Beauty portrait of smiling ginger woman with long hair lying on mirror table with fruits and bottle of lotin while looking at the camera over grey background
It’s glow time.
The best vitamin C serums are among the most potent skin-care products for tackling some of the most common skin-care concerns, from dullness and discoloration to fine lines and uneven skin texture. Why serums? They contain high concentrations of the active brightening ingredient, which is also known as ascorbic acid or L-ascorbic acid. (That said, there are plenty of other ways to get it, too — such as in moisturizers, eye creams, and face masks.)
“Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant,” explains board-certified dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD, the director of cosmetic and clinical research at Mount Sinai’s Department of Dermatology in New York City. “It interferes with pigment production and keeps inflammation at bay.” Not only that, but it can also support collagen production.
Vitamin C’s antioxidant properties mean that it can neutralize free radicals, which are molecules created by external factors like air pollution and sunlight, says Dr. Zeichner. And since free radicals speed up signs of aging, vitamin C helps address fine lines they cause, too. Think of it as the ideal daytime counterpart to the retinol or acids you might use at night to smooth over your skin, speed up cellular turnover, and treat acne scars left over from breakouts.
It’s also a staple in brightening products since vitamin C can inhibit your skin’s melanin production, which is what causes skin discoloration like dark spots and hyperpigmentation, New York City-based board-certified dermatologist Patricia Wexler, MD, previously told Allure. Over time, she says, vitamin C can help prevent dark spots from forming in the first place — in addition to evening out skin tone.
Alongside firsthand testing across our beauty editors (who vary in age, skin types, and skin tone), we asked board-certified dermatologists for their tried-and-tried picks that they recommend to patients to select the best topical skin-care products containing vitamin C. Ahead, the best vitamin C serums for an even skin tone and a glowy, radiant finish.
Best Overall: SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic
Why It’s Worth It: The SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic serum (containing vitamins E and C, plus ferulic acid) didn’t win an Allure Best of Beauty Award for four years for no reason. Editors and dermatologists alike love it for its fine line-smoothing powers, along with its ability to dramatically lighten dark spots caused by sun damage. The ferulic acid present is yet another antioxidant that stabilizes both vitamins C and E when they’re combined. “It definitely had a role in brightening my complexion and reducing spotty, all-over redness,” says commerce editor Sarah Han.
Best Drugstore: La Roche-Posay 10% Pure Vitamin C Face Serum
Why It’s Worth It: La Roche-Posay is known for bottling top-grade formulas at reasonable price points, and this face serum is certainly no exception. L-ascorbic acid refines skin texture while salicylic acid comes into play to gently exfoliate clogged pores — making it ideal for those with oily skin. Since that combination can be intense, it also offers a soothing blend of neurosensine (a synthetic peptide), glycerin, and hyaluronic acid.
Best Luxury: Revision Skincare C+ Correcting Complex 30%
Why It’s Worth It: This is a favorite of multiple derms we’ve talked to. Tiffany Clay, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in Atlanta, Georgia, told us that it’s her go-to vitamin C product because it provides antioxidant benefits and corrects damage incurred from HEV blue light. And Chicago-based board-certified dermatologist Caroline Robinson, MD, has also used it for years. “I love that it’s formulated with 30% pure vitamin C and also contains patent-pending MelaPATH technology, making it one of the most advanced vitamin C products on the market,” she previously called out.
Best for Dry Skin: Wander Beauty Sight C-er Vitamin C Concentrate
Why It’s Worth It: The texture of this concentrate lies somewhere between a lotion and a serum: slightly creamy and easy to apply. Dry skin drinks up the formula, which is fortified with vitamin C (to brighten), niacinamide (to help plump and smooth over fine lines), squalane (to strengthen the skin barrier), and hyaluronic acid (for lasting hydration).
Best for Mature Skin: The Inkey List 15% Vitamin C & EGF Brightening Serum
Why It’s Worth It: This brightening serum features ascorbyl glucoside, a stable form of vitamin C that brightens the skin and helps fade dull or dark spots over time. Plus, it also offers epitensive, a plant-deprived peptide made to tighten the look of skin.
Best for Oily Skin: Naturium Vitamin C Complex Serum
Why It’s Worth It: New York-based board-certified dermatologist Angelo Landriscina, MD, says that for a $20 product, this feels like it should be far more expensive. “The vitamin C in this formula is stabilized to ensure good shelf life, and it has a super-light texture that makes it easy to introduce into an existing skin-care routine,” he adds. Meanwhile, a blend of fruit extracts (including pineapple and papaya) offers mild resurfacing.
