Review: Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Retinol Pro+ 0.3% Night Cream

Hurray for retinol! Let me just be frank here - if you remember clubbing to the boy bands that are now getting documentaries made about them, then you're going to need retinol, if you haven't already added that into your regular rotation! I think I started sprinkling it through my skincare routine when I was in my late twenties, and actually started incorporating it into my almost daily use in my early thirties. While retinol can be tricky for some, given that this may cause reactions and flare ups for those who are sensitive to it, it honestly is an active ingredient worth investing in!

 

The great news about retinol these days is just how accessible it is as well! There are vegan versions, made from plants, and it can be found across a variety of brands, ranging from the affordable to the truly unattainable. While I was looking through a few different products at Priceline, I came across the Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Retinol Pro+ 0.3% Night Cream, and given that Neutrogena is a reliable brand that I've found plenty of great things from, I was intrigued by this, and really wanted to give it a try! 

 

This comes in a heavy opaque gun metal grey jar with a screw lid, and I like this means that the product actually gets shielded from sunlight, so that it can help prevent it from being broken down, thus keeping the active ingredient, well, active. Retinol is the hero ingredient in the cream, which is responsible for improving the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and this is also meant to help keep the skin feeling firm. It's recommended that, particularly if you're new to retinol, to ease yourself into using this by applying it to your skin 2 to 3 times a week initially. 

 

Once you adjust to this, you can then ramp it up to using it on alternating days, before moving onto applying this daily. While I'm pretty good with retinol on the whole, I find that my skin can be a little more sensitive around Spring and Summer, and this can mean a bit of an eczema flare up, or a tendency towards a bit of tingling, without the dry patches of skin, so I have to be mindful of this when I add new products into my skincare rotation. Thankfully, this agreed with my skin, and I've been able to use this every day for a few weeks.

The cream is quite thick, initially, but it does sink into the skin without making it feel like it's going to flake off or be touch dry. Rather, it just leaves the skin feeling soft and freshly moisturised, which I love. There was some tingling when I initially started using this, which I put down to a seasonal issue for me, and also me just stubbornly rushing into it head first by applying it every other day for a week, before switching to daily. This retails for $64.99, and it doesn't have a scent that I can pick up. My skin definitely loves it, and given that I'm about halfway down the jar, I would deem this a success! Affordable and accessible, there's no reason not to try this!