Retinol Face Lotion In a Plastic Container
April 27, 2016 10:22 AM   Subscribe

I am currently using this Neutrogena face lotion, and I like it a lot, except for the packaging- a small opaque glass bottle. I feel like I constantly have to buy a new bottle since it's so small, and hate that the jar makes it impossible to get the last bits of lotion out. Do you know of any similar facial moisturizers (day, SPF, retinol preferred) that come in a plastic bottle?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (9 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
Retinol degrades extremely easily - light, air, and moisture will render it useless fast. Hence the small, sealed, opaque bottle. If you want a cream that is easier to handle, you will likely have to give up the retinol.
posted by Ausamor at 10:31 AM on April 27, 2016 [3 favorites]


Retinol and sunscreen don't work well in a product together because the retinol just makes your skin more sensitive to sun. You're better off using a retinol product and then applying sunscreen over it, or using retinol at night. Also, it's very often more effective and (with insurance) cheaper to get a prescription retinoid product from your doctor/dermatologist instead of a drugstore retinol product of dubious efficacy and drug strength.

That said, Paula's Choice skincare products are widely held in high regard, and while I've never used any of their retinol a products, I've had good experiences with the brand overall.
posted by nicebookrack at 10:40 AM on April 27, 2016 [9 favorites]


Response by poster: Retinol degrades extremely easily - light, air, and moisture will render it useless fast. Hence the small, sealed, opaque bottle.

Ugh, that's what I was afraid of.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:47 AM on April 27, 2016 [1 favorite]


It's so hard to find face goop you like. If this one works, I'd be tempted to just try to roll with it.

Give one of these suckers a try.
posted by phunniemee at 10:58 AM on April 27, 2016 [1 favorite]


If you're game to try retinol at night (without SPF), what about a cream in an easily squeezable, opaque tube? I like this one by Neutrogena.

There's also day versions with SPF 15 and SPF 20, but imo that's too little SPF.

I've never tried layering with retinol, but you could try layering a light Japanese sunscreen like Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence (or Gel) or Biore UV Perfect Milk that has SPF 50+/PA++++, over the retinol? (The watery one isn't oily or greasy at all, but it's not waterproof; the Perfect Milk one is supposed to be waterproof, but it's pretty drying. I own both.)
posted by dire at 1:36 PM on April 27, 2016 [2 favorites]


I swear by this one. It's a small bottle, but it has an airless pump (imagine those ice cream push-up pops) so that the product doesn't make contact with air as you use it AND every last drop gets squeezed out just by the design of the bottle. It's more affordable if you can order from Europe.

Avene uses a stronger form of retinol (retinaldehyde) than other OTC products. I really see a difference compared to the others I've tried.
posted by mama casserole at 2:30 PM on April 27, 2016 [2 favorites]


+1 for the neutragena night lotion with retinol linked above, love that stuff, absorbs well, not greasy.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:52 PM on April 27, 2016


The Paula's Choice website mentioned above also offers a wealth of useful information regarding which ingredients play well, how quickly they degrade, if they need to be in certain packaging, etc. They also have scientifically-based reviews of many products on their sister site, Beautypedia.

If you decide you want to try the brand, they have a money-back 60 day guarantee. Also every person who orders from them gets a friend code, when you use the code you each get $10 off. There are places online where people will post their codes if you don't know anyone personally who has one.

I haven't used their retinol products but I LOVE their day moisturizer with SPF... the only I have found that is non-irritating and non-greasy on my sensitive, oily rosacea skin. I'm going to be replacing other products with that brand as I use up what I have now.

A really good resource for this stuff is the subreddit SkincareAddiction. Lots of good recs at all price points.

You can also purchase, on Amazon, tiny silicone spatulas that are intended to get the last dregs of product out of a bottle, so that might be a good option as well.
posted by oblique red at 1:53 PM on April 28, 2016


This Murad sunscreen is almost a dupe of the Neutrogena one that you linked but with more antioxidant plant ingredients, uses a non-paraben based preservative (i.e. Phenoxyethanol) and it's in a tube.
posted by maykasahara at 7:33 AM on May 7, 2016


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