BIONIVA Natural Retinol Serum 0.25% – With Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamins C & E, Aloe Vera, and Jojoba Oil – Targets Fine Lines, Wrinkles & Uneven Tone – Fast-Absorbing, Vegan & Organic, 30 mL

This product really is excellent value for money. As some reviewers have said, it's not the strength of a prescription retinol product, but if you want a prescription anti-ageing product then you'll have to pay for a private dermatology consultation and a private prescription, so clearly you wouldn't expect to get a prescription-only product for this price. This serum does, however, compare well to pharmacy-brand and high street retinol serums in terms of effective, and is about half the price of most of them. As with any retinol, you would have to use it diligently and for a couple of months before you see noticeable results: retinol and vitamin C aren't really ingredients that work overnight so you'll have to be patient. As you'd expect from the packaging and price, this is a no-frills product. It's not scented or coloured, and it's a very thin, liquid formula - which is actually ideal for absorption but doesn't have the luxurious slippery feel of a beauty counter product. It comes in a plain bottle with a pharmacy dropper and is an unappealing yellowish-grey colour with a slightly medical smell. That said, it disappears very rapidly into the skin which for me makes it perfect for following up with a night cream or facial oil. I have oily-ish skin and have used retinols before, and I've never experienced any irritation from them. I have, however, experienced painful tingling and redness from other products with the same vitamin C content, and yet I got absolutely no irritation from this product. I've been using it every night for a couple of months and I'm impressed with its efficacy. The addition of hyaluronic acid makes it surprisingly plumping and hydrating given that it's not actually marketed as a hydrating product and my fine lines are definitely being kept at bay in the same way that they were by my previous retinols which were double the price. (If it's relevant/useful to know: my night-time skincare routine is hot cloth cleanser, glycolic acid toner and this serum, followed by Clarin's lotus oil for combination skin and in the morning I use a hot-cloth cleanser, a L'Oreal anti-ageing serum without retinol and an Olay Regenerist moisturiser with SPF30. I don't use retinol or glycolic acid during the day and I would swap my day moisturiser for a proper sunscreen in summer - sun protection is advised if you're a retinol user.)

I bought this product to try out. I have ultra sensitive skin which most creams and serums aggravate. I've used it twice only and a couple of people have remarked that my skin is absolutely glowing. One neighbour said "gosh your skin is so flawless, how do you do it ? " I am nearly 62 years old. I have suffered extreme eczema in my life. Nothing is worse than having eczema on your face with people staring. It is totally compatible with my skin which speaks volumes. I am delighted with this product and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone. I look after my skin and try to keep out of the sun due to photosensitivity, so that must help, but this product gave my skin a real boost overnight. I was quite shocked. My skin does look glowing. I've noticed it myself, after two applications. I rarely write reviews on anything, but in this case felt so strongly that I have. I do wish the product manufacturers would make it in a larger size for economic reasons. I want to use it on my hands too. FIVE STARS

I haven't been using this product quite as religiously as I intended but it seems a good product. The scent is not very pleasant but that is of course down to personal taste. The cream is absorbed nicely into the skin without leaving an oily residue, and leaves the skin feeling soft to the touch. I cannot state that I have seen a significant difference in the appearance of fine wrinkles but there is some improvement in the skin around my lips which appears a little more plumped than usual. I imagine that continued daily use would probably achieve better results than I have seen so far, but I am generally pleased with this product and will purchase it again.

I've been using Retinol for a few years now. It was first used by dermatologists as an acne treatment and they discovered that it erased the lines and wrinkles of their patients too. This was the headline on News at Ten. It's brilliant for breakouts and a clinically proven cosmetic treatment. There is nothing better. This is the best I have found over the years and the best value for money. There have been many times when I've been without it, and I do have some deep marionette lines which are reminders of that, but I am going to make sure that doesn't happen in future. I'm useless with selfies but I have tried to show that I have few fine wrinkles for my age, 70, and that's due to using Retinol I know.

The serum is fine - I'm just not sure of the strength of the ingredients - especially the Vit C content. I can't comment on Retinol as I haven't used it before. I didn;t notice vast changes but it did seem to give a slightly brighter complexion. I find a lower %Vit C product from Kehils works better (12.5%), which leads me to believe that either the 20% Vit C content isn't accurate or, if it is, it's not very stable and as a result less effective. At that price I guess it's an ok buy. I't ain't a miracle product and I could take it or leave it.

