Vitamin C Serum.

"This is probably in my opinion the closest dupe I've seen to SkinCeuticals, ingredient list wise and active wise. They have the same concentrations of ascorbic acid, vitamin E and ferulic acid, so the key functional ingredients are the same, though the inactive ingredients aren't identical, they use polyglycerol 10 and sunflower seed oil and citric acid instead of laureth 23. The bottle is less opaque and the formula is more straw colored and slightly cloudy with a bit more of an oily texture from the sunflower oil, so if you have oilier skin you might not like it as much. But I do believe the Trader Joe's formulation is using ingredients in a formulation that would work, and I would personally trust it to deliver similar results over time. I actually like products that have a bit more slip to them, so for ten dollars instead of a hundred eighty five, I'd probably opt for this."

"The reviewer argues this $9.99 serum is a legitimate dupe for SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic. It has the same antioxidant trifecta: 15% L-ascorbic acid, 1% vitamin E, and 0.5% ferulic acid, and it transparently lists those exact percentages, which she says is rare in the market. Beyond the actives, the formulation appears to follow the same principles as the SkinCeuticals patent: low pH, L-ascorbic acid, a similar solvent system, and a water-based single-phase solution. The scent is similar to SkinCeuticals (the ferulic acid 'hot dog water' smell) and the finish, feel, and texture are comparable. She personally bought it and is currently testing it. Her view is that there is no scientific reason to think it could not deliver results as good as the $185 version. Caveats: the ingredient list is not identical (it includes sunflower oil), it has not been independently tested against SkinCeuticals, and the 15% L-ascorbic acid at low pH may irritate sensitive skin types."