If there’s one thing we should all be doing, it’s applying vitamin C serum daily – especially with winter draining every bit of colour I had left in my skin from those warm summer days. The serum I absolutely swear by? Medik8’s C-Tetra Advanced serum – and it's discounted by 25% in the huge Medik8 Black Friday sale.
Best Medik8 Black Friday deals:
As a beauty editor, I've probably road-tested upwards of 200 different vit-C serums in my career - yes, my skincare shelf is pretty hectic. One problem is, they all seem to beat a familiar drum – ‘great for skin-brightening!’, ‘the ultimate protection against environmental damage!’– but only a handful have turned into repeat purchases (including my beloved C-Tetra).
So why, if vitamin C remains one of the most Googled skincare ingredients on the planet, am I so picky when it comes to using it? The texture of many vitamin C serums is my biggest bugbear – and I'm a big believer that you have to enjoy using a beauty product in order to remain loyal to it.
Vitamin C is rightfully code for glow but a lot of the serums laced with this ingredient actually have heavy, oily formulas that give me breakouts and make me look sweaty. Others feel too watery, meaning I have to use a separate hyaluronic acid serum and moisturiser to pump hydration into my skin.
So it's been hard to find a Goldilocks, just right formula – until now. Within seconds of applying the C-Tetra Advanced's milky-thin, gel-serum formula – a rarity among vitamin C serums – a switch was thrown. Now here was a product I could get behind…
Looking to restock on your fave beauty buys? Shop the best Black Friday beauty deals and the best Black Friday deals across all other categories.
What is Medik8 C-Tetra Advanced?
When people find out what I do for a living, the first question they inevitably ask me is, “What skincare ingredients should I be using?”. The answer is always the same as I swear by the magic three – vitamin C, retinol and hyaluronic acid – all ingredients that dermatologists incidentally wax lyrical about, too.
You can already find two of these ingredients in the Medik8 C-Tetra Advanced, which is powered by 20% stabilised vitamin C for brightening and hyaluronic acid for hydration. But there are two other superstar ingredients in the formula that deserve a special mention.
The first is plant exosomes. You may recognise these as there's been a lot of buzz in the cosmetic tweakments space about this ingredient. Exosomes are essentially lipids that are extracted from plants, which have been found to encourage cell-to-cell communication, helping to repair damaged skin and reduce inflammation.
In the Medik8 C-Tetra Advanced serum, the plant exosomes are from green tea. They encapsulate the vitamin C, carrying it deeper into the skin, while also having a soothing effect and protecting the skin barrier. So even sensitive skin or first time vitamin C users can avoid irritation from a high dose of vitamin C.
The other ingredient of note is acetyl zingerone. It doesn't exactly trip off the tongue but this is what skincare formulators call a ‘super antioxidant’. What that means is it boosts the power of vitamin C – another potent antioxidant – to give your skin even more protection against damage from pollution and UV rays.
My experience using the Medik8 C-Tetra Advanced
The clinical claims around the Medik8 C-Tetra Advanced are pretty impressive: it visibly brightens the skin in 7 days; it reduces pollution damage to the skin's surface by 90% and there is 0% barrier disruption despite this being a high potency 20% vitamin C serum. So how does the science stack up to the user experience?
It's hard to pick what I'm impressed with more: the level of scientific detail in this formula or the addictive, cool-to-the-touch feeling of the serum that covers every last inch of your face in a dewy glow.
I feel like it's making a tangible difference every time I use it – which is important given the £69 price tag. The dry patches on my cheeks drink it up, my skin looks visibly smoother and it seems to already be pulling off a brilliant vanishing act on any dullness and pigmentation.
I also like how easily it slots into my skincare routine. Despite being incredibly lightweight, the Medik8 C-Tetra Advanced serum is hydrating enough that I've found myself reconsidering the need to put moisturiser on top, often just opting for sunscreen on warmer days.
I've used Medik8's Crystal Retinal for years, gradually climbing up the staircase of concentrations. I like that I can use a high potency vitamin C by day and still use this cream at night, without any gnarly side effects.
Medik8's C-Tetra Advanced serum gets bonus points for the packaging, too. There's not a pipette in sight! Hallelujah. Rather than faffing around with a pipette, all the while exposing the formula to air and light – two guaranteed ways to degrade a vitamin C formula – there is a pump action to preserve its potency.
I've used the Medik8 C-Tetra Advanced every single morning since the bottle first landed on my desk. But, all importantly, I can see this product being a firm favourite in my routine long after I've used this bottle down to the last drop.
For more from Fiona Embleton, GLAMOUR's Associate Beauty Director, follow her on @fiembleton.
