Is Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum worth it?

The gurus are split. 9 of the 11 gurus give it their stamp of approval while 2 would skip it, which lands it in the middle at a Guru Score of 68%.

Drunk Elephant

Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum.

Q: What is Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum's Guru Score?

Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum holds a Guru Score of 68%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 11 expert reviewers we have collected.

Q: Who is Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum best for?

Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum is generally suited to dry skin, sensitive skin and mature skin.

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Serums

About this product

A lightweight nighttime exfoliating serum blending glycolic and lactic acids with salicylic acid, designed to improve skin texture, tone, and fine lines over time.

Full ingredients

Water, Glycolic Acid, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Salicylic Acid, Lactic Acid, Citric Acid, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Juice Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Extract, Aesculus Hippocastanum (Horse Chestnut) Seed Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Fruit Extract, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Extract, Buddleja Davidii Meristem Cell Culture, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Allantoin, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Galactoarabinan, Propanediol, Disodium Edta, Xanthan Gum, Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Nitrate, Potassium Sorbate, Pentylene Glycol, Sodium Benzoate

Guru Score

68%

Mixed

11 experts · Strong agreement

What they liked

Balanced AHA and BHA at gentler concentrations

What they flagged

Expensive at ninety dollars for one ounce
Too strong for regular use or beginners
Clashes with strong retinoids like adapalene

What the gurus are saying

This glycolic and lactic acid blend earns consistent praise for tackling dullness, texture, and hyperpigmentation, though strength and price divide opinions sharply. Most gurus prize the thoughtful supporting cast (fruit extracts, vitamin E, and soothing ingredients) that lets people with resilient skin tolerate regular use; however, those already using tretinoin or with reactive skin may find it too sensitizing, and younger skin generally doesn't need it. The high cost is a real sticking point, especially now that the formula has dropped from 12% to 10% glycolic acid.

Synthesized from 11 expert reviews · most recent take April 2026

Best for

Dry skin Sensitive skin Mature skin

Type

SerumsDrops & dropper

Key actives

Hyaluronic acid Salicylic acid (BHA)AHA

Formula notes

Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

Where to buy

Sephora → Ulta → Amazon → Google →

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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

No BS Beauty

89k subs

~Yay

"Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Serum is great. It's way more expensive."

All 11 takes from No BS Beauty

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"Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Serum is great. It's way more expensive."

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"This one is, I haven't repurchased it yet. This was actually an older bottle of it because it still says 12%, the current version is 10%. But I finally finished it. I didn't want to let it go to waste because it was so darn expensive. But a lot of people like it. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just pricey."

The Most Overrated Skincare Products! Overpriced? Ineffective? Better Alternatives?

"It's okay, it's just there's so many other nice exfoliants that are similar that don't cost a hundred, upwards of 100 or more. [...] It's got a nice gel texture, the pH is proper, it's fragrance free, things like that, but there's a lot of other good alternatives to it. Unless you get this on a deal or it works better for you than anything else, it's just so expensive."

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"This one has a really nice gel texture, but it's expensive. [...] It's got aloe, marula oil, raspberry extract, and green tea, and it's upwards of 90 bucks. [...] It is expensive, but it's a really nice gel texture. To be honest, all of these are very similar. I don't necessarily think one of these is technically going to be better than the others just because it's more expensive. In terms of pH and formula, it's pretty simple and no fragrance and no alcohol."

Better Than The Drunk Elephant TLC Framboos Resurfacing Glycolic Night Serum - Dupes & Alternatives

"It's expensive at ninety bucks for 1 ounce 30 milliliters. The stars of the show are glycolic acid, lactic acid, tartaric acid, and salicylic acid in a 10% blend, and the goal is to exfoliate skin leaving it soft and smooth over time. Glycolic acid is one of the miracle ingredients that can help rebuild collagen in skin as long as you set the proper pH and proper amount, typically 10%. It will help with collagen production and deepen your skin over time."

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"I had a 12-year-old girl try to buy the drunk elephant glycolic acid serum today this one which is too strong for me to use on a regular basis"

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"The Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos, I mean to be honest, Paula's Choice is probably going to be what, probably one-third of the price and it's really wonderful. A lot of people like absolutely like this product. I'm trying to finish it up, I've been working on it for quite some time now, but it's still overall a good product. Just for like the price though, I don't know, it's 120 bucks now, it's ridiculous."

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"The drunk elephant TLC Framboos glycolic serum which is now a 10% blend of glycolic and lactic acid it also includes aloe green tea and marula oil"

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"These days I would never repurchase this for 90 bucks, but when I was first getting into skincare, this is really nice because it's got a wonderful gel texture to it, which made it super unique. It works really nice in an evening routine. This one's fragrance and alcohol-free. It's got a blend, a 10% blend of glycolic, lactic, and tartric acids, which are great for anti-aging."

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"The Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum is another one that some people really enjoy that might be worth checking out for some people as well. It tends to be a lot more expensive than these other ones, [...] but if you can afford it, it's a nice one to have in your routine."

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"This one contains 10% glycolic acid, 2% lactic acid, and has a pH of right about 3.6, so it's right in there, and it's also very similar in the formula to the Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos glycolic serum."

