Olay Regenerist Retinol24 Night Serum and Eye Cream

Vitamin A (aka retinol) is my favourite skincare ingredient hands down! It does almost everything you could wish for - it exfoliates skin (unblocking pores, so perfect for those of us who deal with acne), it lightens pigmentation, it repairs skin damage (be it sun damage or wrinkles), refines skin texture, firms, reduces inflammation and protects skin from further damage. AND all those effects are well studied and documented! 🎉🎉🎉 I generally speaking like to use retinoids that require a prescription (retinol needs to turn into retinoid within the skin, before they can work their magic, hence retinoids are generally stronger and work 'faster') however, I am most certainly open to trying new and wonderful innovative, over-the-counter retinol formulas. So step in Olay Regenerist's Retinol24 Night Serum and Eye Cream 💥

I've been reading that Olay spent 20 years developing a version of retinol that has the ingredient's usual benefits (an ability to improve ageing skin and everyone's skin is ageing as we speak) without the typical side effects of irritation, flakiness and redness. They also worked on the formula's of these products for an additional 5 years (there's also a night cream in the range, which I haven't used). Olay's 'retinol' of choice, is called 'retinol propionate' and it's a retinol I didn't know much about, until now 😊 it apparently reaches 10 layers deeper into the epidermis than other retinol, and works within the skins epidermis for 24 hours, increasing hydration and 'repairing' skin (hence the range is called retinol24 😉). Pretty cool huh?! Here is what Olay further says about the products:

Retinol24 Night Serum:

Discover our latest night serum that combines our propietary blend of Niacinamide + Retinol complex. Renews and resurfaces skin as you sleep so you can wake up to plumper, younger looking skin. 24hr hydration. You'll see visible improvements in fine lines & wrinkles, smoothness, brightness, firming, dark spots, and pores. Olay Retinol24 Night Serum delivers a bounty of skin benefits with 24-hour hydration and virtually no irritation. This fragrance free and dye free formula absorbs quickly and goes deep into your skin's surface so you wake up to plumper, youthful looking skin*. Use with Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream at night and see the skin transformation in 28 days. Disclaimer: *with regular use. Size: 30mL

KEY FEATURES

• Wake up to plumper, younger-looking skin with Olay Retinol24!

• Renews and resurfaces skin as you sleep, with 24-hour hydration

• Potent serum with bioavailable Retinoid powered by Olay's NiacinamideTM

• Suitable for daily use, without the tradeoffs or drying the skin

Retinol24 Eye Cream:

Discover eye-opening results. Olay Regenerist RETINOL24 Night Eye Cream penetrates deep into the delicate skin surface around your eyes. And it's safe enough to use every night with virtually no irritation. Apply nightly to the skin around your eyes for 24-hour hydration. Retinol 24 Eye cream visibly firms, brightens, evens skin tone, and reduces the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and dark circles. Renews and resurfaces skin as you sleep so you can wake up to plumper, younger looking skin. 24hr hydration.This formula is fragrance free and free of dyes.

Size: 15mL

KEY FEATURES

• Wake up to plumper, younger-looking skin with Olay Retinol24!

• Renews and resurfaces skin as you sleep, with 24-hour hydration

• With bioavailable Retinoid powered by Olay's NiacinamideTM

• Suitable for daily use, without the tradeoffs or drying the skin

Retinol propionate is a highly stable and effective retinol when it comes to reversing damage and inflammation within the skin. A lot of over the counter retinol products use a type of retinol called retinol (sometimes spelt retinyl) palmitate. This form of retinol is really unstable and isn't as effective as other forms of retinol. Retinol propionate however, seems to be a goodie as mentioned in this study. Combined with niacinamide (a form of vitamin B3) inflammation is further reduced and the hydration levels of your skin are increased (hydration should also help settle some of the potential irritation that retinol causes).

So what are my thoughts about the serum? I loved it! ❤️ It is very, very gentle: I experienced no unsettling or discomforting irritation whatsoever. No redness and no sensitivity. I did experience a little peeling on my nose but it was really minimal, and to be honest, to me this was a sign that the product was working! My skin the morning was also less red and was more hydrated than usual.

