My derm had been suggesting retinal for almost a year and I kept finding reasons to delay because the horror stories I had read online about retinoid irritation made me nervous. A colleague at work finally convinced me to try this specific one because she had zero irritation and her skin was genuinely different after two months. I ordered from glowandme and delivery was two days, the packaging arrived completely sealed and looking very premium. I started once a week for the first three weeks to be very careful. The texture coming out of the pump surprised me, quite rich and cream-like, but it absorbs fully in about two minutes and leaves nothing on the surface. On the first use I noticed a slight yellow tint which I had read about and was not bothered by at all. I had zero tightness, zero dryness, and absolutely no purging in the first month. My derm had told me to start slow and I did and it paid off. By week four the glow was real and different from any surface-level product result, it felt like it was coming from inside the skin. By week six my skin texture was smoother, particularly on my forehead and cheeks. Around week eight the firmness arrived. It is subtle but it is there and it is new. The price is steep and I won't pretend otherwise but the results are doing the convincing for me. I apply SPF every morning without fail now. Already placed my second order.

I almost went straight to tret but my derm said to try retinal first and give it a proper two months before deciding. So glad I listened honestly. I introduced this very carefully, twice a week, thick moisturizer on top from the start. No irritation whatsoever across four weeks. My skin is softer, brighter, and I genuinely look less tired in video calls than I did a month ago. Packaging from glowandme was premium and arrived really fast. Will give a full update at the eight week mark.