I’m a Vitamin C Snob and This Goop Serum Is the Best I’ve Ever Used

• Value: 16/20
• Functionality: 19/20
• Ease of Use: 19/20
• Aesthetics: 18/20
• Effectiveness: 20/20

TOTAL: 92/100

Whatever your skin ailment, the beauty industry seems to have a fix for it. But if your problem is a dull complexion, there’s approximately two million products that promise to restore radiance and rid dark spots for good. How on earth do you choose one? I’ll tell you: It takes a lot of trial and error. I’ve tried many products full of empty promises and a lot of them are vitamin C serums. So when Goop’s Goopglow vitamin C serum slid across my desk (you know, back when we actually went into the office). I was immediately intrigued. A) Because I’ll try anything Gwyneth Paltrow creates; and B) It was different than any other vitamin C product I’ve used.

You see, the very first time I used a vitamin C product, I was hooked on the way it seemed to make my skin look healthy and youthful (shout out to Peter Thomas Roth potent-C serum). But when I switched to clean skincare and tried to find the same effect with a non-toxic brand, all of them fell short. See, the Peter Thomas Roth serum actually has more of a creamy consistency (which I personally prefer), whereas a lot of the non-toxic products had a sticky consistency and smelled weird (some coworkers refer to it as a hot dog water scent). Not pleasant to say the least.

I ended up swearing off vitamin C in favor of retinol, which definitely worked in the anti-aging department. But there was still an underlying dullness.

The formula comes in two separate bottles. The amber glass bottle holds a powdered form of vitamin C, while the other is full of hyaluronic acid, which is made of three molecular sizes to ensure it penetrates and hydrates the skin at different points. Before the first use, all you have to do is squeeze the entire contents of the hyaluronic acid activator serum into the powder and shake to combine. The unique process turns the mixture into one of the freshest, most effective concentrations of vitamin C available and it actually stays potent for much longer than competitor formulas.

The first thing I noticed about the formula? It was neither creamy nor sticky. It’s way more watery than any other serum I’ve used, but I surprisingly loved it for that very reason. I could literally feel it absorbing into my skin seconds after applying it, rather than waiting minutes for a sticky solution to sink in before moving onto the next step of my routine. I began using it every morning, and at first didn’t really notice a marked difference in my skin’s appearance. But then when I upped the application to twice daily, it was like my skin transformed overnight.

Dark spots left behind from my quarantine breakouts suddenly vanished and my skin regained its glow. The best part: I didn’t even mind applying it, and I couldn’t say the same for other vitamin C products I’ve tried. I actually just ran out, but this is one skincare product I’m repeat-buying—yes, it’s on the pricier side, but it did for my skin in one month what other products couldn’t achieve in multiple. It’s clean (by GP’s standards, so you know it’s good), effective and pleasant to use. What more do you need?

The PureWow100 is a scale our editors use to vet new products and services, so you know what's worth the spend—and what's total hype. Learn more about our process here.