The serum has a thicker, milky texture to it, that feels super hydrating and comforting. It absorbs into the skin wonderfully. Even though Olay recommends only introducing one Retinol24 product into your skincare routine at a time, but I used the serum and eye cream together from the get-go without a problem. Not only this, I actually used the serum around my eye area, and I would then layer the eye cream on top of it. Did I experience any irritation? Nope!

Did the serum reduce my pigmentation/melasma? I don't think so. However, my skin overall looked brighter, more even, hydrated and healthy. I wouldn't call it a targeted treatment for melasma. It may help a little don't get me wrong, but it is such a targeted product that it would remove stubborn pigmentation. If you are looking for something to help treat melasma, a trip to the dermatologist is recommended.

I also use retinol to help prevent damage. Or damage within the skin that we can't see. Our skin is exposed to environmental stressors everyday, causing acute damage and inflammation. As the study I linked above mentions, over time, this leads to morphological and visual changes in the skin associated with premature ageing.

*Tip*

On that note, my dermatologist actually recommended that Beauties use retinol products in the hight of Spring and Summer because that is when damage to your skin in accelerating and you want to stop these processes. Yes, you have to use very high broad-spectrum sunscreen during the day and keep out of the sun where you can (retinol sensitises your skin to UV rays meaning it burns easily) but it makes a lot of sense! I also love that Olay has strongly advised that it's Retinol24 range is to be used at night only. Retinol remains in the skin for a long time (according to Olay, 24 hours in this case) so you really don't need to use it in the morning.

Above: Retinol24 Serum worked into my hand. Doesn't my skin look healthy, plump and hydrated?!? Yep! 😄💦

I don't mind the applicator and packaging of the serum. The packaging feels 'weighty' (I think it's glass?) and the applicator is one of those where you press the 'button' on top of the cap, and the pipette fills up with serum. The applicator works pretty well. When there isn't much serum left in the bottle and the pipette is struggling to 'pick up' the serum, I just pour it out of the bottle instead. No serum goes to waste in my house! 😜 The serum is fragrance free (to also minimise the risk of skin sensitivity) but the serum still smells 'nice'. Kinda fresh and light.

I would highly recommend this retinol serum to those Beauties who haven't used retinol before but would like to, or those beauties who have had bad experiences with retinol (maybe because of skin sensitivity). It's a gem of a product! 🌟

What about the eye cream? I like it. It has an interesting texture - it's kinda fluffy, like it's whipped? Because of it's creamy yet light consistency, it's hard to use this guy up, even though the product contains the usual amount for an eye cream (15ml). I've been using this eye cream for months and months and I can't seem to use it up lol! It's texture means that it sits on top of the skin. It mostly absorbs into the eye area, but I sometimes have some white residue on cream on top of my skin that hasn't absorbed. I am very generous when using this eye cream though. Because I only use this eye cream at night, I don't mind this.

I don't know that I'd say that it keeps my eye area hydrated for 24 hours, but it's a nice eye cream. The serum is the definite winner for me in the range, but the eye cream is a nice addition. The eye cream also comes in a little plastic pot. Also not as fancy as the serum, but fine.

There is also a night cream in the Retinol24 range, but I haven't used the cream. I believe this Olay range came out somewhere early last year... Olay has already released an even more 'potent' retinol serum called ProX by Olay Retinol Serum (message to Olay though, your website looks very outdated design wise... it's also not easy to find the ProX site). I'd definitely like to try that one next!

Where to buy: In any supermarket including Coles and Woolies, plus 'drugstores' like Priceline and Chemist Warehouse in Aus. The serum retails for $59.99 AUD and the Eye Cream also for $59.99 AUD (if you were wondering, the Retinol24 Night Cream is also $59.99 haha!). Definitely do NOT buy it full price though. Wait until one of these retailers is having a 50% off promotion on Olay products 😊🛍 It's definitely a 'pricey' line for a supermarket or chemist, but it's a fine product that has taken decades to formulate, so I think the price point is probably justified. I do love that these products are so accessible.

That's it Beauties! Let me know if you've tried this range, if you love retinol/vitamin A just as much as I do, and whether you are a fan of Olay products!

Catch ya next time,

Beauty Bee~

#skincare #olay #olayregenerist #retinol #vitamina #serum #eyecream #beauty