Index / Avène / RetrinAL 0.1% Intensive Cream (reformulated)
Avène

Avène RetrinAL 0.1% Intensive Cream (reformulated).

Avène RetrinAL 0.1% Intensive Cream (reformulated)
Save to Pinterest
Moisturizers
About this product

A nighttime retinaldehyde cream with 0.1% retinaldehyde, ceramides, vitamin E, and Avène's thermal spring water, designed to reduce fine lines and improve skin texture.

More from Avène 34 products · Guru Score 92% →

Guru Score

84%

Yay

13 experts · Strong agreement
#16 in MoisturizersSee the ranking →

What they liked

  • Moisturizing base with immediate wrinkle smoothing
  • Gentle retinaldehyde, well tolerated by sensitive skin
  • Improves fine lines and skin texture with consistent use

What they flagged

  • Pricey at $74 to $79

What the gurus are saying

Retinaldehyde at this strength sits just one conversion step away from active retinoic acid, making it more efficient than standard retinol and notably gentler on sensitive skin than prescription alternatives. Gurus consistently point to how moisturizing the formula itself is, it delivers an almost immediate smoothing effect while building visible anti-aging results with consistent use, and the encapsulated retinaldehyde minimizes irritation even for those with mature or reactive skin. The main trade-off: it's pricey at around $74-$79, and while it's fragrance-free and well-tolerated, anyone new to retinoids may want to ease in gradually or patch-test first.
Synthesized from 13 expert reviews · most recent take September 2026

Best for

Type

MoisturizersCream

Where to buy

Opens a store search. We may earn from these links.

Scan it in the shopFree iPhone app. Scores in the aisle.

