Beauty Battle: Drunk Elephant C Firma vs Derma E Concentrated Vitamin C Serum

What is Vitamin C?

When it comes to anti-aging skincare, I definitely think that a Vitamin C serum should be a major weapon in your skincare arsenal. Vitamin C or L-asorbic Acid is a powerful anti-aging skincare ingredient that has amazing anti-oxidant benefits to combat free radicals, actually stimulates collage production, helps to minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and reduces discoloration to brighten and promote a more even skin tone.

When looking for a Vitamin C product you want to look for one containing around 15-30% L-asorbic Acid. Basically, it should be the first ingredient listed. Vitamin C can be very unstable so look for packaging to help keep it stabilized such as opaque, air-tight bottles. Because Vitamin C can be a bit drying on the skin, it is often mixed with other ingredients such as Hyaluronic Acid so also take that into consideration when shopping for a Vitamin C Serum.

After hearing YouTubers and other Bloggers rave about Drunk Elephant skincare, I decided to try it out for myself. I’m not one to usually buy into the hype around skincare products but the reviews I read just sounded too amazing to not give this brand a try. Originally, I was going to purchase full sized products of some items I needed to replace in my skincare routine at the time – one being a Vitamin C serum and the other a chemical exfoliant.

After much consideration and looking at the hefty price tag on Drunk Elephant’s products, I decided to purchase the Drunk Elephant’s “The Littles” set from Sephora. This set contains 8 deluxe sized samples of their best sellers. I used this set exclusively for 6-8 weeks to try out their skincare and you can read my full review of all 8 products here. Needless to say, I wasn’t really all that impressed.

Which started me on the hunt for a more effective and less expensive Vitamin C serum. So in today’s Beauty Battle, I am comparing the Derma E Vitamin C Concentrated Serum with the Drunk Elephant C Firma Day Serum.

Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum

What They Say:

This revolutionary serum, jam packed with a potent antioxidant complex of 15% l-ascorbic acid, 0.5% ferulic acid and 1% vitamin E, plus other formula-supportive enzymes and antioxidants helps neutralize pollution, environmental stressors and damaging free radicals while replenishing lipids and visibly reducing the appearance of dark spots and wrinkles. Uniquely formulated with pumpkin ferment and pomegranate extracts, C-Firma™ enzymatically dissolves dead surface skin cells for smoother texture. Sodium hyaluronate crosspolymer quickly penetrates skin and provides intense hydration. The result is a noticeably diminished appearance of photo damage, replaced by incredible radiance and luminosity.

Price: $80 for a 1 ounce bottle

Derma E Vitamin C Concentrated Serum

What They Say:

This concentrated serum helps to brighten skin and boost collagen health, minimizing the look of fine lines and wrinkles while improving the appearance of uneven skin tone. Intensely moisturizing Hyaluronic Acid plus nonoxidizing Vitamin C work together to protect skin from environmental stresses, helping to prevent signs of aging. Soothing Aloe and Vitamin E deeply moisturize for a rejuvenated you.

We use a stable form of Vitamin C that won’t evaporate or alter before absorbing into your skin, to work better for you, naturally.

Price: $24.50 for a 2 ounce bottle

 My Thoughts

Let’s start by looking at the ingredients. First you see that Drunk Elephant clearly states the percentage of Vitamin C in the C-Firma where as Derma E does not list the percentage of Vitamin C in their product. However, Derma E has their Vitamin C listed as the second ingredient where as Drunk Elephants falls third on the list of ingredients. So we could guess that they are about equal in percentage of Vitamin C.

But how did they work? I was really paying attention to not only the overall appearance of my skin when using these, but also some freckling on my nose. While I do wear sunscreen daily, I have picked up some noticeable freckling on my skin since moving back to Florida. I was watching to see how light the freckles on my nose and other discoloration spots got when using the serums, as well as how any fine lines or my skin texture appeared afterwards.

To be completely honest, after using the whole bottle of the Drunk Elephant C-Firma, I didn’t notice any difference in the texture or tone of my skin. The discoloration and freckling seemed about the same. Also, I did find this serum to be extremely drying to my skin, even when using the accompanying B Hydra Intensive Hydration Serum that is part of the set. Drunk Elephant recommends using the B Hydra serum in conjunction with the C-Firma serum, but I still felt my skin was really dried out from both of these.

Now as crazy as this sounds, I immediately noticed a difference in my skin once I started using the Derma E Vitamin C Concentrated Serum. Literally within two days I noticed the freckling on my nose seemed lighter and my overall complexion seemed brighter. I also didn’t’ find this serum to be drying at all. I also loved the texture of this product and how easily it absorbed into my skin, which allowed me to apply other products on top pretty quickly.

With extended use I am absolutely in love with the Derma E Vitamin C Concentrated Serum. My complexion is brighter and more balanced out, any discoloration I have had seems lighter and almost gone and my skin texture feels more evened out and firmer. Now take into consideration the price difference and hands down the Derma E Serum is the clear winner! It is a super affordable product that clearly delivers on it’s effectiveness.

If you have a favorite Vitamin C Serum, let me know in the comments.