e.l.f. Vitamin C Serum with Ferulic Acid: a Guru Score of 66%

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

Doctorly

3.59M subs

~Yay

"E.L.F. just came out with a 30% ascorbic acid formula. It's also quite nice."

All 2 takes from Doctorly

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"E.L.F. just came out with a 30% ascorbic acid formula. It's also quite nice."

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"If you want something that's not as irritating, something like the e.l.f. Vitamin C Serum with Ferulic Acid uses 3-O-ethyl ascorbic acid at a relatively affordable price. And 3-O-ethyl ascorbic acid is much more expensive to formulate with than L-ascorbic acid, but you'll see very similar results."

No BS Beauty

89k subs

~Nay

"The Geek and Gorgeous Seag Glow, I think it's like 12 bucks. It's cheaper than almost any other vitamin C serum. I think it costs less than the ELF vitamin C serum. And it's much better in my opinion than the E.L.F. one."

All 3 takes from No BS Beauty

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"E.L.F. has come out with their Bright Icon Vitamin C and E and Ferulic serum. I'm surprised that they hadn't had one really up until now. It's $16 for 1 oz and it contains 30% L-ascorbic acid, which is an ascorbic acid derivative. They also contain ascorbic acid, vitamin E, panthenol, and ferulic acid. It is fragrance-free. The one thing I'm curious about, E.L.F. is one of those brands that's known to make huge runs on their products at a time."

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"It's on the hydrating side. I'm not sure how I feel. I just wish I trusted them to manufacture this regularly. Their vitamin C serum - I have a feeling if you don't get this first run they're going to manufacture a whole ton of them, millions of them, and then probably at some point never make it again and pull it off the market. It [...] feels nice, it's a nice gel texture."

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"The Geek and Gorgeous Seag Glow, I think it's like 12 bucks. It's cheaper than almost any other vitamin C serum. I think it costs less than the ELF vitamin C serum. And it's much better in my opinion than the E.L.F. one."

Dr Dray

2.69M subs

~Mixed

"I don't get along well with ascorbic acid. I find it often irritates my skin and honestly many of the benefits of ascorbic acid I find you already get if you're using niacinamide and a retinoid. I don't really find that ascorbic acid adds much to the picture other than this whole complicated journey of finding one [...] that's not irritating, that is actually stable and effective, and not extremely expensive."

Mad About Skin

731k subs

~Yay

"For the drugstore hardcore out there, people that really want to experience ethylated ascorbic acid at the most affordable price point, go for the new launch by E.L.F. This is the E.L.F. Bright Icon Serum, ethylated ascorbic acid, antioxidants, a beautiful range of hydrating ingredients. This does it all. [...] Super inexpensive, doesn't break the bank, and shows that in 2025 we can get ethylated ascorbic acid on a budget."

All 2 takes from Mad About Skin

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"For the drugstore hardcore out there, people that really want to experience ethylated ascorbic acid at the most affordable price point, go for the new launch by E.L.F. This is the E.L.F. Bright Icon Serum, ethylated ascorbic acid, antioxidants, a beautiful range of hydrating ingredients. This does it all. [...] Super inexpensive, doesn't break the bank, and shows that in 2025 we can get ethylated ascorbic acid on a budget."

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"So I think this E.L.F. one is going to be a fantastic option if you're somebody that doesn't get through your vitamin C quickly. I would recommend once open you use your vitamin C within 3 months. And if that just isn't going to happen for you, go for this E.L.F. one. It's stabilized. So once open, it'll probably last 6 to 9 months. So you're going to get a little extra usage out of it for those of you that maybe cycle through your vitamin C's slower. E.L.F. are absolutely phenomenal."

Dr. Shereene Idriss

1.73M subs

~Mixed

"This one is in the exact same ratio as the C ferulic at the 15%, 1%, and .5%. But I also want you guys to keep in mind that ingredients do not make a recipe. Just keep that in mind if you are going to try it. [...] It has ascorbic acid. It may be tempting, but it can also be extremely irritating and it might not be super stable and only time will tell. If you have melasma, I would just approach all of these very, very, very conservatively because you don't want to irritate or inflame your skin."

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 e.l.f. Vitamin C Serum with Ferulic Acid?

A lightweight vitamin C serum formulated with 3-O ethylascorbic acid, vitamin E, and ferulic acid, designed to brighten skin and support collagen production.

Is e.l.f. Vitamin C Serum with Ferulic Acid worth it?

The gurus mostly approve it, but with enough reservations to keep it in the middle at a Guru Score of 66%.

What is e.l.f. Vitamin C Serum with Ferulic Acid's Guru Score?

e.l.f. Vitamin C Serum with Ferulic Acid holds a Guru Score of 66%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 5 expert reviewers we have collected.