Vitamin Ayyyyy! Our wonderful anti-aging friend. Over the years I’ve tried a few Vitamin A/Retinol products so I’ll start with a review on the most recent one I’ve been using.

I’ve worked my way up to this one from the Crystal Retinal 3 and then Crystal Retinal 6 and I’m a fan 🪭. At some point I’ll move onto a stronger one but I’ve just gone back to using Retinol after a 17 month break from it (had a bébé!) so I’ll finish my current tube then power up to the Crystal Retinal 20! I really did miss using this so I’m very happy to have it back in my routine! I’d tried Bakuchoil as an alternative and it was nice enough but I missed the OG anti-ager-skin-smoother-glow-giver.

Side note: I’ll do another post on it to try and help explain but there’s slight difference between Retinol, Retinal, Retinoids, Tretinoin etc. They’re all derived from Vitamin A but have differing strengths, work at different speeds etc. Retinal (what this Medik8 one is) is often seen as “better” than Retinol as it converts into retinoic acid on our skin quicker than retinol does (retinol takes two steps to convert and retinal takes one) so it gets to work quicker. It also has antibacterial properties so can help with blemishes.

What is it meant to do for your skin?

Help with fine lines and wrinkles by encouraging collagen production and cell turnover
Improve skin texture
Help with congestion on skin

Key ingredients:

Retinaldehyde (Retinal) - for the wrinkles, skin-smoothing, congestion, skin texture
Hyaluronic acid - for moisture retention
Glycerin - for moisture retention
Vitamin E - antioxidant to help with protecting and repairing the skin
Ethyl Ascorbic Acid and Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate (they are derivatives of Vitamin C) - for skin brightening

How I use it:

Only at night
I usually spritz the ceramide mist after cleansing skin then follow up with this
Sometimes I layer in a Niacinamide serum and then put this on top - they work well together!
Alwaayyssss SPF the next day (which I do anyway but just a reminder to alwaaysss wear SPF!!)

What I love about it:

It feels good on my skin and I do notice a difference with it the next day when it comes to glow and overall texture. Retinol is also playing the long game when it comes to anti-aging so I’m hoping my older self will thank me but so far I love using it and seeing the benefits.

It doesn’t dry out my skin or make it feel tight/flakey. It feels creamy enough

I also LOVE the fact that you can increase the strength you’re using while staying with the same formulation and brand, so your skin isn’t adjusting to a whole new product but instead getting the benefits of a higher strength.

The packaging is also a plus, it’s a tube with a pump so the product stays fresh and stable in there and you can squeeze out the last bits!