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored
✓Yay
"For those looking for drugstore or retinol options, I really like Avene's retinaldehyde, which is very potent but very gentle for sensitive skin."
All 2 takes from Dr. Jenny Liu
Ultimate Sensitive skincare guide for winter from Dermatologist | Dr. Jenny Liu
"If you're looking for something more pricey that's splurge worthy, the Avène retinal line contains ceramides in a balm like moisturizer, great if you have sensitive skin struggling with fine lines or wrinkles. That one is really worth checking out."
You're Losing 1% of Your Collagen Every Year — Here's How to Slow It Down | Dr. Jenny Liu
"For those looking for drugstore or retinol options, I really like Avene's retinaldehyde, which is very potent but very gentle for sensitive skin."
✓Yay
"Some great picks I'd consider would be Avène's Retrinal. They make a nice eye cream. They make a nice retinol for the face."
All 6 takes from Dr. Daniel Sugai
The Best Retinoids for Beginners (Before You Try Tretinoin)
"Some great picks I'd consider would be Avène's Retrinal. They make a nice eye cream. They make a nice retinol for the face."
The Only 5 Skincare Ingredient Categories You Actually Need
"May love moonlight or avent retronol products are great. Those are gentle [retinaldehydes]"
How to ACTUALLY Fix Dark Spots (Dermatologist No-BS Guide)
"You got Aven's Retronol line that's been great. Aven has really impressed me. Reliable in the sensitive skinincare world"
Best Anti-Aging Products of 2025
"I've been using their 0.1% intensive cream. So nice and very gentle."
The Best Retinoids of 2025
"Very nice product. I've been using this quite a bit recently and I always thought Avène was just a nice sensitive skin care brand."
Top 3 Skincare Complaints I Hear in Clinic (And How to Fix Them)
"There's one that I'm using very recently by Aven. Their retronol is a [retinaldehyde] cream that works very well. It's very gentle. I've been really happy with that one."
✓Yay
"I had a full size bottle of the uh retin retinaldehyde 0.1 intensive and I was like, I'm going to go rogue here and just use it under my eyes, around my eyes, to my upper eyelids. And I honestly don't find it to be irritating at all."
All 6 takes from Dr Dray
The Best Black Friday Skincare Deals You Don't Want To Miss!
"It can improve collagen production and it can just improve the overall appearance of rough texture that occurs with age"
How to Use Retinal in Winter Without Ruining Your Skin
"The one I frequently recommend is the Avène retin 0.1 intensive cream. I've been recommending that for years because Avène puts a lot of R&D into their formulations. They're a pretty big company and they have a good track record of retinaldehyde formulation. So, I do recommend them. And that particular product I find to be pretty moisturizing in and of itself. Not only is it an effective formulation, but it's in a very moisturizing base."
Top Drugstore Products for Dry, Sensitive, Anti-Aging Skin in Your 50s
"I've used it myself. Here's what I can tell you about the formulation. It's very moisturizing. It is less likely than a prescription topical uh vitamin A like [tretinoin], for example, to irritate your skin."
Retinol, Exfoliation & Sagging Skin | Dermatologist Answers
"I had a full size bottle of the uh retin retinaldehyde 0.1 intensive and I was like, I'm going to go rogue here and just use it under my eyes, around my eyes, to my upper eyelids. And I honestly don't find it to be irritating at all."
Retinol for beginners | DERMATOLOGIST TIPS @DrDrayzday
"When it comes to retinaldehyde, I am a huge fan of Avène RetrinAL. I've used that, it's a very good product. It is on the pricier side, but that company did put a lot of good R&D into that formulation, so I feel confident in that product."
BLACK FRIDAY SKIN CARE DEALS 2022 💰 DERMATOLOGIST @DrDrayzday
"This is Avène's RetrinAL, a form of topical vitamin A where your skin only has to do one step to convert it to the active form, unlike retinol. In contrast to prescription tretinoin, which can be pretty irritating, RetrinAL is often easier to tolerate. Avène is a very good company, they have a lot of R&D behind their products, and this is one I've personally used and strongly recommend, it's made an appearance in a lot of my videos. It is on the pricier side, so take advantage of the sale."
✓Yay
"The retinoid I recommend for nighttime use is the Avène RetrinAL 0.1% Intensive Cream. It contains retinaldehyde, which is a gentle form of retinol that's less likely to cause irritation than most prescription retinols. This is the one product that's going to give you the most dramatic long term improvement in your skin. The Avène retinol is gentle enough for sensitive skin, but still very effective."
✓Yay
"Their Aven retinol.1% intensive cream is clinically shown to reduce fine lines, improve texture, and enhance radiance is in little as 4 weeks."
All 3 takes from Dr. Aleksandra Brown
Top Black Friday Skincare Sales 2025, According to a Dermatologist
"Their Aven retinol.1% intensive cream is clinically shown to reduce fine lines, improve texture, and enhance radiance is in little as 4 weeks."
Menopause & Skincare: How to Care for Your Skin During Hormonal Changes
"Retinol is clinically shown to reduce fine lines, improve the skin texture, and enhance the radiance in as little as four weeks."
Skincare in Your 50s & 60s: Anti-Aging Ingredients, Devices & Dermatologist Tips
"It will still boost collagen production while reducing signs of sun damage it's less irritating than the prescription retinoids making it really good option for sensitive skin"
✓Yay
"They've got it in a Mist as well they're soothing spring water"
All 2 takes from No BS Beauty
Skincare News, Sunscreen News, Retinal Discussion - Livestream 2-1-25
"Next up is the aen retral I didn't realize this until today but they have two different versions they have a 0.1 and then a 05 version so the one I have is the 0.1 version"
Strongest Retinal Serums - The Best Retinoids & Retinols For Anti-Aging, Wrinkles, & Flawless Skin
"They've got it in a Mist as well they're soothing spring water"
✓Yay
"I do like the formula it's just very expensive for what it is"
All 2 takes from Dr. Vanita Rattan
LUXURY EYE CREAM SCAM
"Another product I like it is reel 0.1% from aen it's $79 so it is expensive it is fragrance free and it is an L's pump but it's probably one of the best best retinals retin alides on the market at the moment"
BEST & WORST RETINALDEHYDE | Dr Vanita Rattan for Skin of colour
"I do like the formula it's just very expensive for what it is"
✓Yay
"My favorite retinaldehyde formula 1.1% Still Remains the Avène formula because it doesn't have that yellow cast that most retinaldehyde highes at the higher percentages do"
✓Yay
"The next option that I would recommend is the aen rrin all 0.1% intensive cream now this is also a retinal dehy and I have a lot of experience with this product in particular and it's really effective"
✓Yay
"Aven is the retinol OG. They had the patent on it for a very long time and their retrrenal formulas, their moisturizer formulas have only just improved."
Sponsored
✓Yay
"It comes with retrinal 0.1 intensive your number one anti-aging product for fine lines and wrinkles"
Sponsored
All 15 takes from The Budget Dermatologist
My Top Pick Skincare Holiday Gift Sets! | The Budget Dermatologist
"It comes with retrinal 0.1 intensive your number one anti-aging product for fine lines and wrinkles"
GRWM! Skincare Favorites on Sale Now
"They have my all-time favorite of any brand nighttime anti-aging treatment the Retro now 0.1 intensive"
MY TOP PICK Anti-aging Night Cream + A RANT About Beauty Standards
"After just the first night of using this my skin has More Bounce and glow because it does that good of a job repairing your skin texture"
Does Retinol Actually Work? Over-the-counter vs. Prescription Match-up! | Anti-aging Tips
