Here's our complete breakdown comparing the ingredients, attributes, and more of La Roche-Posay 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum versus Garnier 3.5% Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Salicylic Acid, Brightening & Anti Dark Spot Serum .
Last updated on March 21, 2024. Published on April 05, 2022
Overview
What they are
These products are both reef safe serums. They have a total of 7 ingredients in common
Cool Features
They both contain BHA, hyaluronic acid, Vitamin C and Vitamin E
Suited For
They're both likely to be good for fighting acne, anti aging, dry skin, brightening skin, oily skin, reducing pores, scar healing, dark spots and better texture
Free From
They both do not contain any oils, parabens or sulfates
What's Inside
They both contain harsh alcohols and fragrances
We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that need an update? Let us know.
Price
Ingredient Info
La Roche-Posay 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum 24 ingredients
Garnier 3.5% Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Salicylic Acid, Brightening & Anti Dark Spot Serum 38 ingredients
Contains Alcohol
Ingredients in this product that are types of alcohol:
Contains Silicon
Ingredients in this product that are types of silicon:
Contains Fragrance
Ingredients in this product that are forms of fragrance:
Sulfate Free
This product is free of sulfates 🎉
Paraben Free
This product is free of parabens 🎉
Oil Free
This product is free of oils 🎉
Not Malassezia Safe
Ingredients in this product that are not malassezia safe:
Reef Safe
This product is free of ingredients that damage reefs 🎉
EU Allergen Free
This product is free of EU allergens 🎉
Non Vegan
This product is not vegan 😥
Not Cruelty Free
This product is not cruelty-free 😥
Contains Alcohol
Ingredients in this product that are types of alcohol:
Silicon Free
This product is free of silicons 🎉
Contains Fragrance
Ingredients in this product that are forms of fragrance:
Sulfate Free
This product is free of sulfates 🎉
Paraben Free
This product is free of parabens 🎉
Oil Free
This product is free of oils 🎉
Not Malassezia Safe
Ingredients in this product that are not malassezia safe:
Reef Safe
This product is free of ingredients that damage reefs 🎉
Contains EU Allergens
Ingredients in this product that are EU allergens:
Vegan
This product is vegan 🎉
Cruelty Free
This product is cruelty-free 🎉
At a glance
Click on any of the items below to learn more
La Roche-Posay 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum 24 ingredients
Garnier 3.5% Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Salicylic Acid, Brightening & Anti Dark Spot Serum 38 ingredients
Notable Ingredients
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Benefits
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Concerns
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Notable Ingredients
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
Benefits
This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:
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Concerns
This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
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This product contains 4 ingredients that may have this attribute:
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Join SkinSortIngredients Compared
Ingredients that are highlighted in purple are present in both products.
La Roche-Posay 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum 24 ingredients
Garnier 3.5% Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Salicylic Acid, Brightening & Anti Dark Spot Serum 38 ingredients
Water • Ascorbic Acid • Cyclohexasiloxane • Glycerin • Alcohol Denat. • Polymethylsilsesquioxane • Polysilicone-11 • Dimethicone • Propylene Glycol • Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate • Tocopherol • Sodium Hyaluronate • Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid • Adenosine • Acetyl Dipeptide-1 Cetyl Ester • Peg-20 Methyl Glucose Sesquistearate • Salicylic Acid • Polyacrylamide • Toluene Sulfonic Acid • Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate • Caprylyl Glycol • BHT • Laureth-7 • Parfum
Water • Glycerin • Alcohol • Dipropylene Glycol • Butylene Glycol • Niacinamide • Peg-9 • Glycol • Hydroxyethylpiperazine Ethane Sulfonic Acid • Xylene Sulfonic Acid • Bis-Peg-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane • Dimethyl Sulfone • Isononyl Isononanoate • 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid • Citrus Junos Fruit Extract • Citrus Limon Fruit Extract • Sodium Citrate • Sodium Hyaluronate • Adenosine • Phenylethyl Resorcinol • Ammonium Alum • Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate • Disodium EDTA • Hydrogenated Lecithin • Citric Acid • Maltodextrin • Xanthan Gum • Oxothiazolidinecarboxylic Acid • Tocopherol • Tocopheryl Acetate • Salicylic Acid • Phenoxyethanol • Linalool • Geraniol • Limonene • Benzyl Alcohol • Benzyl Salicylate • Parfum
Ingredients Side-by-side
Ingredients that are highlighted in purple are present in both products.
Learn more about what what Com. / Irr. ratings are
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
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. Talk about multi-purpose! If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!
Learn more about WaterLa Roche-Posay 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum contains this as ingredient number 1.
Garnier 3.5% Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Salicylic Acid, Brightening & Anti Dark Spot Serum contains this as ingredient number 1.
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 GlycerinLa Roche-Posay 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum contains this as ingredient number 4.
Garnier 3.5% Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Salicylic Acid, Brightening & Anti Dark Spot Serum contains this as ingredient number 2.
Tocopherol (also known as Vitamin E) is a common antioxidant used to help protect the skin from free-radicals and strengthen the skin barrier. It's also fat soluble - this means our skin is great at absorbing it.
Vitamin E also helps keep your natural skin lipids healthy. Your lipid skin barrier naturally consists of lipids, ceramides, and fatty acids. Vitamin E offers extra protection for your skin’s lipid barrier, keeping your skin healthy and nourished.
