Versus

For Skin’s Sake (FSS) Vitamin C Serum Versus SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic® With 15% L-Ascorbic Acid

Serum
Serum
Indonesian Brand Indonesia
American Brand United States

Updated on January 30, 2025

Overview

What they are

These products are both fungal acne (malassezia) safe and reef safe serums. They have a total of 8 ingredients in common

Cool Features

They both contain hyaluronic acid, Vitamin C and Vitamin E

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for anti aging, dry skin, brightening skin, sensitive skin, reducing pores, scar healing, dark spots and better texture

Free From

They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, oils, parabens, silicones or sulfates

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that needs an update? Let us know.

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and see relevant ingredients

About this product

About this product

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

found in both products

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Skin Conditioning, Solvent

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water
Humectant, Solvent

Ethoxydiglycol is a synthetic solvent.

Solvents are used to keep ingredients together in a product. They can help dissolve ingredients to stable bases or help evenly distribute ingredients throughout the product.

Ethoxydiglycol also helps deliver other key ingredients into the skin.

Learn more about Ethoxydiglycol
Skin Conditioning

Panthenol is a common ingredient that helps hydrate and soothe the skin. It is found naturally in our skin and hair.

There are two forms of panthenol: D and L.

D-panthenol is also known as dexpanthenol. Most cosmetics use dexpanthenol or a mixture of D and L-panthenol.

Panthenol is famous due to its ability to go deeper into the skin's layers. Using this ingredient has numerous pros (and no cons):

Like hyaluronic acid, panthenol is a humectant. Humectants are able to bind and hold large amounts of water to keep skin hydrated.

This ingredient works well for wound healing. It works by increasing tissue in the wound and helps close open wounds.

Once oxidized, panthenol converts to pantothenic acid. Panthothenic acid is found in all living cells.

This ingredient is also referred to as pro-vitamin B5.

Learn more about Panthenol
Buffering, Emulsifying, Masking

Triethanolamine is an emulsifier and pH adjuster. It is created using ethylene oxide and ammonia. This gives Triethanolamine a nitrogen core and a similar scent to ammonia.

As an emulsifier, it prevents ingredients from separating and enhances texture by adding volume to a product.

PH adjusters are common in cosmetic products. The pH of a product can affect the effectiveness of other ingredients. A product with a high pH may also irritate the skin.

Learn more about Triethanolamine
Antimicrobial, Antioxidant

Ferulic Acid is a plant based antioxidant. By fighting free-radicals, ferulic acid can help reduce the formation of fine lines and hyperpigmentation.

When used with Vitamin C, Ferulic Acid has shown to prevent Vitamin C from breaking down. In other words, it acts as a stabilizer.

Ferulic Acid is sometimes used to preserve food. Foods containing Ferulic Acid include: oats, rice, eggplant, citrus.

In medicine, Ferulic Acid is being studied for helping with diabetes, Alzheimer's, and cardiovascular diseases.

Learn more about Ferulic Acid
Preservative

Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.

It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.

Humectant, Skin Conditioning

Sodium Hyaluronate is hyaluronic acid's salt form. It is commonly derived from the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid.

Like hyaluronic acid, it is great at holding water and acts as a humectant. This makes it a great skin hydrating ingredient.

Sodium Hyaluronate is naturally occurring in our bodies and is mostly found in eye fluid and joints.

These are some other common types of Hyaluronic Acid:

Learn more about Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting

Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.

A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid.

As a humectant, it helps the skin stay hydrated by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin.

Hydrated skin improves your skin barrier; Your skin barrier helps protect against irritants and bacteria.

Glycerin has also been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Due to these properties, glycerin is often used in wound and burn treatments.

In cosmetics, glycerin is usually derived from plants such as soybean or palm. However, it can also be sourced from animals, such as tallow or animal fat.

This ingredient is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

Learn more about Glycerin

When to use

6 Routines
83% use in am
17% use in pm
100% use every day
661 Routines
90% use in am
10% use in pm
95% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->

Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

For Skin’s Sake (FSS) Vitamin C Serum 22 ingredients

5.0 /5
from 2 ratings
Absorbs Well (2) Great Value (2) Works Well (2)
dyahpalupi's avatar

Dyah Palupi

30 days ago
Review

serum yg cukup works di kulitku yg sering banget kusam. aku pakai sekitar sebulanan dan hasilnya cukup ok ya untuk mencerahkan. kalo utk memudarkan dark spot aku rasa belum ada perubahan yg signifikan. nggak bikin kulitku makin kering. teksturnya lumayan cair jd cepet meresapnya, cuman memang baunya cukup asem gitu ya, tapi setelah di apply dan meresap hilang & gak berbau lagi kok. repurchase ? Show more

#great value
#absorbs well
#strong scent
#works well
hennylimdr's avatar

Henny Henny

17 days ago
Review

The most perfect vitamin C serum I've ever tried, concentration aside. Serum Vitamin C yang sekali coba pakai, enggak bisa ditinggal lagi. Pernah coba ganti serum vitamin C lain, flek-flek langsung bermunculan dan menebal. Begitu balik lagi pakai produk ini, flek yang baru-baru muncul itu langsung menipis. Ada serum vitamin C lain lagi yang juga oke tapi teksturnya sangat lengket; sedangkan serum Show more

#great value
#light
#absorbs well
#light scent

SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic® With 15% L-Ascorbic Acid 12 ingredients

4.6 /5
from 13 ratings
Strong Scent (2) Expensive (1) Hydrating (1)
indindi's avatar

indindi

1 year ago
Review

the most cruel thing that anyone has done to me was give me a free sample of this product while its retail price is half of the cost of my weekly mortgage repayment 🫥

melissad.'s avatar

Melissa D.

10 months ago
Review

I really wanted to dislike this product but I cannot lie. I got as a free sample and it’s absolutely the best thing I’ve ever applied on my face. I noticed a difference after just one just. My skin was smoother, reduced my white comodones, and made my skin brighter. It’s amazing. But the price hurts :(

#expensive
#hydrating
#works well