"Even though I have sensitive skin I still use the 0.1 intensive and tolerate it very well. It is a very moisturizing product. It delivers the retinol medication to your skin and then it creates this nice hydration barrier over it so you're preventing water loss from the skin that occurs with retinoid use, so this prevents your skin from drying out. These two products together are in my own personal routine."
Fade Stretch Marks! | Ingredients that WORK and the Science to Back it up
"I use this on my face, but if you are using it for a localized area like a stretch mark, this is reasonable to use on the body as well. This product also comes in two lower strength versions, the 0.05 cream and the day cream. I like this choice because of the formulation—it is thicker in texture and almost feels similar to a balm, so this is the perfect consistency to use when massaging it into the stretch mark."
My Anti-aging Skin Cycling Routine! | On SALE!
"This is expensive but it is on major sale right now. It works—I have used this for several years and it works. You will notice improved radiance of the skin after one single use of this product, and that radiance will really continue to improve as you continue to use it two, three, four times and beyond. What you will see with consistent use beyond that is improvement in skin texture—you will have much more smooth skin—and then a decreasing of those fine lines and wrinkles."
Skincare Worth The Price On Sale Now!
"This is really aimed at anti-aging and it has a retinoid in it as their hero ingredient. The type of retinoid that is in it is retinaldehyde. I think of retinaldehyde as like your strongest over-the-counter form, it's the closest thing to prescription strength. It comes in a 0.05 and this one which is 0.1, the intensive form."
Your Avène Shopping Guide! | HITS and MISSES reviewed by The Budget Dermatologist
"The Retronal 0.1 intensive cream is the strongest option and it is what I use even though I have sensitive skin. These are pricey but they are absolutely worth the spend in my opinion because a retinoid is the most important anti-aging ingredient of all the ingredients, so your entire anti-aging skincare routine should be built around this star product."
Skin Cycling Q&A | Anti-aging Skincare Routine Advice Part 3
"Aven is really my tried and true holy grail because it is strong and I have really worked up to that and it is the closest thing to prescription strength. So I use the 0.1 intensive, but it also comes in a 0.05 mid-strength version or a day cream which is the lower strength version."
Avène Giveaway + Major Sale! | Sharing My Holy Grails
"The Avène Retinol 0.1 Intensive is my absolute number one must-have product from this whole brand. This is my absolute favorite and I put this product in so many anti-aging routines that I build for people. It has retinaldehyde as the type of retinoid in it, so it is the closest thing to prescription strength that you can get over the counter and it does not irritate your skin as much as prescriptions can. This is a game changer for fine lines, wrinkles, uneven skin tone, and texture."
My Drugstore Anti-aging Skincare Routine | Step-by-Step with The Budget Dermatologist
"I choose the Avène Retro Now line because it has retinaldehyde as the active form of retinoid and this is one of the reasons it's worth spending more for because it's the closest thing to a prescription strength product and it has far less irritation and side effects compared to prescription versions. I have chosen this one for three reasons: number one it has retinaldehyde, number two it is extremely hydrating and it has a very luxurious texture."
Reviewing a NEW Anti-aging Product! | Worth the splurge?!
"This is my holy grail of all holy grails. [...] I have been talking about this product for three years now and it's one that you use and can get results instantly in terms of texture and radiance improvement, and over time it does a great job of softening fine lines on the face and plumping them up. It's just incredible. [...] This was my 2022 product of the year."
Retinol vs. Retinaldehyde: Which Is Better For Anti-aging? | The Budget Dermatologist Explains
"It's by Avène and it's the 0.1 intensive. This is where the majority of my skincare routine budget goes to this product. Avène is a French skincare brand that is found at the drugstore and this brand is always making their products with the highest quality ingredients with very simple formulations. Avène also uses sterile packaging on many of their products so that can really help avoid using those irritating preservatives that you can find in so many other skincare products."
Top Budget Pick Retinaldehyde Serum for Anti-aging | The Budget Dermatologist
"This has an incredible formulation, it's very simple and effective. I have used this one for years and I recommend it all the time on my channel. It is ideal for sensitive skin. It comes in this 0.1 strength and has two lower strength options if you are a beginner retinoid user or just have exceptionally sensitive skin. It comes in this cream formulation which I sometimes use alone without a moisturizer on top just depending on how my skin feels. This one actually keeps my routine super simple."
SHOP WITH ME! 3 Drugstore Anti-aging Must Haves | The Budget Dermatologist
"Retinaldehyde is the closest thing to prescription strength that you can get over the counter. Retinaldehyde only has to undergo one single conversion to get to retinoic acid, whereas the other retinol products have to undergo two conversions. So I like to think of retinaldehyde as a stronger version of retinol. I am recommending the Retronal line of anti-aging creams. There are three strengths: day cream which is the most gentle, the 0.05 cream, and the strongest intensive 0.1 cream."
✓Yay
"For retinaldehydes, which are a step before retinoic acid, Avène is a great one. They have their retinol 0.1 at 74 dollars. It is a 0.1 percent retinol cream, yellow tinted, and it also has their thermal spring water, which is supposedly helpful for any sort of redness that you may or may not have."
Sponsored
All 2 takes from Dr. Shereene Idriss
5 Golden Rules To Incorporate Retinol In Your Routine! | Dr. Shereene Idriss
"For retinaldehydes, which are a step before retinoic acid, Avène is a great one. They have their retinol 0.1 at 74 dollars. It is a 0.1 percent retinol cream, yellow tinted, and it also has their thermal spring water, which is supposedly helpful for any sort of redness that you may or may not have."
Dermstore Black Friday Sale Top Picks 2021! | Dr. Shereene Idriss
"If you're very sensitive buffer it with the moisturizer first and just be careful where you use it"
✓Yay
"This is the retinoid that I use on my neck. Unfortunately, I'm unable to use my prescription retinoid on my neck. This is retinaldehyde it's so much better than using retinol because retinol is two steps removed from your skin being able to use it. So, your skin only has to do one conversion with this, so it's much more likely that you'll be getting more retinoid to your skin cells that need it and can use it by using this than by using a standard over-the-counter retinol."
Sponsored
All 2 takes from HotandFlashy
Empties | A Trip Through My Trash | So MUCH Skincare!
"This is the retinoid that I use on my neck. Unfortunately, I'm unable to use my prescription retinoid on my neck. This is retinaldehyde it's so much better than using retinol because retinol is two steps removed from your skin being able to use it. So, your skin only has to do one conversion with this, so it's much more likely that you'll be getting more retinoid to your skin cells that need it and can use it by using this than by using a standard over-the-counter retinol."
3 Drugstore Anti-Aging MUST HAVES!
"The drugstore retinaldehyde that I love and recommend—although I hate to recommend it in a drugstore video because while it is a brand you can get at the drugstore, the price point is a little out of the drugstore range. I think it retails for about seventy dollars."

