Naturium Retinaldehyde Cream Serum 0.10% - Advanced Anti-Aging Face Treatment for Wrinkles & Fine Lines, Smoothing Skin Care Formula, 1.7 oz - Perfect for Nighttime Routine & Mature Skin Rejuvenation

It took me a while to start using this regularly. I originally bought this around last Christmas. I've been using Korean skincare since Feb 2023 now and I've been noticing improvements the whole time (I know this is not Korean, though). I never really knew what my skin would respond to the most, so I've been trying different things and trying products for hydration, pore care, acne-prone skin, brightening....stuff like that to see what I would get the most results from. I have normal skin (used to be oily - I am now 48) that is acne-prone. In the past I never bothered with a moisturizing cream. I only did the double cleanse (which, by the way, the oil cleansing step has been a game changer for me! My skin has NEVER been so clean and the difference is phenomenal), the toner, sometimes essence, serum and eye cream sometimes. When I would try using a face cream, I would break out. Not badly, but enough that it made me not want to try.Skip ahead to about 4-6 months ago. I had products I had purchased, like this one, that I knew needed to be used before it would just be rendered useless. So I decided to start using this on a consistent basis. But I didn't want to use another toner that might confuse me as to what product was doing what....so for some reason I decided to use my 7% glycolic acid toner. Now, I didn't know in the beginning that you weren't supposed to use a glycolic acid toner with Retinol. Since this is a Retinaldehyde I thought maybe it would be okay. I also didn't always use the AHA toner with this product. I usually did, but not always.So, I start using a 7% glycolic acid toner after my oil cleanse and cleanse with my P.CALM AHA BHA cleanser (which, by the way is amazingly gentle for it being what it is), use a niacinamide serum, either 10 or 15%, and this product as the final serum. Also, keep in mind I was not doing this daily. Maybe 3 or 4 times per week. I was only washing my face with water for the rest of the week. That was just me being lazy, though. I could have washed it daily with other products, but somehow it just didn't end up happening. I didn't have any bad reactions from using these together. No sensitivity problems. No irritation. In the beginning my skin did feel somewhat tingly after applying the glycolic acid, and maybe slightly "raw", meaning, "don't irritate me more or I might freak out". Because of this, I waited maybe 20 minutes until I applied this .10% serum as the last step. I did start adding in a lightweight facial cream - Cosrx Propolis Cream, which was the perfect weight as it didn't feel heavy in the least. This product didn't irritate my face whatsoever. It took a month or two for my face to stop getting that slight tingly feeling from the glycolic acid.The reason I'm writing this review this way is because I used these products pretty consistently in the same skincare routine. I can't say my results were only from this product or the other one. The results I got were phenomenal. I noticed a difference in the first week (probably the glycolic acid toner). My results continued to improve. I was also being careful to not use the glycolic acid the day after my skin had that tingly sensation. I did not want to overdo it. In fact, this was the reason I only washed my face with water. I didn't want to scrub or rub my skin too much while cleaning or applying all the products - I just let my skin rest. Not that I think this is a thing but...it's just what I did.I could get even more wordy than this review already is, but I think you get the idea. The exact products I used were all bought from Amazon. They are, in order of use, a Korean oil cleanser (various ones - this didn't seem to matter), P.CALM UnderPore Foam Cleanser, SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Poremizing Clear Toner, The Ordinary 7% Glycolic Acid Toner, Good Molecules Niacinamide 10% Serum, Naturium Retinaldehyde Cream Serum 0.10%, COSRX Full FIt Propolis Light Cream.I had no problem with the product packaging. My container isn't empty yet and it's a year old and still effective. I'm almost out, so I ordered another one a few weeks ago. I don't expect everyone to have skin that will tolerate the use of a Glycolic Acid toner and Retinaldehyde serum at the same time. But from what I understand, Retinaldehyde is much more gentle than Retinol. I also used Adapalene for a year before trying out this product. Before I started using this, I was concerned it was going to be too potent for me. I do not have sensitive skin, but if you do, make sure you do a patch test before you attempt the skincare regimen I did. I doubt that what I did was in any way revolutionary or something. All I'm doing is stating the phenomenal results I got using these products. If I had to speculate, I already know that Glycolic Acid can do wonders for your face. However I've also heard that Retinaldehyde can, too. For me, I think it helped to do the double cleanse because my skin felt squeaky clean before I even applied any product. I also noticed that my skin was cleaner when I experimented with the oil cleanser and tried to find the best way to get my skin as clean as possible. I did do a lot of rubbing and made maybe 4 passes over my entire face, adding tiny amounts of water each time until my face felt extremely clean. I barely rubbed my eye area at all and since I rarely wear makeup it wasn't necessary to rub my eyes. Since I'm talking about my skincare routine and not just one product, I felt it necessary to clarify what oil cleanse method got my skin the cleanest. To me, the secret is just knowing how much water to add each time you make a pass over your face using your fingers. It's not very much - just enough to further emulsify the oil cleanser. I'm only stating this so clearly because I've seen reviews from other people stating that "they hated oil cleansing until they learned how to use it". I've used a Clarisonic since I was in my 20's to clean my face. And I think the double cleanse/glycolic acid combo works even better than that did. I never thought I'd stop using that device, EVER. But I did!!To be honest I'm surprised at the results I've gotten. The other brands that offer a Retinaldehyde cream at a 0.10% potency cost MUCH more than this does. Honestly, I'm confused over the terrible reviews here. I'm not saying this will happen, but if this product review in any way impacts the price of this product (which I doubt it will), I'm going to be one sad customer. If they stop selling this product (due to the not so great reviews) I am also going to be one unhappy customer. Unless other companies have started making this, it has not been easy finding a Retinaldehyde serum/cream at this strength at this price point.If the results I got were not made clear by me in this review, I will update my review and be more specific about them.