Index / Paula's Choice / C5 Super Boost Vitamin C Moisturizer
Paula's Choice

C5 Super Boost Vitamin C Moisturizer.

Paula's Choice C5 Super Boost Vitamin C Moisturizer
Moisturizers

About this product

A lightweight moisturizer with 5% vitamin C derivatives and hexapeptide designed to brighten skin, improve texture, and support the skin barrier.

Full ingredients

Guru Score

68%

Mixed

9 experts · Strong agreement
9Gurus
6Yay
1Mixed
2Nay

What they liked

  • Holds well under makeup without pilling
  • Stabilized vitamin C forms that brighten and protect

What they flagged

  • Pricey for the amount of product

What the gurus are saying

This moisturizer earns consistent praise for its gentle vitamin C formula and hydrating texture, making it especially appealing for sensitive skin or those wanting brightening benefits without a separate serum. Most gurus highlight the nourishing-but-lightweight feel and its ability to improve dullness and skin radiance over time, though a couple note there are stronger brightening options out there if that's your main goal. Best used as a morning moisturizer for its antioxidant sun protection, though some prefer it at night for its richer hydration.
Synthesized from 9 expert reviews · most recent take April 2025

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
"Unfortunately the poish choice eye cream at actually is garbage so it wasn't even a good well formulated eye cream"
~Nay
"I have the Paula's Choice C5 Super Boost Moisturizer, so this contains 5% vitamin C and a hexapeptide 5. This is quite moisturizing and also it does help to brighten up the skin as well. It is very nourishing on the skin, but I didn't exactly love it. There are other products that I feel work just as good if not better in terms of brightening and moisturizing. Because there are so many other options in the market that I have used that performed better than this, I am not going to repurchase this at this time."
~Yay
"This is a staple. It has 5% vitamin C in the form of 30 ethyl ascorbate and escoro glucoside, and it also has hexapeptide 5 which helps with the firmness of the skin. I like this form of vitamin C because it is a true moisturizer, so if you have really dry skin or if you're struggling with just feeling really dry, especially during fall winter, this is a wonderful choice for you. This is more of a gel moisturizer, and it's really great for people who struggle with dryness."
~Mixed
"The fifth ingredient here is vitamin C and they've got a glucoside and three O ethoxy scorbic acid, two of my favorite vitamin C forms. Plus they use hexapeptide 8, so that's your peptides, plus bacillus ferment which is fantastic for the health of the skin. I would say this is a decent formula and really my favorite for mild brightening so far. It will help with mild dark circles or very fine lines. Typically skin of color however needs tyrosinase inhibitors to work, but my favorite so far."
~Yay
"The Paula's Choice C5 Super Boost Moisturizer, this one's $45. Paula's Choice uses vitamin C derivatives. This one has glutathione in there, which is great for brightening skin. It also uses tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate and this one uses 3-O ethyl ascorbic acid. It's got peptide in there, it's got watermelon oil, which is a great antioxidant and protecting ingredient, and then it's also got polyglutamic acid. It's a really nice moisturizer."
All 2 takes from No BS Beauty
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"This one has a similar texture to the other two. I like the packaging of this one a lot better. In here we've got three O ethyl ascorbic acid, we've got a scoro glucoside which is a vitamin C derivative, vitamin E, we've got a peptide and we've got shea butter which is a nice hydrating ingredient. This one is in my opinion more friendly at night, so I wouldn't necessarily use this in your morning routine, but at night this one works really nice. It's a little bit on the hydrating side for daytime. It might make your makeup pill or make it pill a little bit and make it look settling into fine lines, so that's why I'd recommend that one at night more."
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"The Paula's Choice C5 Super Boost Moisturizer, this one's $45. Paula's Choice uses vitamin C derivatives. This one has glutathione in there, which is great for brightening skin. It also uses tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate and this one uses 3-O ethyl ascorbic acid. It's got peptide in there, it's got watermelon oil, which is a great antioxidant and protecting ingredient, and then it's also got polyglutamic acid. It's a really nice moisturizer."
~Yay
"I really have loved using this year's from Paula's Choice, their C5 Super Boost Vitamin C Moisturizer, that contains lipid soluble vitamin C, THD ascorbyl along with hexapeptide that really works synergistically to target human skin texture and skin tone. This creamy formula is hydrating and nourishing but not heavy. I love using this as my morning moisturizer, and in the past I even mentioned this could be a good substitute for those who are looking for something that may offer some antioxidant, you know, skin aging benefits without having to use a serum. This could be a really good substitute for that. You can certainly use it in the evening as well, twice a day, whatever your skin needs are. This is a really nice one, really elegant, that has additional ingredients to help target dullness, uneven skin texture and skin tone. It's really ideal for more what I call mature skin, skin that has signs of aging, or those that are looking for a good one to help improve dullness and uneven skin tone."
All 2 takes from Dr. Jenny Liu
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"This is a great one if you're looking for a nourishing moisturizer that offers additional brightening benefits. It helps over time with improving skin texture and skin tone, so really great for an anti-aging routine. Texture-wise it's definitely nourishing and creamy but not heavy, and once it's absorbed it feels really lightweight. Even though on the bottle it suggests using it for PM, I actually love this in the morning and at night. It's a little pricey but I think it's worth the splurge. Just all around a great moisturizer if you're looking to help improve your skin radiance and improve dullness."
Dermatologist's Favorite Sephora Skincare & Haircare Products | Dr. Jenny Liu
"I really have loved using this year's from Paula's Choice, their C5 Super Boost Vitamin C Moisturizer, that contains lipid soluble vitamin C, THD ascorbyl along with hexapeptide that really works synergistically to target human skin texture and skin tone. This creamy formula is hydrating and nourishing but not heavy. I love using this as my morning moisturizer, and in the past I even mentioned this could be a good substitute for those who are looking for something that may offer some antioxidant, you know, skin aging benefits without having to use a serum. This could be a really good substitute for that. You can certainly use it in the evening as well, twice a day, whatever your skin needs are. This is a really nice one, really elegant, that has additional ingredients to help target dullness, uneven skin texture and skin tone. It's really ideal for more what I call mature skin, skin that has signs of aging, or those that are looking for a good one to help improve dullness and uneven skin tone."
