Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream: a Guru Score of 55%

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

~Nay

"The positives are that they're nanoparticle safe, it's in airless packaging, it's got niacinamide and glycerin plus tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, my favorite form of vitamin C, plus peptides. The negatives however is that the retinol is at 1% which is just too harsh for skin of color and will be banned and off the shelf in the EU by November 2025. It's important to know that skin of color hyperpigments quicker from any form of inflammation than Caucasian skin, which is why we can't afford to irritate the skin. As I always say, one scratch, one bite, or one burn and we hyperpigment."

Dr. Somji Skin

359k subs

~Yay

"Some nice ones from the drunk elephant in terms of like a nice cream based formulation which is also pretty good"

All 5 takes from Dr. Somji Skin

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"This is a great retinol you can see that it's at good concentration it's got a nice blend of emollients. You're not going to feel very dry after this you can build up this retinol really quite nicely. I'd probably do it once every alternate days but yeah definitely this is a product I would definitely get."

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"This is a great retinol you can see that it's at good concentration, it's got a nice blend of ceramides. You're not going to feel very dry after this. You can build up this retinol really quite nicely. I'd probably do it once every alternate days. [...] The only drawback [...] is the actual amount of active ingredients is quite low, so it's not going to really change your skin so much, but it will definitely help, you know, make your skin feel better. Overall, [...] if you've got the extra cash for it, it's not a bad product, but if you really want to get what you pay for, it's not the brand for you."

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"You've got stronger ones with things like Drunk Elephant as well as Paula's Choice, but I would always start low with a retinol. I don't think that using a retinol on its own is enough to help with pigmentation."

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"Retinols are fantastic, they belong to a family of ingredients called retinoids and they're mainly available over the counter. [...] If you've got post acne scars I would go for more of a sensitive retinol so I wouldn't go high up in terms of concentration. Concentrations in retinols are really confusing so you're going to have to look on the label on pack. [...] Just remember if you're starting a retinol after having scarring acne scarring you can get a purge in acne for the first 6 to 12 weeks."

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"Some nice ones from the drunk elephant in terms of like a nice cream based formulation which is also pretty good"

Dr. Daniel Sugai

721k subs

~Nay

"If you're a teenager you don't need Drunk Elephant's retinol unless you see a dermatologist and you have acne and there are better acne medications than Drunk Elephant's retinol."

All 2 takes from Dr. Daniel Sugai

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"If you're a teenager you don't need Drunk Elephant's retinol unless you see a dermatologist and you have acne and there are better acne medications than Drunk Elephant's retinol."

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"Retinol is great for anti-aging. It helps with fine lines and wrinkles by increasing collagen production, helps keep your pores clear, and it helps with hyperpigmentation by increasing cell turnover."

Mad About Skin

727k subs

~Nay

"If you've got a high potency retinoid, which Drunk Elephant do with their A-Passioni Retinol Cream, you really need to be pitching that at the late 30s, 40s, and 50s market. There's a lot of people that are going to benefit from this product, probably do actually need it in terms of their skincare routine."

All 2 takes from Mad About Skin

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"If you've got a high potency retinoid, which Drunk Elephant do with their A-Passioni Retinol Cream, you really need to be pitching that at the late 30s, 40s, and 50s market. There's a lot of people that are going to benefit from this product, probably do actually need it in terms of their skincare routine."

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"This was a real firm favorite for so many people. Drug Element's having a bit of a revival, it's a viral moment online. This was definitely high potency, you get some great results, but you also got a lot of irritation with it."

James Welsh

1.58M subs

~Mixed

"It's a very strong retinol. Only use it if you are a pro."

Nipun Kapur

409k subs

~Yay

"This doesn't have Matrix, Matrix is a patented formula, but you get two types of very very strong peptides at high concentration if you go by the ingredient list. In addition to that you've got niacinamide, you've got fatty acids, you've got retinol. Gorgeous formula, absolutely love it."

All 2 takes from Nipun Kapur

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"The Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol is a strong retinol, okay, which means unless you use it four, two times, five times a week you're not going to see results, plus it's expensive."

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"This doesn't have Matrix, Matrix is a patented formula, but you get two types of very very strong peptides at high concentration if you go by the ingredient list. In addition to that you've got niacinamide, you've got fatty acids, you've got retinol. Gorgeous formula, absolutely love it."

No BS Beauty

89k subs

~Nay

"The stuff is not good for kids, especially a lot of their [...] products. This is too strong for most adults, and having an 8-year-old, 10-year-old, [...] or 16-year-old use it, their face is going to be even more apt to burn and get damaged."

All 3 takes from No BS Beauty

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"The stuff is not good for kids, especially a lot of their [...] products. This is too strong for most adults, and having an 8-year-old, 10-year-old, [...] or 16-year-old use it, their face is going to be even more apt to burn and get damaged."

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"Something like the Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream would be affected because they're putting it as a maximum of 0.05 percent. This is going to be too much. If it's a leave-on product, if it's a hand or face cream leave-on product other than body lotions and rinse-off products, the concentration can be up to 0.3 percent. If it's a body cream which goes all over your body, so you'd probably be absorbing a little bit more, then the limit is 0.05. So something like this would be limited to that. I have a feeling this isn't probably above that. It's not, it's a rather gentle one, but I could be wrong. I'm not sure, but something like this would be regulated."

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"Another one that's a little bit more expensive but actually not terribly much more expensive is the Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream, which is $76 for 1 oz. It contains 1% retinol as well as peptides."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Retinoids

Retinoids are among the best studied ingredients in dermatology, with solid evidence for acne and for the fine lines and rough texture that come from sun exposure. Dryness and flaking in the first few weeks are common and usually settle.

Source: DermNet

Vitamin C

Topical vitamin C is an antioxidant with reasonable evidence for dullness and uneven tone. It breaks down in light and air, so how a product is formulated and packaged matters as much as the percentage on the front.

Source: DermNet

Niacinamide

Niacinamide has evidence behind it for redness, uneven tone and supporting the skin barrier, and it is usually well tolerated even by skin that reacts to most things.

Source: DermNet

Frequently asked.

What is Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream?

A retinol cream formulated with ceramides and designed to reduce fine lines, support collagen production, and improve skin texture with a retinol blend.

Is Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream worth it?

The gurus are split. 2 of the 7 gurus give it their stamp of approval while 4 would skip it, which lands it in the middle at a Guru Score of 55%.

What is Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream's Guru Score?

Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream holds a Guru Score of 55%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 7 expert reviewers we have collected.