C-Firma Day Serum

Not impressed by this serum. Luckily I bought a 15ml size to start testing. I did not use it for more than 2 days since the smell was so horrid.,I threw it away. Waste of money.

Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum contains 15% vitamin C with Ferulic acid. Overall, it's a product that has been great for my skin and I wouldn't mind purchasing it again, if not for the price, The packaging is interesting with a turn nozzle to open. The vit C that may accidentally flows below the nozzle irks me sometimes. I have OCD and need to clean it every time before I turn it close. Otherwise, it's a clean way of pumping out Vit C to ensure the remaining content is less likely to be contaminated unlike a dropper application. The fruity smell is ok, not pleasant or repulsive. It does leave a slightly sticky texture after application but that's easily solved with applying a simple moisturiser over. My skin feels smooth after that. With regards to anti ageing and brightening, I think it has been doing its job.

I was given this as a sample. Texture is slightly thicker than the normal watery vitamin c serums I've used in pas. Its orange in colour and as previous poster stated, it would be difficult to assess when if its oxidised,, however its bottle which is opaque so I think its efficacy would remain safe. I didn't experience any side effects,but the cost is prohibitive to me. The Ordinary and even Vichy make vitamin c serums at a similar strength, but at much lower price

Overall: 4 Price: 4 ($105 CAD/30 mL) Packaging: 4 Buy again: Yes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am in my 30s, and still suffer from oily, acne-prone skin. I wanted to include some better anti-aging things in my routine since I am getting older and want to stay as youthful looking as possible :) I have tried a few Vitamin C products before, and either found their results were short-lived (Ole Henrikson Truth Serum), or the products were not enjoyable to use (Paula's Choice C15 Booster). I purchased a Drunk Elephant Rise + Glow mini set from Sephora, and I am in love! I actually purchased the full size as well! The formula of this product contains 15% L-Ascorbic Acid (L-AA), 1% Vitamin E, and 0.5% Ferulic Acid, along with some other things like Marula oil, Pumpkin ferment extract, and a whole host of other wonderful things. A lot of people complain that this product "arrives at their doorstep oxidized". That is untrue. It is true that when Vitamin C oxidizes, it does turn an orangey colour. However, the colour of this serum is a very light golden colour, that is the result of the tetrahydro-curcuminoids (Tetrahydrobisdemethoxydiferuloylmethane) that are used as an anti-irritant agent, and naturally has a light colour to it. So, NO it is NOT oxidized, it is just naturally that colour. L-AA is the chemically active form of vitamin C and is notoriously unstable, but studies have shown that when it is paired with 1% Vitamin E and 0.5% Ferulic acid (as it is in this formula), all three ingredients help to stabilize and further the effect of each other. Vitamin C is water-soluble, and has a resevoir effect in the skin whereafter it penetrates, it is active and cannot be washed or rubbed off for up to 8 hours (i.e. this is not a special effect unique ONLY to Drunk Elephant). The texture of this serum is thin and easy to spread. Some describe it as oily, but I don't think it's that bad. I take one pump (2 pumps if using the mini) and spread it all over my face. It has a slight smokey kind of scent to it. I doesn't burn or sting, or leave any weird tint to my face (the Paula's Choice one turned colour on my face). After I apply it and let it sink it for a minute, I apply a few drops of Sunday Riley Juno Oil or DE's Marula Oil with wet hands so it spreads easier. I apply my Biore Japanese sunscreen on top, which I normally find drying, so with this product underneath it's perfect. The packaging of this product is really nice. The pump is airtight, and twists into the bottle so you're never losing a cap, or worried that it might squirt out in your bag when you travel. And, the packaging is opaque, so the contents are protected from light. I have not had any issues with additional breakouts since using this product. I breakout if I don't use Benzoyl Peroxide daily, so as long as I have that, I'm fine. I did not experience any burning or itching or anything from this product either. I feel like after using it for a week, my skin is more firm, and the colour of my skin is more even. I still have some redness around my nose and mouth, but it's not as bad as it was. I had lots of post-acne hyperpigmentation marks as well, and this (along with the DE T.L.C. Framboos serum) is helping to fade them nicely. The cost of this product isn't pretty but that's what you get when you pay for a nice, stable formula with excellent packaging. I know that The Ordinary has much cheaper formulas, but they're also in old-school dropper bottles that introduce air with every use, and don't include Ferulic Acid in the formula. Oddly enough, it's actually cheaper to purchase the mini sets, rather than the full size bottles. The full size is $105/30 mL, or $3.50/mL. The mini set comes with 8mL of C-Firma, and 8mL of B-Hydra serum for $30 CAD. The full size of B-Hydra serum is $68/50mL, or $1.36/mL. Going by these prices per mL, for the same 8mL of each, I would actually be paying closer to $39, instead of the $30 (B-hydra is $10.88/8mL; C-Firma is $28/8mL). So it's actually a better deal to buy the minis, not to mention that it's recommended to finish using Vitamin C within 3-4 months of opening.

