Dr. Vanita Rattan has reviewed 36 products for mature skin. She approved 11, gave 9 mixed takes, and skipped 16, landing a Guru Score of 31%. That is a strict record. And her reasons for each skip are consistent throughout.
What does Dr. Vanita Rattan recommend for mature skin?
She keeps coming back to vitamin A, and she has strong opinions about packaging. Retinol breaks down when it hits the air, she notes, so she expects an airless pump rather than a jar. She praised Geek & Gorgeous A-Game 10 as the best affordable vitamin A for skin of color. She also praised Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum for pairing retinol with niacinamide, which strengthens the skin barrier, and adenosine, which calms irritation. On vitamin C, she favors stable forms that do not irritate. She called The Ordinary Ethylated Ascorbic Acid 15% Solution the winner in that space. She also praised Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C Plus Glutathione Clinical Serum as non-irritating and well suited to sensitive skin.
In her words
"The positives of this product is they've got peptides which are skin soothers and they've also put in Copper gluconate as well which has slight anti-inflammatory benefits but there's actually nothing in here to firm and lift other than the peptides which you find in your moisturizers nowadays. There's no retinaldehyde, no retinol, nothing in here to get into the dermis to stimulate collagen and nothing to firm and lift. I would rather that you bought the Retinal 0.2% from The Ordinary is going to do a better job than this."
"The best vitamin A on the market for skin of color that you can actually afford is the Geek & Gorgeous A-Game 10. It's got 0.05% retinaldehyde and 0.05% retinol, and it's £12.90, so it's the cheapest that I could find, and this was the best routine I could come up with for under 30."
"This is going to be very hydrating. The next ingredient is niacinamide, which is a lovely combination because it strengthens the skin barrier, which is exactly what you want to do when you're using an irritating ingredient. Plus, they added adenosine, which is anti-inflammatory. I actually don't like a lot of products from Kiehl's, but they got it right with this particular product. I would say it's great for beginners to intermediate, but it is quite expensive at £72."
"The Ordinary is the winner again."
"They've corrected the problems in the capsules with 1% retinol in an airless, very interesting packaging. They've also added ceramides to counter any irritation. It has a [...] silky smooth finish on the skin. It is great for beginners for anti-aging and for texture improvement."
"Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C. So that is this tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate. This means it's non-irritating, really good for sensitive skin to brighten the skin."
How many products has Dr. Vanita Rattan reviewed for mature skin?
Dr. Vanita Rattan has reviewed 36 products for mature skin, for a Guru Score of 31%. 11 approved, 9 mixed, and 16 skipped.
What has Dr. Vanita Rattan skipped for mature skin?
Fragrance, denatured alcohol, and certain preservatives drove most of her skips. She called Olay Retinol 24 Eye Cream a disaster product. It contains a preservative that releases formaldehyde, which she described as an irritant. She also skipped CeraVe Skin Renewing Vitamin C Serum and SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic. Both use straight ascorbic acid, the most common form of vitamin C. She says those strengths are too strong for skin of color. With SkinCeuticals, she added that the price markup is simply not warranted by what is in the formula.
"It doesn't do much for dark circles, especially for skin of color as ours are very stubborn. There aren't any other actives in this product. It does contain lath 4, which is an irritating emulsifier. I'm not sure why they did that. Plus it's got DMDM hydantoin as a preservative, this is a synthetic preservative and it releases formaldehyde, which is an irritant, making this actually a disaster product. This is something I actually really wouldn't recommend for any of you. It's a shame because actually the retinol is very good, and so far we really haven't seen vitamin A in the eye creams that are meant to help with fine lines and dark circles when surely this is meant to be the first ingredient we should be looking for. I think you just need to reformulate this. And while you're at it, if you're going to put retinol in a product, don't put it in a jar. Put it in an airless pump because it's an antioxidant and oxidizes in oxygen."
"This is £30, actually quite expensive for CeraVe, for 30 mls. It's very cute packaging. It comes out like a very light emulsion, which means it's got a water phase and a fat phase, and that's why it comes out like a very thin cream. Bit of a strange smell. [...] The positives in this product are that of course it's got ceramides. We lack ceramides for skin of color, so I love that CeraVe is going to use ceramides, that's what I love about the brand. The negatives, unfortunately, is this has got 10% L-ascorbic acid, which I don't love for us to be using every morning, it's too much, and it's not in an airless pump. And the sixth ingredient they've put in here is denatured alcohol. I really expected better from you, CeraVe. I'm sorry, this one's a definite no."
"You really need to avoid fragrance in all your skin care. [...] For skin of color please avoid this product."
"The good news is it is skin safe: no denatured alcohol, no fragrance, no essential oils. It's got a bit of a funky smell, but that's fine, it is what the ingredient is. It's got 15% ascorbic acid, so that's pure vitamin C, and again, too strong for skin of color. It's not in an airless pump. And honestly, the price to make this product is about £2 and they're selling it for £165, so I don't really like that massive mismatch. It's not warranted. It's a hard no."
What should you take from Dr. Vanita Rattan's picks?
Dr. Rattan's Guru Score of 31% on mature skin products reflects a high bar. Her approved picks are specific, not broad. She has been most confident about vitamin A in sealed packaging and stable vitamin C that does not irritate. The consistent message across her reviews is that the right active ingredient can still fall short if the packaging, preservatives, or supporting ingredients are a problem.
Watch Dr. Vanita Rattan say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- Olay Retinol 24 Eye CreamSkipped itWatch at 19:35
- CeraVe Skin Renewing Vitamin C SerumSkipped itWatch at 9:48
- Medicube Collagen Jelly CreamSkipped itWatch at 14:20
- SkinCeuticals C E FerulicSkipped itWatch at 14:03
- Murad RetinolSkipped itWatch at 11:10
- Augustinus Bader Rich CreamSkipped itWatch at 13:21
- SkinBetter Science AlphaRet Overnight CreamSkipped itWatch at 14:24
- Olay Regenerist Retinol 24 Night MoisturizerSkipped itWatch at 9:27
- RoC Retinol Correxion Line Smoothing Eye CreamSkipped itWatch at 26:36
- Charlotte Tilbury Magic CreamSkipped itWatch at 27:07
- The Ordinary Retinol in SqualaneSkipped itWatch at 2:49
- La Roche-Posay Pure Vitamin C10 SerumSkipped itWatch at 8:05
- SkinCeuticals Discoloration DefenseSkipped itWatch at 9:40
- Minimalist 0.6% RetinolSkipped itWatch at 13:22
- The Ordinary Retinol 0.5% in SqualaneSkipped itWatch at 9:52
- Paula's Choice CLINICAL 1% Retinol TreatmentSkipped itWatch at 9:35
- The Ordinary Retinal 0.2% EmulsionRated itWatch at 26:28
- Geek & Gorgeous A-Game 10Rated itWatch at 4:47
- Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose SerumRated itWatch at 11:52
- The Ordinary Ethylated Ascorbic Acid 15% SolutionRated itWatch at 6:34
- RoC Retinol CapsulesRated itWatch at 7:19
- Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C Plus Glutathione Clinical SerumRated itWatch at 8:53
- The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5Rated itWatch at 8:10
- Paula's Choice Pro Collagen Multi-Peptide BoosterRated itWatch at 8:26
About this expert
See everything Dr. Vanita Rattan has reviewed
Related guides
This guide reflects what Dr. Vanita Rattan said across their videos about 36 products for mature skin, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The Guru Score is our read on how warmly they talk about them. It is general information, not medical advice.