Frequently asked.

What is Avène RetrinAL 0.1% Intensive Cream (reformulated)?

A nighttime retinaldehyde cream with 0.1% retinaldehyde, ceramides, vitamin E, and Avène's thermal spring water, designed to reduce fine lines and improve skin texture.

Is Avène RetrinAL 0.1% Intensive Cream (reformulated) worth it?

Yes. All 13 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 84%.

What is Avène RetrinAL 0.1% Intensive Cream (reformulated)'s Guru Score?

Avène RetrinAL 0.1% Intensive Cream (reformulated) holds a Guru Score of 84%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 13 expert reviewers we have collected.

Who is Avène RetrinAL 0.1% Intensive Cream (reformulated) best for?

Avène RetrinAL 0.1% Intensive Cream (reformulated) is generally suited to mature skin.

Cheaper alternatives the gurus rate.

Lower-priced moisturizers the gurus still rate highly, versus this mid-range pick.

See how they stack up →

Similar products worth a look.

Other products the same gurus have weighed in on, plus more from this brand and category.

Compare side by side →

Share this score

Add this badge to your blog or website. It links back to this page and updates itself when the experts change their minds. Free, no sign-up.

Then paste it into your site's HTML or embed block.

This week's top beauty news, in your inbox.

A weekly read of the takes worth catching up on: the raves, the splits, the ones the gurus won't shut up about. Free, no spam, unsubscribe whenever.

Subscribe to the digest