~Yay
"I have been using this one since last year. This is another great option. It has a different type of vitamin C in it compared to the eye patches, and this one has more of my favorite type of vitamin C."
All 3 takes from The Budget Dermatologist
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"I have been using this one since last year. This is another great option. It has a different type of vitamin C in it compared to the eye patches, and this one has more of my favorite type of vitamin C."
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"The vitamin C eye cream is instantly illuminating. I don't know that you need an eye cream like this, I say really save your money for eye creams at night that you are going to use to rebuild collagen and erase fine lines and wrinkles like retinoid eye creams or bakuchiol eye creams, but certainly vitamin C eye creams can give you benefit there. This one is definitely a reasonable product to use. It has a little more of that orange texture compared to the moisturizer and it's a little bit thicker which is what you want for an eye cream product. It's a little more illuminating than the face cream so it's perfect for the under eyes to brighten them."
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"This is my favorite product lately. It has five percent stabilized vitamin C in it that is going to brighten your skin so it doesn't look dull or lackluster. I use this in the morning because this can also prevent that free radical damage from the sun, so pair this with an SPF for maximum anti-aging and protection. It also has hexapeptide 5 in it, it has lipids and polyglucamic acid, and all of that together is going to strengthen your moisture barrier, so it's very effective at hydrating the skin but still being lightweight enough so it's good to use in the morning time."
~Yay
"I generally love Paula's Choice eye creams. I've seen me use them throughout the years in my routines. I also do love the C15, C25 boosters as well. So I was pretty excited for this, especially to use during the daytime because I love an antioxidant during the daytime. The texture for right now is absolutely perfect. It's creamy enough, holds really well under makeup, but it's substantial enough that it does keep this area just well lubricated. This contains 5% of three vitamin C derivatives. These derivatives are good at brightening the skin, but also it has the peptides, the hydrators, and all of that as well."
~Yay
"I love the 5% of the stabilized vitamin C I'm getting that brightness that I crave. But I'm also getting some of that collagen stimulation the antioxidant protection. Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant that gives us a little bit of extra protection from damage from the sun. I usually use this morning and night time but since I have a lot of choices I usually reserve this one for the morning when I know it's working super hard for my skin to give you that additional protection in addition to sunscreen. In addition to sunscreen in the morning I'm just getting a little bit of extra damage protection, damage control around that delicate eye area. It's very gentle."
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All 3 takes from Kelly Driscoll
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"The moisturizer I think is really great for combination skin especially because we've got some of that hydration element, that plumping element, and then a really nice silky emolliency that's not really greasy, it's not overwhelming on the skin, it's not heavy. It has a really nice hydrating, plump and kind of airy feel to it. The benefits on this are really great at brightening if you really just want to brighten up a dull or an uneven complexion. These products will really make your skin and complexion look more lively, more vibrant, more glowy from like lit from within. It will take definitely longer, especially if you're going to use the moisturizer to target hyperpigmentation. It's probably gonna fade at the slowest of all the products in the video, but that's kind of the name of the game with sensitive skin. We know that we have to take things a little bit slower. If you have very very very sensitive skin, this can be a great way to incorporate vitamin C into your skincare routine. I really think that this is best for very sensitive skin because of that percentage, but I also think the format is incredibly easy to use and incorporate into your routine. Maybe you don't have room for another serum in your life, but you do have some room for a moisturizer."
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"I love the 5% of the stabilized vitamin C I'm getting that brightness that I crave. But I'm also getting some of that collagen stimulation the antioxidant protection. Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant that gives us a little bit of extra protection from damage from the sun. I usually use this morning and night time but since I have a lot of choices I usually reserve this one for the morning when I know it's working super hard for my skin to give you that additional protection in addition to sunscreen. In addition to sunscreen in the morning I'm just getting a little bit of extra damage protection, damage control around that delicate eye area. It's very gentle."
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"This is the Paula's Choice C5 Super Boost Vitamin C Moisturizer, and this is another one that I like for the morning time. It does use a stabilized form of vitamin C, so it not only brightens the skin but it also acts as a protective antioxidant as well, which is nice in the morning time."

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

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

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, and it is often in a formula to keep the other ingredients stable rather than as the active itself. It pairs well with vitamin C, though on its own the evidence for visible change is limited.

Source: NIH, National Library of Medicine

Frequently asked.

What is Paula's Choice C5 Super Boost Vitamin C Moisturizer?

A lightweight moisturizer with 5% vitamin C derivatives and hexapeptide designed to brighten skin, improve texture, and support the skin barrier.

Is Paula's Choice C5 Super Boost Vitamin C Moisturizer worth it?

The gurus are split. 6 of the 9 gurus give it their stamp of approval while 2 would skip it, which lands it in the middle at a Guru Score of 68%.

What is Paula's Choice C5 Super Boost Vitamin C Moisturizer's Guru Score?

Paula's Choice C5 Super Boost Vitamin C Moisturizer holds a Guru Score of 68%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 9 expert reviewers we have collected.

Who is Paula's Choice C5 Super Boost Vitamin C Moisturizer best for?

Paula's Choice C5 Super Boost Vitamin C Moisturizer is generally suited to dry skin and mature skin.

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