Catrice Glow Booster serum review

Di you know Catrice does skincare? In case you didn’t: now you know! They only do a few products and they were released quite recently: the Hydro Plumping Serum and the Glow Booster serum. I was intrigued by both but ended up trying the Glow Booster serum. Why? Because the Hydro Plumping one has hyaluronic acid and I have found my skin doesn’t like that very much (despite what everyone says about how hydrating it is). So I went with the other one instead. I have been using it regularly for the past few months and these are my thoughts

Review: Catrice Glow Booster serum with 10% vitamin complex

Catrice to me is synonymous with affordable makeup and these skincare items are the same. For just €5.99 you can buy yourself one of these serums which is of course a great price point. But as with any skincare item the question always is: does it really work? And with this one I have to very honest. With some skincare items I notice instant results and I am triggered to keep using it, but with this one? Not so much. Why? I don’t really feel it works well with my skin type.

What can you expect from the Catrice Glow Booster serum?

I bought this simply because it appealed to me most out of the two serums available. I didn’t really look into any of the claims nor did I really check the ingredient list before trying it. Maybe I should have. The product promises a 10% Vitamin complex containing Vitamin C, B3 and E as well as pineapple extract. It should boost ‘glow’ and possibly also help with texture as these kind of vitamins are usually geared towards that. So at the surface level this looks like a promising product.

What is the ingredient list like?

These are the ingredients:

AQUA (WATER), NIACINAMIDE, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, SILICA, TOCOPHEROL, SODIUM ASCORBYL PHOSPHATE, ANANAS SATIVUS (PINEAPPLE) FRUIT EXTRACT, CITRUS LIMON FRUIT EXTRACT, HYDROXYETHYL ACRYLATE/SODIUM ACRYLOYLDIMETHYL TAURATE COPOLYMER, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, SQUALANE, GLYCERIN, HYDROXYETHYLCELLULOSE, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, POLYSORBATE 60, SODIUM NITRATE, SORBITAN ISOSTEARATE, EUTERPE OLERACEA FRUIT EXTRACT, GLYOXAL, CITRIC ACID, PHENOXYETHANOL, POTASSIUM SORBATE, SORBIC ACID.

Now again, I am no ingredient wizard, but I can tell you that there are a few things I like in this list and a few that I don’t. All the way at the top, apart from water, is niacinamide. Now niacinamide is an ingredient I have started to seek out to have in my skincare routine. Why? Because it is great help with texture and indeed that ‘glow boosting’ effect. I have tried a few products in the past that had niacinamide in them and I found they were far better for my skin than something like a lactic acid. It seems to be more gentle, yet more effective.

However, the part I am not a huge fan of are the fruit extracts. Also quite high up the list are the pineapple and a citrus limon extract. Those would be the other vitamins I’m sure but I don’t think that these are doing anything for my skin. In fact, if they do anything at all it is irritate my skin. I have noticed that if I use this product every day, my skin gets very reactive and red after using this. So I dialed it down and now only use it sparingly once or twice a week or when I feel like it. If you have sensitive skin like I do, this may not be for you.

What do I think of the Catrice Glow Booster serum?

This product has its pros and its cons for me. I am not noticing great results with this, but that is possibly down to the fact that I cannot use this as much as I should for it to really take effect. If I use this too often my skin gets angry and flares up, which is something I haven’t experienced when using skincare products in years. The product itself feels okay at first, but I have noticed the texture also changes over time and by now the color of the product is no longer this milky white shade you see here, but it has yellowed over time. That is something I know happens to Vitamin C products over time and so I think this may not be the most stable of formulas.

Would I recommend the Catrice Glow Booster serum?

To be quite honest I always find it difficult to recommend skincare as it is so personal as everyone’s skin is different. Mine is dehydrated to normal and sensitive. For someone with normal skin that isn’t sensitive this may work just fine, but I think it just wasn’t really for me. I think it is a bit too potent making my skin flare up and therefore not giving me the benefits I need or want. Combined with a not so stable formula, even at this affordable price point, I know I will be passing this up from now on. I like it enough to use up the bottle I have, but after that I am not repurchasing this.

What is the last skincare product you used that wasn’t very successful?