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 was so excited to try this as my skin has been so dull and lifeless lately. But this did not really do anything for my skin.

It’s a cute little bottle and it smells like expensive skincare. Vit C products are all the rage at the moment so I was hoping this would really make a noticeable difference to my skin.

While it did feel nice on my skin and my skin looked glowy when wearing it once it was off my skin was dull looking again. More time trying this product out might lead to success so I am going to continue to give this a go.

Alright, so I'm going to start off with, it's probably only been 6 days or so of using this but I'm almost overdue a review apparently - which I truly don't think is long enough to give a proper review of this product. I don't have anything bad to say about this serum. Pre-using this, I've had probably the worst skin of my entire life so I feel like the timing could have been a lot better, but In saying that, I have chucked this on my face every morning whilst having the worst acne of my ENTIRE LIFE and to be honest it hasnt gotten any worse. I think so far it's actually getting a LITTLE better (although I probably can't put this down to the serum). I do believe that after 6 days, my skin pigmentation and colouring has become more even, and PERHAPS even slightly less dry (because oddly I have such severe COMBO skin that I have acne AND eczema), but again, I don't believe this is enough time to really tell what this is doing for my skincare routine. I will review again in another week and we can see what's going on then.

I was extremely excited to try this! How could you not want gorgeous glowy skin and those dark spots reduced?!

The bottle is a nice size. I like the use of the dropper. You’re supposed to use one full dropper and gently massage it into your face and neck. I found that a little less than a full dropper was best for me as it went really far.

The formula itself is nice and thin so it doesn’t feel heavy. It soaks into the skin relatively quickly so you don’t have that tacky skin feeling for long. It has a slight shimmer to it, also. The serum doesn’t smell like I thought it would. I imagined it would smell citrusy but it has a light clean and fresh scent.

I didn’t feel that it improved my skin in any way unfortunately. I had stopped using my other serums and toners to see if there was a difference. My dark spots/old scars stayed the same and I didn’t feel there was an improvement in my skin texture.

My skin did look a little brighter and felt slightly less oily so that was a plus!

Overall, I’m not super sold on this serum. It definitely has its pro’s & con’s and I prefer my other products

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 have enjoyed trialing this serum over the past week and a bit. Although I have definitely noticed my skin looking brighter since I began using it, I don't think it has done as much for my skin as it advertises.

It comes in a glass bottle with a little dropper, and I wasn't expecting a Garnier product to come in a glass bottle so I was pleasantly surprised by this.

The directions state to use a full dropper on your skin in the morning and the evening. I definitely felt like this was too much product for my skin, so I played around with using different amounts. I think 3 drops worked the best for me.

It has quite a thin consistency and a reasonably strong scent. It is rather perfume-like, so I would avoid this if you dislike having fragrance in your skin care routine.

Overall, I would say it is a nice introduction to vitamin C serums, and I will definitely be exploring these more in the future to find one that suits my own skin care routine better.

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

The serum has a lovely, smooth texture and glides along the skin leaving behind no residue. My skin is noticeably smoother and does look clearer, however, I cannot get passed the fragrance- it’s a wonderful smell but is way too strong for me. If they toned it down, I would like this serum a lot more!!

I got a bottle of this in the last Beauty Vault opening. I normally use one from The Ordinary, so it was interesting to compare. This is in quite a larger than average bottle. I like that you can see the level of the product. The liquid is of average serum consistency and is an opaque white. Lightly scented. It comes with a dropper dispenser. I use one full dropper and pat into my face, neck and decolletage every morning and leace for a couple of minutes to absorb, before applying spf. I can't say that I have noticed any overtly 'brightening' of my skin, or lightened of any sunspots...but I have noticed a subtle change and it is a pleasant product to use. The inclusion of salicyclic acid would make it great for blemish prone skin, but also increases sun sensitivity. I will.probably stick to my The Ordinary one, although more expensive, it seems to have more of a 'kick' for my ageing skin.