Paula’s Choice RESIST C15 Super Booster: A Very Good Serum But Someone’s Not Practising What She Preaches

Paula's Choice RESIST C15 Super Booster 15%  Vitamin C Serum

Oooh first review for 2015! Ah … the little things that get me excited, eh? 🙂

The first product review for 2015 goes to Paula’s Choice’s RESIST C15 Super Booster. I’ve been having great luck with her RESIST Ultra-Light Antioxidant Concentrate Serum that, on a whim, I decided to give another serum of hers a go. I ran out of my Cosmetic Skin Solutions Vitamin C+E serum quite some time ago and thought that it was high time I give my skin a bit of Vitamin C goodness and brighten it up a little given that it’s been looking a tad dull the past number of months.

By the way, just thought I’d give you a bit of a heads up: if you’re expecting Vitamin C serums to smell like oranges, they don’t. At least, most of the good ones don’t. It may have the tiniest hint of a citrus scent but for the most part, they don’t usually smell very good.

Ingredients:
Water, Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C/antioxidant), Ethoxydiglycol (slip agent/penetration enhancer), PPG-26 Buteth-26 (emulsifier), PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil (thickener), Tocopherol (vitamin E/antioxidant), Ferulic Acid (antioxidant), Sodium Hyaluronate (skin-repairing ingredient), Acetyl Octapeptide-3 (cell-communicating ingredient), Glycerin (skin-repairing ingredient), Panthenol (skin conditioning agent), Sodium Metabisulfite (stabilizer/antioxidant), Triethanolamine (pH adjuster), Phenoxyethanol (preservative)

The Paula’s Choice C15 Super Booster smells exactly like Cosmetic Skin Solution’s Vitamin C+E Serum. The C15 contains a blend of 15% stabilised Vitamin C (that’s the l-ascorbic acid), antioxidant Vitamin E, ferulic acid and peptides that CSS’ Vitamin C+E Serum also has. In fact, both lists of ingredients are very similar to each other bar one or two ingredients.

Paula's Choice RESIST C15 Super Booster 15%  Vitamin C Serum

The C15 worked just as well as the CSS Vitamin C+E Serum. After a week of use, I noticed smoother and brighter skin (notice I said brighter, not lighter). A lot of the skin dullness I was experiencing had decreased significantly. The serum is very lightweight and not at all greasy, so oily to combination skin folks will find that suitable for their skin too.

The only gripe I have with the C15 serum is that it comes in a translucent bottle. Now I don’t have any issues of serums coming in those forms of translucent bottles. Heck, even the CSS Vitamin C+E Serum comes in a brown, translucent bottle. What I found odd and slightly disconcerting about this packaging is that it came from Paula’s Choice.

If you’ve read Paula Begoun’s books on “Don’t Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me”, “The Original Beauty Bible” and even her website, you’ll know that she complains a lot about beauty products that come in clear or even translucent packaging. According to her, in order to keep the ingredients working at its best, “packaging has to come in a pump, airless jar or an opaque tube with a very small opening to keep these important ingredients protected during the product’s lifespan and to allow your skin to reap the rewards”*. This serum comes in a translucent glass bottle that doesn’t come with a pump but a dropper. For someone who’s been preaching so much on the importance of good packaging, you’d think that this serum would come in an opaque bottle with a pump, wouldn’t you?

Paula's Choice RESIST C15 Super Booster 15%  Vitamin C Serum

At the end of the day, the C15 is a very decent serum. It works very well on my skin and is something I’d be to happy to recommend. Having said that, if you were to ask if I’d prefer the RESIST C15 Super Booster or Cosmetic Skin Solutions’ Vitamin C+E Serum, I’d say go for whichever one you prefer. I think they’re both equally good.

After currency conversion, the CSS Vitamin C+E serum is about AU$5.00 cheaper than Paula’s Choice but it is based in the USA so it will take some time for it to arrive compared to buying a very, very similar serum from Paula’s Choice Australia, which will arrive sooner. Bear in mind though, that Paula’s Choice’s C15 serum comes in a 20ml bottle whereas the CSS one comes in a 30ml bottle. So, taking cost per ml into consideration, the CSS serum (US$39.85 for 30ml) is still cheaper than Paula’s Choice’s.

Paula’s Choice RESIST C15 Super Booster serum retails at AU$55.00 for 20ml and is available Paula’s Choice’s website.

What I like about it: It’s very, very similar to one of my favourite serums, Cosmetic Skin Solutions’ Vitamin C+E Serum. Gives me smooth and bright skin.

What I do not like about it: The double standards in terms of packaging. Personally, I have no issues with translucent packaging for this sort of serums but for Paula Begoun who has preached on many occasions the benefits of using opaque packaging, I didn’t expect this product of hers to come in a translucent bottle.

Have you tried this serum before? What are your thoughts on the packaging? Do the double standards bother you as well?

*Source: Paula’s Choice on Jar Packaging: A Waste of Good Antioxidants and Money

UPDATE: Reader and fellow blogger Gio delved in a little deeper at Paula’s Choice’s website and found this explanation by Paula Begoun on the packaging: “A great deal of thought went into the packaging for this product! Because Resist C15 is a water-light liquid, a bottle and dropper-tip applicator were the only way to go for measuring the perfect amount per use while ensuring the product wasn’t messy to dispense. To protect the potency of the formula, tinted glass prevents UV exposure and an internal restrictor (when you pull the dropper out, airflow into the bottle is drastically reduced). In rigorous testing, these packaging safeguards were more than adequate to preserve the effectiveness of the Resist C15 Super Booster! For maximum potency, we advise using C15 Super Booster within three months of opening.”

