Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster with 2% Mandelic Acid and Lactic Acid

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

~Yay

"Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster is a great product for niacinamide, and it works well alongside a vitamin C, whether you use it in the morning or move it to night if you've got sunspots or hyperpigmentation."

All 2 takes from Darnell Cox | 50+ Healthy Aging Expert

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"Paula's Choice makes a really good 10% niacinamide booster as well."

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"Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster is a great product for niacinamide, and it works well alongside a vitamin C, whether you use it in the morning or move it to night if you've got sunspots or hyperpigmentation."

Dr. Aleksandra Brown

151k subs

~Yay

"And then we have the [Paula's Choice] 10% Niacinamide Booster, which is really excellent for layering."

All 2 takes from Dr. Aleksandra Brown

Niacinamide: Does It Really Work? Dermatologist Explains the Hype, Benefits & Best Products

"This is a concentrated booster designed to mix into your moisturizer or apply alone if you have really, really tolerant skin. It targets [...] uneven skin tone, enlarged pores, dullness. It has a really lightweight formula. It adds flexibility to any routine. Layers easily with other actives. It really pairs well with retinoids, especially if you're going to add it to a moisturizer. It pairs well with antioxidants. So it's a great option for either morning or evening routine."

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"And then we have the [Paula's Choice] 10% Niacinamide Booster, which is really excellent for layering."

Mad About Skin

732k subs

~Mixed

"And this isn't going to work for everyone. 10% can work for some, but some might find it too sensitizing. If your skin can tolerate a 10% niacinamide and you're already using it, you could always swap whatever product you're reaching for out for this Paula's Choice one. [...] It's going to work for some, but I would say 10% niacinamide can be a lot for certain people, particularly those that are prone to sensitivity."

Doctorly

3.59M subs

~Nay

"When you see a 10% niacinamide you're like do I really need 10%? It's double what the recommended amount is. Is that good? But then you get up into like the 20% and it's like wow, okay, now you're more likely to get irritation. The more you have of anything, it's not like the more of things the better it is. Sometimes less is more. [...] Studies show 5% is sufficient for pretty much all your clinical endpoints."

All 2 takes from Doctorly

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"When you see a 10% niacinamide you're like do I really need 10%? It's double what the recommended amount is. Is that good? But then you get up into like the 20% and it's like wow, okay, now you're more likely to get irritation. The more you have of anything, it's not like the more of things the better it is. Sometimes less is more. [...] Studies show 5% is sufficient for pretty much all your clinical endpoints."

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"This is going to be a gentle formula but be a nice exfoliant for the skin. You're going to leave it on all night and then just moisturize afterwards. You're not going to want to use that on the same night that you're using the retinol because we don't know if that's going to cause too much irritation."

Dr. Mamina

282k subs

~Yay

"Look for products that have higher concentrations of niacinamide I like ones from Paula's Choice"

Nipun Kapur

412k subs

~Yay

"You're using Paula's Choice niacinamide that's a good niacinamide"

HotandFlashy

1.23M subs

~Yay

"There are some dedicated niacinamide serums that you can buy if you just want to add in that ingredient to your skin care. Paula's Choice makes a niacinamide booster. I would not go for the ten or twenty percent boosters, I would go for something around five percent. Studies have shown that anything above five percent can actually be irritating to the skin."

Hyram

4.33M subs

~Mixed

"I [...] personally don't feel that concentration of niacinamide is necessary. From data we know that five percent niacinamide is the amount you need to see results, and sometimes overexposure to certain ingredients can push your skin into the sensitivity range. However, if she hasn't noticed any adverse effects to the product then I don't think there's a problem with it. [...] I love Paula's Choice, I love niacinamide, I love that she's incorporating it into her routine."

Lab Muffin Beauty Science

863k subs

~Yay

"This serum is the one that actually made a big difference on my skin and it made me really try out other niacinamide products. I've seen other people say the same thing, that this one is just the one that works the best for them. [...] The texture is really watery and light. It's a water-based formula and it's very easy to incorporate into your routine because it's so light. It layers nicely under everything else. You can use it morning or night."

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

Niacinamide

Niacinamide has evidence behind it for redness, uneven tone and supporting the skin barrier, and it is usually well tolerated even by skin that reacts to most things.

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

Frequently asked.

What is Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster with 2% Mandelic Acid and Lactic Acid?

A lightweight niacinamide serum booster with 10% niacinamide plus mandelic and lactic acids, designed to layer into moisturizers or apply alone to address uneven skin tone, enlarged pores, and dullness.

Is Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster with 2% Mandelic Acid and Lactic Acid worth it?

The gurus mostly approve it, but with enough reservations to keep it in the middle at a Guru Score of 72%.

What is Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster with 2% Mandelic Acid and Lactic Acid's Guru Score?

Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster with 2% Mandelic Acid and Lactic Acid holds a Guru Score of 72%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 9 expert reviewers we have collected.