April Basi

72k subs

~Yay

"This is not a weak formula by any means, I think it's a thoughtfully calibrated formula. [...] The rest of the formula, the horse chestnut extract, raspberry fruit extract, marula seed oil, cross polymer hyaluronic acid, and allantoin, is where it really earns some of its price tag."

James Welsh

1.58M subs

~Yay

"They're holy grails in people's skincare routines."

Dr. Jenny Liu

323k subs

~Yay

"The TLC Framboos Glycolic Night Serum is one of my favorite leave-in glycolic acid products. It contains a blend of glycolic and lactic acid along with plant extracts that you can use at night in place of your topical retinoid as part of that skin cycling routine to add some additional benefits like improving skin turnover, improving dullness and dry skin."

All 2 takes from Dr. Jenny Liu

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"It's $90 for 40 ml. This is a great leave-on serum that contains a blend of alpha and beta hydroxy acids to over time improve skin texture, skin tone, pore congestion, helping to tackle fine lines and wrinkles. [...] Ingredient wise it contains a blend of alpha and beta hydroxy acids, so alpha hydroxy wise you're getting a blend I believe of glycolic and lactic acid with salicylic acid as the main beta hydroxy acid, as well as fruit derived extracts."

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AliceintheRabbitHole

59k subs

~Yay

"It's still hard for me to swallow that this is now ninety dollars, it wasn't when I bought it, but there are booster ingredients in here, including a stem cell culture ingredient, that help with soothing and boosting the efficacy of the potent ingredients. It makes it so I can't hate on this product, [...] even though it's always been expensive it worked for me. [...] I think it's extremely well done and will probably work for a lot of people, though it won't work for everyone."

All 2 takes from AliceintheRabbitHole

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"Framboos from Drunk Elephant. I don't think you need to buy this specific product though, it's quite expensive for what it is now that we have some good competition. It works because it's a high strength glycolic acid serum, and glycolic acid is small enough to penetrate deep into the skin and address hyperpigmentation that's been lingering longer. You won't see results immediately, so make sure you finish the bottle before forming an opinion on it."

Nipun Kapur

412k subs

~Yay

"I would keep the Glycolic Acid 10% plus 1% BHA from Drunk Elephant"

Translated from the guru's original language.

All 3 takes from Nipun Kapur

Best Exfoliant For Anti Aging | NipunKapur

"The second product which I am using quite regularly for the last four five months is the Glycolic Acid Night Serum. Glycolic Acid Night Serum is Drunk Elephant's"

Translated from the guru's original language.

My favorite skincare products for 2024 Mid Year review | Nipun Kapur

"I have loved and I am super loving this in fact now when I need AHA exfoliation I use this"

Translated from the guru's original language.

My top 5 anti aging skincare products | If I could use only 5 products for the rest of 2024

"I would keep the Glycolic Acid 10% plus 1% BHA from Drunk Elephant"

Translated from the guru's original language.

Hyram

4.34M subs

~Nay

"You do not need it. It's not even that you don't just need it, you should not be using it. This type of product is only going to increase the likelihood that you're going to break out, have skin sensitivity, a rash, irritation. Your skin is not really equipped to be able to handle this powerful of a formula. [...] If you're really young, teen, please do not use this product, not only because it's $134 but also because your skin just does not need it."

Dr. Somji Skin

360k subs

~Yay

"I think it's a nice blend of acids, mixture of AHAs and BHAs, had good concentrations actually, and safe concentrations for maintenance. The vitamin E is actually probably the best ingredient there because it's a great antioxidant for skin and it's used in a lot of advanced skincare formulations. The only concern I have is that probably there's only enough squalane in there, and this is the reason why they recommend you to use it with their luxury facial oil as well."

All 2 takes from Dr. Somji Skin

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"I think it's a nice blend of acids, mixture of AHAs and BHAs, had good concentrations actually, and safe concentrations for maintenance. The vitamin C pH is actually probably the best ingredient there because it's a great antioxidant for skin and it's used in a lot of advanced skincare formulations. The only concern I have is that probably there's not enough essence in there, and this is the reason why they recommend you to use it with their luxury facial oil as well."

Allie Glines

829k subs

~Yay

"Framboos Glycolic Night Serum. Glycolic acid is an ingredient that my skin loves, so anytime I have a chance to use a glycolic serum I do, and this Drunk Elephant one has been in my routine for years, I'm talking like probably six or seven years at this point. It is so beautiful, I absolutely love it. It's great for at night if you just want a little bit of a treatment after your cleanser before moisturizer. It is so fabulous."

Sincerely Miss Ash

195k subs

~Nay

"I've had this for a very very long time and the reason why it has taken me so long to finish this is because sometimes my skin can be okay with glycolic acid and then there are times where my skin gets a little irritated it gets a little bit angry. I think it's because I'm a tretinoin user now and I think that's why my skin has changed a little bit when it comes to glycolic acid, but again it's a hit and miss. This product was a little bit too sensitizing on my face."

Beyond50Skin

32k subs

~Yay

"If you want something a little bit less potent, try the TLC Framboos. I received this in PR a couple months ago in their travel size, and it's one of the few travel size items in the collection that I actually really like. If you have never tried glycolic acid, I think the glycolic is pretty a low percentage in this formula because I had absolutely no irritation."