So far so good I’ve always found after using a cleanser my skin is dry but after re-emptying my skincare products using cleanser, toner ,and then serum and then cream. The serum has created a almost soft barrier between the cream stage and the toner stage, my skin isn’t dry anymore and I don’t feel the need to put another layer of cream on. I haven’t noticed as much of a difference with the colouring or balance of my skin but I have noticed a difference in texture and I don’t have as many spots or breakouts. I think this product has helped my skin drastically and has is slowly bringing my skin to one solid type. Are use this once weekly as I’ve heard you create a tolerance to it so it’s not needed to use every day and I found coming up to the day before I’m about to use it , my skin does need it, so it’s proving to me that it’s working and I’m slowly creating a tolerance.

Been using this for about 6 weeks now and am seeing a real difference. I used to have a load of colourless bumps on my forehead which have all but disappeared. I'm pretty prone to breakouts around my chin too. I got a lot of breakouts at first but they're getting less and less as time goes on. Retinol is supposed to speed up the cell regeneration of your skin so it makes all the spots under your skin that you don't even know are there yet come out to the surface, so if you break out after usuing it it's working. Also, I noticed that spots disappear a lot quicker than usual sometimes I'd have used it before bed on a spot that's just appeared and it would be gone by the time I wake up. It's got a liquid like consistency which spreads really well on the skin. I received some really nice emails from the customer support people once I purchased it with directions for use and a follow up too to see if the product was working well for me. I have really sensitive skin but I didn't have any adverse reactions to using it. So I didn't break out in any places I wouldn't normally break out. I will say that the skin around my eyes felt a bit tender for a while when I started use, but after a few weeks of my skin adjusting it's fine and there have been no negative side effects from this. I would make sure to use a lot of moisturiser after using this product as retinol can dry out your skin so you'll need it to minimise the dryness and peeling. Also, I has helped in my never ending quest to get rid of the blackeads on my nose. It seems to pull all of the dirt from the skin to the surface so for a while it looks like your skin is getting worse but then your pores clear up once all the dirt and oil is pulled out. They've gotten to a stage now where I can barely notice them at all. Like any product to work properly I would use it as part of a daily routine and not just alone as no product can really work alone! But this one is really good and does exactly what a retinol product should do providing you put in the effort of keeping to the usage routine and give it a fair shot for at least a few weeks/months as it won't work in just a day.

I have used this retinol serum for 2-3 weeks now. I have very sensitive, combination skin so was very concerned when I first bought it. This is my first retinol product ever. I'm using it in combination with the Bionura Retinol Moisturizer Cream which I bought at the same time. Here is my experience... Pros: - Is easily absorbed into the skin - No residue, no smell - Improved my skin tone (has lightened a few blemishes) in just 2-3 uses! - Cleared my complexion quite quickly - Has made my skin less dry after a few uses (but this could also be due to the other excellent serum I have started using) - Parabens and alcohol- free (Hallelujah!) - Comes in a dark amber coloured bottle with a pipette dispenser (which is my preferred option as it keeps things hygienic and there’s minimal wastage). - Received a nice little email from the Bionura team with tips and advice etc. - Good value-for-money Cons: - At first, it seemed a bit too harsh for my skin (had dry scaly patches after just 2 days of application) so I stopped using it daily. I currently use it twice a week... which means I have to use another serum for the days in between. - Does not include sun protection so I need to slather extra heavy-duty SPF on the next day. - Does not include Vitamin E (so need a separate serum again!) - Haven’t seen any improvements in fine lines and wrinkles so far. (to be fair, it's early days yet) - No indication whether the product can be used in the sensitive under-eye area where one often has crow’s feet and fine lines. Thus, I haven’t used it in the under/around eye area. Might have to look for another eye serum/cream! NOTE: I apply the 2 retinol products one after the other (on my face and neck) ONLY at night since our skin tends to be extremely sensitive to UVA-UVB radiation after the use of Retinol. (Dermatologists recommend not to use over-the-counter retinol/cosmetic products during the day, especially during summer or on sunny days). P.S: If you found my review useful, please click the 'Helpful' button below. Thanks and have a lovely day! :-)