Glow Recipe Guava Vitamin C Dark Spot Brightening Treatment Serum

What the experts use it for.

The concerns the experts tie this product to, in their own words. Paid and founder takes don't count.

Dark spots and post-acne marks3 experts

“It actually works on little hyperpigmentation spots.”

Cassandra Bankson, watch at 15:46

Melasma1 expert

“and it contains tranexamic acid which helps treat melasma or dark spots.”

The Budget Dermatologist, watch at 10:26

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

CYoung

96k subs

~Nay

"My biggest disappointment was Glow Recipe's freshly juiced vitamin C drop. I opened two brand new bottles and both turned yellow within days. I know vitamin C oxidizes but this one was way too fast, I felt like I was racing the bottle. I would skip it."

Dr. Vanita Rattan

1.23M subs

~Yay

"The fifth ingredient here is tetrahexyl decanoate. Well done. The sixth ingredient in here is tranexamic acid which is a lovely tyrosinase inhibitor. And they've added in 3-O ethyl ascorbic acid. So even though it's not in an airless pump, I actually really like the formula. It's £40. So it's not cheap, but what I would say is for this formula to be more effective, it should be in an airless pump. But actually, I quite like the formula."

All 2 takes from Dr. Vanita Rattan

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"The fifth ingredient here is tetrahexyl decanoate. Well done. The sixth ingredient in here is tranexamic acid which is a lovely tyrosinase inhibitor. And they've added in 3-O ethyl ascorbic acid. So even though it's not in an airless pump, I actually really like the formula. It's £40. So it's not cheap, but what I would say is for this formula to be more effective, it should be in an airless pump. But actually, I quite like the formula."

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"The bad is it's not in an airless pump, [...] and the whole brand is fragranced. It smells like guava, which means it contains scent, and on melanin-rich skin that's a long-term pigmentation tax. The tranexamic acid percentage is undisclosed and likely quite low. Cute marketing, cute product, but wrong fit for our skin. If they made an unscented version it would be a yes from me, but as it stands I'd put it at about five to six [...] out of 10, and it's £42."

No BS Beauty

89k subs

~Yay

"The Glow Recipe Guava Vitamin C Dark Spot Brightening Treatment Serum is $45 for 1 ounce. It also has tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, azelaic glucoside, apple, and vitamin E, so this is going to be the closest dupe. It saves you about 20 bucks. The packaging's kind of fun."

All 4 takes from No BS Beauty

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"Glow Recipe's Dark Spot Treatment Serum is actually pretty nice. It's on the pricey side of things but overall I can't really find any reason to knock it. This one uses five different types of derivatives, which is what I appreciate because if in 10 years we find out one of the derivatives [...] was great and the rest didn't do anything, [...] odds are you have the other four that are great or the other one that's great."

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"The Glow Recipe Guava C and Ferulic Dark Spot Serum and the Mad Hippie Vitamin C Serum are the closest dupes and alternatives to this. I really quite liked it to be honest. In the summer, under sunscreen, on a regular basis, I prefer ascorbic acid, [...] but this is a nice option for if your skin's sensitive or if your skin's feeling super dry. It adds some nice moisture and soothing benefits as well as brightening. [...] It's formulated well, and this one's really nice."

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"The Glow Recipe Guava Vitamin C Dark Spot Brightening Treatment Serum is $45 for 1 ounce. It also has tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, azelaic glucoside, apple, and vitamin E, so this is going to be the closest dupe. It saves you about 20 bucks. The packaging's kind of fun."

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"I typically don't talk about this brand a lot but the Glow Recipe Guava Vitamin C Dark Spot Brightening Treatment Serum, it's 45 bucks but this one is really nice because it uses I think five different versions of vitamin C and it doesn't have any scent to it which is nice. A lot of Glow Recipe products can be hit or miss for fragrance but this one overall is a pretty good product."

Dr. Jenny Liu

324k subs

~Yay

"If you're looking for a lipid soluble vitamin C that helps to brighten your skin as well as protect your skin, you got to check out the Glow Recipe Guava Vitamin C Dark Spot Brightening Treatment Serum."

