e.l.f. Youth Boosting Advanced Night Retinoid Serum

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.

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✓Yay

"This nighttime serum helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles over time, reveals smooth, renewed, and radiant skin. It also contains sunflower seed oil, licorice root, and bisabolol, which are all great soothing ingredients, and the Matrixyl 3000 peptide duo. These are all absolutely wonderful products, you can't go wrong with any of them, they're all fragrance-free, pretty affordable, and they all deliver results."

All 3 takes from No BS Beauty

ELF Youth Boosting Advanced Night Retinoid Serum Review, How to Use, & Dupe for $100+ Retinols!

"This does do what it claims. It claims to be anti-aging and hydrating and help with evening skin tone, and I think it helps with all of those, which is nice. There's a lot of products that make a lot of claims and they don't follow through on most of them. This is an exception. It does follow through with pretty much everything it claims, and it's got a nice mix of ingredients as well as soothing ingredients to calm skin and prevent the retinization process."

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"It's really lovely from Elf. [...] It's very orange, I think there's beta-carotene in here, and no fragrance. It's really affordable. I would say this one's a little bit more gentle on the gentle side of these, so if you're sensitive or new to retinol this might be a good way to start because it's a little gentle and then work your way up to the stronger ones. [...] It's really the most affordable on the list."

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"This nighttime serum helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles over time, reveals smooth, renewed, and radiant skin. It also contains sunflower seed oil, licorice root, and bisabolol, which are all great soothing ingredients, and the Matrixyl 3000 peptide duo. These are all absolutely wonderful products, you can't go wrong with any of them, they're all fragrance-free, pretty affordable, and they all deliver results."

Mad About Skin

731k subs

✓Yay

"So if you are super breakout prone, then this e.l.f. one will be a wondrous addition to your skincare routine. If you're not breakout prone, it's still a great option if you're looking for something super gentle, but that genuinely delivers a punch when it comes to anti-aging. I absolutely love this one. And of course, in keeping with all of the e.l.f. products, this is super drugstore and affordable."

All 3 takes from Mad About Skin

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"Buying this e.l.f. Youth Boosting Advanced Night Retinoid Serum, it's beautifully hydrating. That blend is really innovative and it's not something you see an awful lot of, so I definitely applaud them for that. I love the pump action on this bottle. It just dispenses the right amount and the price point is divine. e.l.f. really are knocking it out of the park with their skincare this year and I think this is one of the best launches that they've had."

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"If you want to start with a multi-retinoid formula, this is a really great one to do. It won't break the bank, but it also won't cause too much sensitivity and irritation. The pump on this product works really, really well, so it's easy to dispense the right amount and it just feels great. [...] If you're completely new to retinoids or you have sensitive skin, this could be a real game changer and one that I would definitely recommend incorporating."

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"So if you are super breakout prone, then this e.l.f. one will be a wondrous addition to your skincare routine. If you're not breakout prone, it's still a great option if you're looking for something super gentle, but that genuinely delivers a punch when it comes to anti-aging. I absolutely love this one. And of course, in keeping with all of the e.l.f. products, this is super drugstore and affordable."

Dr. Shereene Idriss

1.73M subs

✓Yay

"When you're talking about retinols and you're talking about 2023 e.l.f. had a crazy year but the e.l.f. Youth Boosting Advanced Night Retinoid Serum for 22 bucks is pretty amazing. It is a hydroxy pinacolone retinoate, also known as a granactive retinoid, married to retinol and a little bit of antioxidants in there. So it's a good one if you're sensitive and you're looking for something to start with and you don't want to spend an arm and a leg."

All 4 takes from Dr. Shereene Idriss

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"When you're talking about retinols and you're talking about 2023 e.l.f. had a crazy year but the e.l.f. Youth Boosting Advanced Night Retinoid Serum for 22 bucks is pretty amazing. It is a hydroxy pinacolone retinoate, also known as a granactive retinoid, married to retinol and a little bit of antioxidants in there. So it's a good one if you're sensitive and you're looking for something to start with and you don't want to spend an arm and a leg."

Skincare for Your 20s: Acne, Post-Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation, Oily Skin | Dr. Shereene Idriss

"I really do like e.l.f. They have their granactive retinoid as well as 0.06% retinal and antioxidants in it. The granactive retinoid is hydroxy pinacolone retinoate, and it is a cousin of the active form of retinol, also known as tretinoin. Studies are saying that it is almost as effective as the active form, although it is not technically the active form, and it is not as irritating. So this is a really nice one for you guys to try. It is not expensive, it is 22 bucks."

Budget-Friendly Drugstore Skincare Favorites from a Dermatologist! | Dr. Shereene Idriss

"e.l.f. has their Youth Boosting Advanced Night Retinoid Serum which is a mix of Granactive Retinoid, also known as hydroxypinacolone retinoate, which is what you find in Caroline Hirons' retinoid as well as 0.06% retinal and other antioxidants. It's a mix of various different types of retinols on the market. It has a very very light scent to it but nothing crazy or repulsive."

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"I really do like their Youth Boosting Advanced Night Retinoid Serum. There is some misleading marketing actually. They say one percent Gran active retinoid but one percent active retinoid is like point one percent hydroxypinacolone retinoate. Hydroxypinacolone retinoate is the cousin of tretinoin, the active form of retinol, so it's not exactly one percent, it is 0.1 percent. It's a great beginner's retinol, there's nothing wrong with it."

Dr Alexis Stephens

582k subs

✓Yay

"The e.l.f. Youth Boosting Advanced Night Retinoid Serum is easily one of the most affordable, high-quality product launches of the year. It's formulated with 0.0% retinal, which is retinaldehyde, plus 1% Granactive Retinoid, antioxidants, and peptides."

Nadine Baggott

164k subs

✓Yay

"Elf have an amazing value for money retinol. I remember putting this on this morning and I was most impressed. I know it's stronger than 0.05, I think it's 0.1 with a granactive as well. It's stronger than the 0.05 and it's got a granactive activity as well."

What the evidence says.

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

Retinoids

Retinoids are among the best studied ingredients in dermatology, with solid evidence for acne and for the fine lines and rough texture that come from sun exposure. Dryness and flaking in the first few weeks are common and usually settle.

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

Peptides

Peptides are short protein fragments meant to signal repair. The evidence for them is thinner than for retinoids or vitamin C, and it varies a lot by the specific peptide, so the category is more promising than proven.

Source: NIH, National Library of Medicine

Frequently asked.

What is e.l.f. Youth Boosting Advanced Night Retinoid Serum?

A pump-bottle night serum from e.l.f. that combines retinol with a gentler retinoid, designed to help with fine lines, hydration and the look of uneven skin tone.

Is e.l.f. Youth Boosting Advanced Night Retinoid Serum worth it?

Yes. All 5 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 84%.

What is e.l.f. Youth Boosting Advanced Night Retinoid Serum's Guru Score?

e.l.f. Youth Boosting Advanced Night Retinoid Serum holds a Guru Score of 84%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 5 expert reviewers we have collected.