Skin Recovery Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum with Retinol

Paula's Choice

Skin Recovery Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum with Retinol

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About this product

The Paula's Choice Skin Recovery Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum with Retinol is a serums, essence, ampoule. Our analysis of its 27 ingredients (13 low-risk) rates it Excellent (95/100). Based on its ingredients, it looks well-suited to oily / acne-prone, dry, and sensitive skin.

Vegan-friendly Reef-safe

Summarised from our ingredient analysis — not brand marketing copy.

At a glance

Type
Serums, Essence, Ampoules
Ingredients
27
Low-risk
13
Fragrance
Fragrance-free
Origin
United States

The evidence

Quick Product Notes

Paraben-Free Sulfate-Free Alcohol-Free Silicone-Free EU Allergen-Free Fungal Acne (Malassezia) Safe

Notable Effects & Ingredients

No Notable Effects & Ingredients

Ingredients Related to Skin Types

Good   Bad — tap a skin type to see which ingredients · estimated from ingredient functions
Dry Skin 4/2
Good for dry skin
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate Stearyl Dimethicone Dimethicone Cyclopentasiloxane
Caution for dry skin
Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract SD Alcohol 40
Oily/Acne-Prone Skin 3/0
Good for oily/acne-prone skin
Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract SD Alcohol 40 Retinol
Sensitive Skin 5/1
Good for sensitive skin
Tetrahydrodiferuloylmethane Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate Tetrahydrodemethoxydiferuloylmethane Tetrahydrobisdemethoxydiferuloylmethane Dimethicone
Caution for sensitive skin
Retinol

Ingredients list

27 total
Lower hazard (1) Higher hazard (9)
All27 Skin Conditioning29 Antioxidant6 Skin Conditioning Emollient5 Emollient4 Fragrance4 Skin Protecting3 Oral Care Agent3 Uv Absorber3
EWG CIR Ingredient Name & Cosmetic Functions Notes
3
A
Cyclopentasiloxane
(Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Emollient, Solvent)
Silicone
Silicone
3
A
Dimethicone
(Antifoaming Agent, Skin Protecting, Emollient, Skin Conditioning)
Silicone
Silicone
1
A
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
(Skin Conditioning, Emollient, Antimicrobial)
Olea Europaea Fruit Oil
(Fragrance, Perfuming, Skin Conditioning)
TOCOPHEROL
(Antioxidant, Fragrance, Skin Conditioning)
9
A
Retinol
(Skin Conditioning)
Bad for Sensitive Skin
Bad for Sensitive Skin
1
Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate
(Antioxidant, Skin Conditioning)
Bisabolol
(Fragrance, Skin Conditioning, Soothing)
1
A
Tocotrienols
(Oral Care Agent, Skin Conditioning, Uv Absorber)
1
Adenosine
(Skin Conditioning)
1
Tetrahydrodiferuloylmethane
(Antioxidant)
1
Tetrahydrodemethoxydiferuloylmethane
(Antioxidant, Oral Care Agent, Skin Conditioning)
1
Tetrahydrobisdemethoxydiferuloylmethane
(Antioxidant, Oral Care Agent, Skin Conditioning)
1
Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract
(Astringent, Skin Conditioning)
VITIS VINIFERA SEED OIL
(Skin Conditioning, Skin Conditioning Emollient)
CHAMOMILLA RECUTITA FLOWER EXTRACT
(Fragrance, Skin Conditioning)
arctostaphylos uva-ursi leaf extract
(Skin Conditioning)
1
A
Stearyl Dimethicone
(Emollient, Skin Conditioning)
Silicone
Silicone
1
Astaxanthin
(Cosmetic Colorant, Skin Conditioning)
Glycine Soja Oil
(Perfuming, Skin Conditioning, Skin Conditioning Emollient)
Vitis Vinifera Seed Extract
(Anti Seborrheic, Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, Oral Care, Skin Protecting, Uv Absorber)
oenothera biennis oil
(Skin Conditioning Emollient)
Vaccinium Macrocarpon Seed Oil
(Skin Conditioning)
Rubus Idaeus Seed Oil
(Skin Conditioning Emollient)
1
A
Vaccinium Myrtillus Seed Oil
(Skin Conditioning)
ELAEIS GUINEENSIS OIL
(Skin Conditioning Emollient)
5
SD Alcohol 40
(Cosmetic Astringent, Solvent, Viscosity Decreasing Agent)
Bad for Dry Skin
Bad for Dry Skin
Bad for Sensitive Skin
Bad for Sensitive Skin

My Ingredient Notes

No personal ingredient notes yet. Save ingredients to your profile to get good/bad alerts here.