Top Pick: lipid soluble vitamin c serum

All 3 takes from Dr. Jenny Liu

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"It helps with evening out skin texture and skin tone but also can serve as a great antioxidant serum. If you're struggling with uneven skin tone, whether that's from post-acne marks or sun damage, you're looking for ways to minimize your routine, or just want to use an antioxidant serum in the morning that also has brightening benefits, I highly recommend this one. With the creamier, more hydrating texture, it's really not watery. It's definitely more of like a light lotion."

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"This is one of the first I find fairly affordable lipid soluble vitamin C serum that I just fell in love with it. It is so elegant and I feel like it really does so many different things and it's not only an antioxidant serum but also has wonderful ingredients that helps to brighten skin. For those that wanting something to help with reducing oxidative stress in the morning but also at the same time struggling with uneven skin tone this is a great one."

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"If you're looking for a lipid soluble vitamin C that helps to brighten your skin as well as protect your skin, you got to check out the Glow Recipe Guava Vitamin C Dark Spot Brightening Treatment Serum."

AliceintheRabbitHole

59k subs

~Mixed

"This is the guava vitamin C serum. I bought it, finished it, and enjoyed it, it had the same problem as the guava eye serum where it's a little hard to get the last bit of product out. But I moved on from it because this tranexamic acid ingredient doesn't quite have a body of literature behind it that you might think it has given how popular it is. I'd rather go with something tried and true like L ascorbic acid instead."

Kelly Driscoll

91k subs

~Yay

"I love this one. Glow Recipe is hit or miss for me quite honestly, but this is one that actually really won me over. It is a fragrance-free formula which is somewhat rare for Glow Recipe, but I really like the ingredients in here. There's five different forms of vitamin C, they're using a lot of vitamin C derivatives in here, so this is like a really easy, chill formula."

Dr. Daniel Sugai

723k subs

~Yay

"Glow Recipe's guava vitamin C dark spot serum has a really nice texture to it, very silky smooth. You can put this on after cleansing and then follow up with your hyaluronic acid serum. You can do it in that order, it's a very popular way to use both hyaluronic acid and vitamin C. You can totally do that, they won't interact in a negative way, so you could cleanse, put your vitamin C serum, then your hyaluronic acid."

The Budget Dermatologist

725k subs

~Yay

"Glow Recipe is such a fun little brand, and this also has several types of vitamin C in it. The most concentrated one is the THD ascorbate, so it's an option if you're looking for a vitamin C serum that's not quite as expensive as the Peter Thomas Roth but with that form of vitamin C in it, which is actually hard to find."

All 2 takes from The Budget Dermatologist

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"Glow Recipe is such a fun little brand, and this also has several types of vitamin C in it. The most concentrated one is the THD ascorbate, so it's an option if you're looking for a vitamin C serum that's not quite as expensive as the Peter Thomas Roth but with that form of vitamin C in it, which is actually hard to find."

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"This also contains vitamin E and ferulic acid, [...] and it contains tranexamic acid which helps treat melasma or dark spots. It does have a little bit of a fruity scent to it because it has some berry and fruit extracts in it. Overall a really nice product. I do recommend this. It is not my favorite because I love the more transparent ingredients listed better, [...] but this is still a fun one and I like this because it has the THD in it."

James Welsh

1.58M subs

~Yay

"And this is anything but. This just feels like a really nice moisturizing, hydrating serum with the Vitamin C benefits. Usually I would recommend other things if you're looking to even out your skin tone, but if you are looking to even out your skin tone and get the antioxidant power of Vitamin C, this with the Tranexamic Acid in, I think you'll absolutely love. This is one I really love too."

All 3 takes from James Welsh

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"And this is anything but. This just feels like a really nice moisturizing, hydrating serum with the Vitamin C benefits. Usually I would recommend other things if you're looking to even out your skin tone, but if you are looking to even out your skin tone and get the antioxidant power of Vitamin C, this with the Tranexamic Acid in, I think you'll absolutely love. This is one I really love too."