Another benefit is a bit of UV protection. Vitamin E helps reduce the damage caused by UVB rays. (It should not replace your sunscreen). Combining it with Vitamin C can decrease sunburned cells and hyperpigmentation after UV exposure.
You might have noticed Vitamin E + C often paired together. This is because it is great at stabilizing Vitamin C. Using the two together helps increase the effectiveness of both ingredients.
There are often claims that Vitamin E can reduce/prevent scarring, but these claims haven't been confirmed by scientific research.
Learn more about TocopherolLa Roche-Posay 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum contains this as ingredient number 11.
Garnier 3.5% Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Salicylic Acid, Brightening & Anti Dark Spot Serum contains this as ingredient number 30.
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 HyaluronateLa Roche-Posay 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum contains this as ingredient number 12.
Garnier 3.5% Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Salicylic Acid, Brightening & Anti Dark Spot Serum contains this as ingredient number 19.
Adenosine is in every living organism. It is one of four components in nucleic acids that helps store our DNA.
Adenosine has many benefits when used. These benefits include hydrating the skin, smoothing skin, and reducing wrinkles. Once applied, adenosine increases collagen production. It also helps with improving firmness and tissue repair.
Studies have found adenosine may also help with wound healing.
In skincare products, Adenosine is usually derived from yeast.
Learn more about AdenosineLa Roche-Posay 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum contains this as ingredient number 14.
Garnier 3.5% Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Salicylic Acid, Brightening & Anti Dark Spot Serum contains this as ingredient number 20.
Salicylic Acid (also known as beta hydroxy acid or BHA) is one of the most well-known ingredients for treating skin that struggles with blackheads and acne. It helps to exfoliate both the skin's surface and pores, and also acts as an anti-inflammatory agent.
This multitasking property makes it a great ingredient for cleaning out pores, controlling oil production, and reducing inflammation.
Unlike AHAs which are water soluble, Salicylic Acid is oil soluble. This means that it's able to exfoliate the inside of pores and reduce blackheads.
Concentrations of 0.5-2% are recognized by the U.S. FDA as an over-the-counter topical acne product.
It can cause irritation and/or dryness if one's skin already has a compromised moisture barrier, so it's best to focus on repairing that before introducing a Salicylic Acid into your routine.
In general, Salicylic Acid is a great ingredient for oily acne-prone skin.
While salicylic acid does not increase sun-sensitivity, we still recommend wearing SPF.
If you are looking for the ingredient called BHA or Butylated Hydroxyanisole, click here.
Learn more about Salicylic AcidLa Roche-Posay 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum contains this as ingredient number 17.
Garnier 3.5% Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Salicylic Acid, Brightening & Anti Dark Spot Serum contains this as ingredient number 32.
Parfum is a catch-all term for an ingredient or more that is used to give aroma to products. Parfum, or fragrance, can be a blend of hundreds of chemicals or plant oils. This means every product with "fragrance" or "Parfum" in the ingredients list is a different mixture.
In the US, the alternative name for parfum is 'fragrance'. The term 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term.
For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance. One example is Calendula flower extract. Essential oil ingredients still impart a scent or 'fragrance'.
Depending on the blend, it can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.
Products use parfum often to give products a scent or cover up smells of different ingredients.
The bottom line is: not all fragrances/parfum/ingredients are created equally. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.
Learn more about ParfumLa Roche-Posay 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum contains this as ingredient number 24.
Garnier 3.5% Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Salicylic Acid, Brightening & Anti Dark Spot Serum contains this as ingredient number 39.
Here's what our community thinks of the ingredients in these two products.
La Roche-Posay 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum 24 ingredients
Garnier 3.5% Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Salicylic Acid, Brightening & Anti Dark Spot Serum 38 ingredients
Usage
Here's some more info on how this product is used by our community.
When to use
La Roche-Posay 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum 24 ingredients
Garnier 3.5% Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Salicylic Acid, Brightening & Anti Dark Spot Serum 38 ingredients
Reviews
Here's what our community thinks
La Roche-Posay 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum 24 ingredients
Lapaki
This was my first vitamin C serum
I started using this because I was curious about Vitamin C and wanted to experience its benefits. This is a...
This was my first vitamin C serum
I started using this because I was curious about Vitamin C and wanted to experience its benefits. This is a really good and gentle Vitamin C serum for sensitive skin. Mine got used to it and now tolerates stronger products.
Garnier 3.5% Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Salicylic Acid, Brightening & Anti Dark Spot Serum 38 ingredients
bibalapau
Hate it
My skin isn't even that sensitive, and my forehead was completely ruined. My pores got enormous, then i got an incredible amount of small...
Hate it
My skin isn't even that sensitive, and my forehead was completely ruined. My pores got enormous, then i got an incredible amount of small red pimples or something. I know my skin is kind of sensitive, but this serum was too much. Might work for some people, i know, but for me this was a no-no.
Mirq
Definitely not for sensitive skin
I have combo sensitive skin and it absolutely destroyed my skin barrier. My face was red, tight and burning after...
Definitely not for sensitive skin
I have combo sensitive skin and it absolutely destroyed my skin barrier. My face was red, tight and burning after second use. It smells like alcohol and have very strong scent. I will never ever use it not even on my neck or arms.
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