you need to wipe off excess product on the bottle rim before applying to your face.

The serum has a thick consistency and is cloudy white in colour. It smells slightly sweet, but I couldn’t recognise the scent. It reminded me of some of the Garnier sheet face masks.

The instructions are clear that you are to apply a full dropper of serum to a clean face before applying face cream. A full dropper easily spreads across your whole face using your fingers, but you need to allow a little time for it to absorb properly before applying any other products as it can feel quite sticky while it dries.

It is clear before and after I have put on my face cream on that this product gives you a dewy brightened appearance. Even after a bad night’s sleep this helps you look immediately more radiant. It also feels quite refreshing to put on.

I was glad to find that I didn’t have any skin irritation or reactions to this product which I have had with other vitamin c products – it’s clearly designed with sensitive skin in mind.

I have noticed a slight reduction in dark spots, but I think I will need to try it for the full 8 weeks to see substantial results. However, I don’t think one bottle would last anywhere near that long so you may need to buy 2 or even 3 bottles to get the full results.

I would highly recommend this product to anyone looking to reduce dark spots and acne scarring but personally would wait till the product was on special and buy two or three at once to get the full effects.

This serum is made by Garnier, so you know it has a reasonable price and should be easily accessible in supermarkets etc. It comes in a cute frosted glass bottle so you can see how much is remaining. The serum is smooth and thick, easy to apply from the dropper and absorbs quickly into the face. I don't like the smell - it smells like artificial lemon fragrance and is totally unnecessary. I would've preferred no scent at all! However even with the added fragrances there has been no irritation on my sensitive eczema-prone skin, which is a huge plus.

I haven't seen any noticeable difference in my skin in the past 2 weeks (I have a few dark spots from old pimple scarring that haven't faded yet), but maybe it requires more time. In terms of skin brightness, again I haven't seen a huge difference. I will definitely keep using the serum as it has no bad effects and may improve my skin condition over time

I went into this without having previously tried any of Garniers’ skin care, I more so associated them with hair care. I must say from the first try I was hooked! It smells amazing. Has a dropper applicator to make life easy. Has the expected consistency of a serum but didn’t run all down my face like other serums have. I’ve now used it every day, morning and night, I find I wake up in the morning and my skin feels very fresh and bright. I’ll be using this in my regular routine from now on!

I was fortunate to be able to trial the Garnier Skin active Vitamin C Anti-dark spot serum. I definitely think the serum had a brightening effect and worked to reduce some dark spots around my chin from acne scaring, although I have a brown pigmentation spot on my cheek I was hoping to fade but it didn't have much of an effect on that. The product did leave my skin a bit dry although we are coming into winter so my skin has a tendency to do that. I also found I had no issue if I applied a Moisturiser afterwards. The product has appealing packaging and is easy to apply with the dropper although I used through a third of the bottle in this trial applying morning and night so I'm unsure if it is economical. The product has a slight floral fragrance and is the right consistency for the dropper. I will continue using the product as I am interested to see if it has further results.