Best Multitasking Serum: Olay Super Serum
Why It’s Worth It: Olay Super Serum does it all — to the point where it required its own “Multitasking” superlative within the highly competitive serum category for the 2023 Best of Beauty Awards. A potent blockbuster of actives — vitamin C, vitamin E, niacinamide, AHA, and collagen peptide — penetrates quickly and deeply into the skin to deliver line-smoothing, skin-brightening, free-radical-fighting benefits.
Best for Acne-Prone Skin: Sunday Riley C.E.O. 15% Vitamin C Brightening Serum
Why It’s Worth It: This thoughtful serum deploys tetrahexyldecyl (often shortened to THD) ascorbate — which is a very stable form of vitamin C — to minimize signs of dark spots, lines, wrinkles, and loss of elasticity. While typically you won’t find vitamin C and AHAs together in the same formula, Sunday Riley incorporates exfoliating glycolic acid in a gentle, effective manner to refine skin texture and enhance your glow.
Best for Sensitive Skin: Paula’s Choice Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum
Why It’s Worth It: New York City board-certified dermatologist Robert Finney, MD, recommends this antioxidant serum because it contains THD ascorbate. “It also includes other antioxidants, such as vitamin E and peptides, as well as ceramides, to help repair the barrier,” Dr. Finney says.
Best for Redness: Mara Sea Vitamin C Serum
Why It’s Worth It: There’s a whole lot of vitamin C happening in Mara’s Sea Vitamin C Serum. It’s powered by 15% tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, as well as 14 other forms of vitamin C derived from fruits and plants — including Kakadu plum, papaya, and grapefruit. On top of that, Mara founder Allison McNamara told Allure that she added three types of adaptogens (chlorella, reishi, and ginseng) because she wanted the serum to simultaneously brighten and soothe the skin.
Best for Dull Skin: Tatcha Violet-C Brightening Serum
Why It’s Worth It: This serum pairs a potent combination of 20% vitamin C with 10% alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), giving it an additional advantage against dark spots and dullness. Plus, the lightweight formula sinks in quickly. One Allure contributor tested it nightly for about four weeks and noticed their acne scars and hyperpigmentation were less noticeable, and skin looked brighter and more even than it had in a long time.
Best Packaging: Drunk Elephant C-Firma Vitamin C Day Serum
Why It’s Worth It: Before the first use of the Best of Beauty Award-winning C-Firma Vitamin C Day Serum, mix the liquid serum base with the antioxidant-rich formula to ensure it’s at its most potent for repairing sun damage. It also features pumpkin ferment and pomegranate extract, both of which help to dissolve dead skin cells, thus reducing the appearance of pores and overall dullness. Keep in mind: It does have a bitter smell, but it’s so subtle that you might not notice.
Best Spot Treatment: Peach & Lily Transparen-C Pro Spot Treatment
Why It’s Worth It: This is unique not only in that it’s a targeted spot treatment dispensed via a dropper, but also because it’s formulated with ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate. As Dr. Zeichner previously told Allure, this is an oil-soluble form of vitamin C that’s “more stable than traditional ascorbic acid in cosmetic formulations,” meaning it will last longer in your medicine cabinet without degrading in quality. And, since it’s a spot treatment, the brand formulated it with 20% ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate for maximum potency.
Best with SPF: Supergoop Daily Dose Vitamin C + SPF 40
Supergoop Daily Dose was among the first hybrids to incorporate the brightening ingredient into sunscreen, making it even easier to keep your skin protected against free radical damage, caused by environmental stressors — UV exposure included. Daily Dose is powered by 10% ethyl ascorbic acid (a pure, oil- and water-soluble form of vitamin C) and 4% Kakadu plum.
Best Fragrance-Free: Glossier Super Glow Face Serum
Why It’s Worth It: This lightweight emulsion absorbs easily and quickly, and contains key ingredients such as hydrating magnesium PCA and a 5% vitamin C derivative (called magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, or MAP) to brighten the appearance of dark spots and even your complexion over time. Did we mention there are no added fragrances in the formula? Just straight-up radiance in a bottle.
Best Dark Spot Corrector: Peter Thomas Roth Potent-C Targeted Spot Brightener
Why It’s Worth It: This formula takes vitamin C’s brightening properties and adds in antioxidant vitamin E, plus ferulic acid — meaning hyperpigmentation hardly stands a chance against this hyper-stable formula. Better yet, the nozzle on this super-concentrated spot treatment delivers just the right amount to target everything from sun spots to post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