I suffer from acne prone skin which started in my early 20’s. Let me tell you, since then I’ve been on the search for the right product. I ended up using many products that Instead dried out my skin and destroyed my skin barrier. When I first started using this, I gave it about two weeks and decided it wasn’t for me. Mind you I did break out so I was very upset. I’m not sure if I was purging or whether it was another product I used. I stopped using it until someone else told me about their results. After using it continuously for 4 weeks I started realizing my skin turn so smooth and it felt healthy!!!!! I was so shocked and so happy. Literally my break outs decreased by so much. If I broke out it was very little. Maybe 1 or 2 hormonal cysts due to poor diet or that time of month. I know this might be TMI but I hope this helps someone. Anyways, this has been life changing. I’m currently out of the product and my skin is going through it. Also the bottle is FANTASTIC. Completely air tight and no light can get in. The reason I gave it 4 stars is because the colour of my bottle was orange which is apparently not the colour it’s supposed to be. Apparently you can exchange these bottles but I was too lazy. Also the product was leaking from the top of the pump which felt like a waste.

I love this serum. I use it every morning before applying my tinted moisturizer. Doesn't seem to make my skin more greasy, hasn't broken me out. I keep it in the refrigerator as recommended. It has a weird taste if you accidentally apply to your lips but it's not supposed to go on your lips anyway, so it's fine. Will continue to repurchase.

PSA- when I used this my whole face went red and it gave me HORRIBLE breakouts all over!!! My brother was calling my pizza face after using this product! Plz do not waste you’re money on this you will be paying for irration! This also has a very strange smell!

This was the first vitamin C serum I tried so admittedly I only have one other to compare it to (Timeless). What I loved about this was the potency and the packaging. The pump is very air tight and ensures the product lasts longer and I think the formulation is good compared to a lot of Vit C containing products that seem unstable. What I disliked are that the serum itself does not feel good on skin and there is no benefit besides Vit C... this may sound like an odd complaint but what I mean is that while you get the boost of Vit C for skin health, it does not visibly look good on your skin after applying and the results are more long term (helps fading dark spots, boosts protection, overall skin health). It does not feel cosmetically elegant at all. After finishing the bottle I can say that I do think it helped heal dark marks from acne (new dark marks not persistent old scarring) faster than they would on their own, however I got similar results from Timeless without the drying effects. In general it just doesn't feel good to wear & you have to be very diligent with your moisturising and careful with your use of other actives. It was extremely drying for me and I had to take a break from all actives including this as my forehead was getting visibly dehydrated (papery dry texture) - I do not have dry skin normally. It dries down after application and makes your skin feel dry which is not pleasant, especially if you do wait times between products it's just unpleasant. Overall I think the drying factor outweighed any benefits and I chose not repurchase. It's not a cheap serum, and granted a lot of serums are not cheap but they should feel cosmetically elegant while still delivering results. HOWEVER if you do not experience the drying that I did (since everyones skin is different!), then I do think you WILL see results in terms of dark spot fading, and I do trust that this delivers benefits of a stable Vit C serum. One thing I thought I'd address is that I noticed other reviewers were quite irritated by this (breakouts, redness), in regards to the irritation this can definitely happen with actives like Vit C. My advice is to not let this scare you off entirely though but keep in mind that when using any Vit C this could happen. If you're interested in giving this shot I'd recommend introducing it slowly into your routine and cutting other actives if you are already using a lot.

The two stars are just for the ingredients, that basically are good. However, for a serum of this high price, i would expect a more elegant texture (when it dries to skin is tacky not matte, better absorption (it takes almost five min to sink into skin) lighter irritation (i know the percentage is high and the skin will occur irritation but still) and of course to be oil free, also the colour of this serum does not helping know if the vitamin c is oxidised or not. Definitely a No(!) for oily skin types, next morning the irritation was there (which is expected) accompanied with whiteheads around the nose and the t-zone. Ordinary offers high percentage vitamin c -one-note-products that you can always add in your current regime. The finish and the performance of this product does not apply to its luxurious price. The price may be the only luxurious thing in this product.

Like with all L - Ascorbic Acid type products, D.E. leaves a sticky residue feel afterwards. And with all L - Ascorbic products, I will rinse off after a few hours. I just can't handle that tacky feeling. I purchased the mini combo C Firma + B Hydra serum. I realize the B Hydra is suppose to be used with the C Firma, but like it better on it's own. I'm not completely sold on the Drunk Elephant line, so the two products in this review may not be a repurchase of the full size. The only advice I can offer is to try it and see.