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17 comments… add one
  1. Peta

    I had a really bad reaction to this one, it really set off my rosacea in the worst way! Also agree on the packaging.

    1. Tine

      Aww that stinks! Hope your skin’s all better now. x

  2. MonicaP

    Ah, well .. I was just going to ask you about the scent .. lol. I had the Skinceuticals C E FERULIC serum which smelled so awful I just couldn’t stand to use it. Anyways, was looking for an alternative.

    It’s odd that a vit c product isn’t in a dark bottle .. I wonder why? Perhaps a question for the Paula’s Choice team?

    Monica.
    MonicaP recently posted..Easy Spirit Pedrina Heeled BootiesMy Profile

    1. Tine

      I’ve not tried the Skinceuticals CE Ferulic but I’m pretty sure the scent is the same. A lot of proper Vitamin C serums (at least over 10% ones) smell like that. Wonder which ingredient that scent came from.

      I’m surprised too. I’ve only seen a stock image of this on their website and I thought that the bottle was an opaque one. I didn’t realise it was translucent. Given how much Paula Begoun talks so much about packaging, I didn’t expect the packaging to be like this.

    2. Hafsa

      This smells reaaly bad

  3. Norlin

    I’ve been looking for a slightly more affordable serum and the dupe of another brand I’ve been using seem to
    Not be easily available. I’m putting this one on my list of serums try!
    Norlin recently posted..Monday Eats: Ribs & Burgers HawthornMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Do give either this or the one by Cosmetic Skin Solutions a go. The latter is cheaper too and I think it’s just as good as this one if not better.

  4. LeGeeque

    YES, DOUBLE STANDARDS BOTHER ME A LOT. Especially from someone like her who bashes almost every single product out in the market. People who live in glasshouses and all, you know? 😛 I’m really really wary of her reviews as I’d tweeted recently. I’m not sure if I can trust someone to be completely impartial as she has her own line of products to “push”. Then again, I’ve been quite curious in checking out some of her serums for dry/dehydrated skin and some AHA wipes/toners as exfoliants. If you know of any in her range, do let me know!

    1. Tine

      Thank goodness a lot of her products are actually as good as she claims them to be. I won’t say all of them are good as I have tried a couple of duds but the others that I’ve tried, I’ve been very impressed. I don’t bother with her reviews on other brands because of the conflict of interest she has with her own products (when every category has at least 2-3 of her own products are star, high-performing products, well, you see the problem there). If you want to check out impartial and science-y reviews, check out The Beauty Brains. I highly enjoy their podcasts as well.

      I’ve read a number of independent reviews on her AHA/BHA exfoliants and most of them are very positive. Worth checking out methinks.

  5. gio

    I was surprised when I saw the packaging too. Definitely not what you would expect from Paula’s Choice. So, I checked her website to see if she had provided an explantion and found this:

    “A great deal of thought went into the packaging for this product! Because Resist C15 is a water-light liquid, a bottle and dropper-tip applicator were the only way to go for measuring the perfect amount per use while ensuring the product wasn’t messy to dispense. To protect the potency of the formula, tinted glass prevents UV exposure and an internal restrictor (when you pull the dropper out, airflow into the bottle is drastically reduced). In rigorous testing, these packaging safeguards were more than adequate to preserve the effectiveness of the Resist C15 Super Booster! For maximum potency, we advise using C15 Super Booster within three months of opening.”

    It’s good to see that she addressed the issue, although, if you don’t plan to use a serum like this daily, I’d opt for something that you can use for more than just three months.
    gio recently posted..Product Review: Benefit Ultra Plush Lipgloss In HoolaMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Thanks very much for checking, Gio! I’ll amend the blog post to include your findings. 🙂

  6. Beauty Box

    I enjoyed reading this – Paula Begoun is certainly pedantic about formula and packaging. I always go back to her Beautypedia reviews to see if a product is good or not. Most often it’s not – and it’s such a buzzkill!! LOL! But I still think she provides a great resource that is not beholden to advertising.
    Beauty Box recently posted..The Makeup Addict TagMy Profile

    1. Tine

      I’d say take her reviews with a pinch of salt because of her conflict of interest with her own products. A lot are bad because hers are supposedly better. I’ve been reading her Beautypedia and Cosmetic Cop reviews for years and I can’t help but feel rather let down as time goes by when more and more of her products end up in the BEST OF lists. She’s lucky that she does have pretty standout products but still … double standards and all that, y’know?

  7. Rae

    My thought exactly! I wanted to try this so bad. From blog photos, I thought that the packaging was a thick opaque bottle, the dropper dispenser thing turned me off. As far as I know, you’re not supposed to get vitamin c serums exposed to air. I don’t get it. I’m ok if it were any other serum, not with vitamin C.
    Rae recently posted..Kick-off: The Toss or Keep SeriesMy Profile

    1. Tine

      The bottle is quite thick I reckon but it’s translucent. From the update that reader Gio mentioned, Paula B mentions that the tinted glass prevents UV exposure. Even with that explanation, I still have a problem with the packaging. Well, not so much the packaging per se but with Paula B’s statements on how packaging should be opaque and have holes as small as possible to prevent air exposure. A pump could have done the same job. I’ve had equally watery serums from other brands that come with a pump and they work just fine. If she hadn’t been going on and on about how packaging should be done, I honestly wouldn’t care much about the packaging really.

  8. Sunny

    I love Paula’s Choice. I have best skin ever.
    First Time order $10 off + webside promotion $15 off + code AMOFR10 + $10
    *** buy $75 get Discount $35 *** never be better time to buy Paula’s Choice exp 1/19/16 https://goo.gl/pjzDCB

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