Comparing 2 bougie retinols today. Alumier MD and Vivier. Both have 1% retinol in them, and both come in airless pumps. My Alumier has clearly seen better days because the bottle is falling apart, but that’s just because it got tossed into a travel bag this summer. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Maybe you can make this out from the picture, but the Alumier MD retinol has a golden colour and a stiffer, grainy, and dry texture. It feels powdery on your skin and quite dry. It would be perfect for someone with very oily skin, but tbh, even if with oily skin, the effects of a strong retinol are so drying that I could only use this one once a week. I find the texture of this very similar to the Skinceuticals retinol.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The Vivier Retinol has shea butter in the formula and is more of a cream, and although it’s not very moisturizing, it’s still not as drying. Again, the formula is strong, but I find this not to be as harsh on my skin, and I can definitely use it every other day.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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You’re paying more than $100 for each of these, and you might not be able to get samples before you try, so it might be good to know what to expect!