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Key ingredients

Cyclopentasiloxane
Skin Conditioning, Emollient
Dimethicone
Skin Protecting, Emollient
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
Skin Conditioning, Emollient
Olea Europaea Fruit Oil
Skin Conditioning
TOCOPHEROL
Antioxidant, Skin Conditioning
Retinol
Skin Conditioning

Benefits

Fungal-acne (Malassezia) safe
Good for dry skin
Good for oily/acne-prone skin
Good for sensitive skin

Concerns

Contains silicone
Retinol — higher EWG

EWG flags hazard, not real-world risk — ratings don't account for how much of an ingredient a product contains. Treat these as things to research, not verdicts. How we score →

Ingredients explained

C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
Skin conditioning, Emollient
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Skin conditioningEmollientAntimicrobial
Olea Europaea Fruit Oil
Fragrance, Perfuming
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A FragrancePerfumingSkin conditioning
TOCOPHEROL
Antioxidant, Fragrance
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A AntioxidantFragranceSkin conditioning
Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate
Antioxidant, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 AntioxidantSkin conditioning
Bisabolol
Fragrance, Skin conditioning
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A FragranceSkin conditioningSoothing
Tocotrienols
Oral care agent, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Oral care agentSkin conditioningUv absorber
Adenosine
Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Skin conditioning
Tetrahydrodiferuloylmethane
Antioxidant
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Antioxidant
Tetrahydrodemethoxydiferuloylmethane
Antioxidant, Oral care agent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 AntioxidantOral care agentSkin conditioning
Tetrahydrobisdemethoxydiferuloylmethane
Antioxidant, Oral care agent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 AntioxidantOral care agentSkin conditioning
Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract
Astringent, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 AstringentSkin conditioning
VITIS VINIFERA SEED OIL
Skin conditioning, Skin conditioning emollient
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A Skin conditioningSkin conditioning emollient
CHAMOMILLA RECUTITA FLOWER EXTRACT
Fragrance, Skin conditioning
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A FragranceSkin conditioning
arctostaphylos uva-ursi leaf extract
Skin conditioning
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A Skin conditioning
Astaxanthin
Cosmetic colorant, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Cosmetic colorantSkin conditioning
+ 7 more — see the full ingredients list above
Cyclopentasiloxane
Hair conditioning, Skin conditioning
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 3 CIR A Hair conditioningSkin conditioningEmollientSolvent Silicone
Dimethicone
Antifoaming agent, Skin protecting
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 3 CIR A Antifoaming agentSkin protectingEmollientSkin conditioning Silicone
Retinol
Skin conditioning
Potentially a skin irritantRead moreShow less
EWG 9 CIR A Skin conditioning Bad for Sensitive Skin
Stearyl Dimethicone
Emollient, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A EmollientSkin conditioning Silicone
SD Alcohol 40
Cosmetic astringent, Solvent
Causes moisture evaporation - prone to dry out skinRead moreShow less
EWG 5 Cosmetic astringentSolventViscosity decreasing agent Bad for Dry SkinBad for Sensitive Skin

How to use

How to use

  • 1 Where it fits: Apply after toner and before moisturiser — thinnest to thickest.
  • 2 Morning only: Apply as the last step of your AM routine, after moisturiser, and reapply every ~2 hours of sun exposure.
  • 3 Wear SPF the next day: Acids and retinoids increase sun sensitivity — daily sunscreen is a must while using this.

General guidance from this product's category and active ingredients — always follow the directions on the package.

Trust & honesty

Officially notified as a cosmetic in Malaysia (NPRA). Government registration record.

Pregnancy & breastfeeding

Contains ingredients some choose to avoid or double-check while pregnant or nursing.

Often avoided
Retinoids (Vitamin A) (Retinol)

Topical retinoids (retinol, retinaldehyde, retinyl esters) are widely advised against in pregnancy as a precaution. The strongest evidence is for ORAL retinoids; topical absorption is low, but most clinicians err on the side of caution.

This is general information, not medical advice. Pregnancy guidance varies and depends on concentration and your individual situation — always check with your doctor, midwife or pharmacist. How we flag this.

Effective levels — general guide

The concentrations these actives are typically effective at in research — not a measurement of this product.

Retinoids (Vitamin A) 0.01–1%

Most studied between 0.1% and 1%. Higher is not automatically better — irritation climbs with dose, so a well-formulated lower strength is often the sweet spot.

Retinol

Vitamin C (ascorbic) 5–20%

L-ascorbic acid is usually used at 5–20% (around 10–15% is common). Above ~20% adds little and tends to irritate more; it also needs a low pH to work.

Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate

INCI lists don't disclose amounts, and we don't claim to know this product's levels — these are the ranges these ingredients are usually effective at, so you can tell a real formula from "fairy-dusting" a marketed active. How we estimate this.

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