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"I don't usually like vitamin C serums at all to be honest with you, but this one [...] just feels like a nice hydrating moisturizing serum, and the smell I can never get over. It reminds me of something, [...] I think it's almost like foam shrimp, you know, like shrimp and bananas kind of smell. I love it so much."

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"I'm gonna go in with the Guava Vitamin C Dark Spot Serum from Glow Recipe. Unsurprisingly, I like this product from Glow Recipe a lot. I don't use a lot of vitamin C serums because I find them to be a little bit stingy sometimes, a little bit metallicky, strangely warm on the skin, and potentially very irritating for my skin as well. But this one's completely different. It just feels like a nice moisturizing serum, and it smells so good."

Dr Dray

2.69M subs

~Nay

"This brand is just like overhyped, Glow Recipe, let's put fruit juice in everything. This is a $45 hydrating serum with a bunch of humectants, [...] fragrance, [...] fruity extracts, and a peptide [...] I'm not sure what it does."

Dr. Shereene Idriss

1.73M subs

~Yay

"This one has a slightly pink tone to it, it smells like candy and you want to eat it. This particular product is actually a combination of five different vitamin C's including the tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, the 3-O ethylated form of vitamin C as well as sodium ascorbyl phosphate, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, and ascorbyl glucoside."

All 2 takes from Dr. Shereene Idriss

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"This one has a slightly pink tone to it, it smells like candy and you want to eat it. This particular product is actually a combination of five different vitamin C's including the tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, the 3-O ethylated form of vitamin C as well as sodium ascorbyl phosphate, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, and ascorbyl glucoside."

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"Glow Recipe has their guava vitamin C dark spot serum at 45. I think it's a little misleading that you're going to just put vitamin C on the spot thinking that dark spot is going to go away. You could probably use it all over your face. It's a combination of tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate as well as 3-0 ethyl ascorbic acid and a few other derivatives."

Cassandra Bankson

2.46M subs

~Mixed

"The one that is the guava vitamin C, that one has no fragrance added, it's like a natural fragrance. That one can be a little intense though."

What the evidence says.

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

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

Tranexamic acid

Tranexamic acid has a growing body of clinical evidence for melasma and the stubborn patches of pigment that other ingredients struggle with.

Source: DermNet

Humectants and emollients

Ingredients like these draw water into the surface layers and slow how fast it leaves. The evidence is for comfort, softness and hydration rather than for changing the structure of the skin.

Source: DermNet

Frequently asked.

What is Glow Recipe Guava Vitamin C Dark Spot Brightening Treatment Serum?

A brightening serum from Glow Recipe that combines several forms of vitamin C with tranexamic acid, designed to help fade dark spots and even out skin tone.

Is Glow Recipe Guava Vitamin C Dark Spot Brightening Treatment Serum worth it?

The gurus are split. 8 of the 12 gurus give it their stamp of approval while 2 would skip it, which lands it in the middle at a Guru Score of 67%.

What is Glow Recipe Guava Vitamin C Dark Spot Brightening Treatment Serum's Guru Score?

Glow Recipe Guava Vitamin C Dark Spot Brightening Treatment Serum holds a Guru Score of 67%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 12 expert reviewers we have collected. At least one expert has named it a Top Pick in its category.

Who is Glow Recipe Guava Vitamin C Dark Spot Brightening Treatment Serum best for?

Glow Recipe Guava Vitamin C Dark Spot Brightening Treatment Serum is generally suited to normal skin.

What is Glow Recipe Guava Vitamin C Dark Spot Brightening Treatment Serum good for, according to the experts?

In their reviews, experts say Glow Recipe Guava Vitamin C Dark Spot Brightening Treatment Serum is good for dark spots and post-acne marks (3 experts) and melasma (1 expert).

Is Glow Recipe Guava Vitamin C Dark Spot Brightening Treatment Serum good for dark spots and post-acne marks?

3 experts who reviewed Glow Recipe Guava Vitamin C Dark Spot Brightening Treatment Serum say it is. Cassandra Bankson put it this way: “It actually works on little hyperpigmentation spots.”