This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase (at no cost to you!)
If you’ve ever wanted bright and healthy skin, you probably know about Vitamin C. It’s an ingredient that we’re constantly told is great for all skin types, and that’s seriously effective.
Vitamin C helps to protect sensitive skin and has powerful antioxidant properties that help to create a barrier against free radicals and minimize damage caused by UV exposure and sun damage, all while keeping the skin smooth and bright. For us, it’s an essential skincare ingredient that we use every morning, and we think that everyone should incorporate it into their skincare routine too.
The only issue is that if you want a really good Vitamin C serum, you normally have to expect to part with quite a bit of money. Not all vitamin C serums are created equally and it’s one of those products where you really get what you pay for.
The most popular Vitamin C serums come from brands like Oskia, SkinCeuticals, and Paulas Choice — which are all great but aren’t the best for our wallets.
Despite these luxury products being incredible, it hasn’t stopped me from trying to find a more affordable option. Then I found the Garden of Wisdom Vitamin C Serum 23% + Ferulic Acid.
Who Are Garden of Wisdom?
Garden of Wisdom is a skincare brand that started in Arizona and was brought over to the UK fairly recently in a collaboration with Victoria Health. They took a select few products and refined the packaging and formulations to ensure their success in the new market.
They have a lineup of products, similar to those of The Ordinary, with a lot of ingredients you’ll recognize like Niacinamide, Squalane Oil, Rosehip oil, etc.
One of the most popular products from the line is the Vitamin C, the topic of today’s review.
What the serum claims to do
Firstly, this is a high-strength Vitamin C that promises to brighten and freshen the skin, prevent and treat hyperpigmentation, and help protect the skin against aging. Let’s look at the product information below to see what the brand claims it’s able to do.
“Garden of Wisdom Vitamin C 23% + Ferulic Acid Serum provides high strength pure L-ascorbic acid (a vitamin C derivative) to brighten and even out skin tone whilst Ferulic acid helps protect skin against free radical damage.”
Garden of Wisdom – Victoria Health
Essentially, vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that has a lot of skin benefits. With antioxidant powers, we’re able to minimize the production of skin pigment, so it helps to fade acne scars and hyperpigmentation.
I like to apply Vitamin C to clean skin with clean fingertips as the first step of my morning skincare routine. A few drops of this serum are a sufficient amount of vitamin C serum to use in the morning.
Who is this targeted towards?
Secondly, this product is targeted at anyone. No matter your age, or skin type, Vitamin C is a beneficial product to add to your skincare routine.
If you suffer from hyperpigmentation, dull-looking skin, dark spots, or acne scars you will notice a difference after frequent Vitamin C usage in particular. If you’re worried about the early signs of aging like fine lines, you should also consider adding some Vitamin C to your routine as it helps with collagen production and maintaining the skin’s natural pigment.
You could also follow up with some of the other Garden of Wisdom serums, like the niacinamide which can also help strengthen the power of the Vitamin C.
Ingredients
Distilled Water, L-Ascorbic Acid 23%, Alkyl Benzoate, Panthenol-D, Carbomer, Ferulic Acid 1.5%, Sclerotium Gum, Optiphen, Hyaluronic acid
Price and availability
£10 for 30ml of product. You can only buy this product from Victoria Health. It’s such an affordable price for such a good Vitamin C serum, considering how well it works with the treatment of skin concerns, you really can’t complain at all.
Garden of Wisdom does have its own website where it sells all of the Garden of Wisdom products, but the GOW products and formulas are different from what you’ll find on Victoria Health. Either way, it’s easy to create a complete garden of wisdom skincare regimen as they cover everything from cleansers to facial oil.
My final thoughts on the best budget vitamin C serum
The Garden of Wisdom Vitamin C is a thin, clear, and unscented product that isn’t grainy or too sticky.
Firstly, I use about 1-2 pumps of this a day as part of my morning skincare routine. I started slowly, only using it a couple of days a week, to begin with, to minimize the chance of any irritation. This is something I do with most cosmetic products as my skin can sometimes be a little sensitive, so I find the gentle approach normally works best.
It applies nicely to the skin and works well with other skincare and makeup products. This is a key must-have for me because other budget Vitamin C’s I’ve used in the past (*cough* The Ordinary) have felt extremely uncomfortable and almost impossible to use in the morning before makeup.
I’ve now been using this every day as part of my morning routine for around a week. I’ve already started to notice a difference in how my skin looks.
After continued use for over a month, I started to notice that my acne scars and red spots were beginning to fade away slowly. This is great as these were my main motivations for incorporating Vitamin C into my routine.
After using this product for a few months, I notice a real difference in my acne scarring and the overall health of my skin.
In conclusion, compared to other budget Vitamin C serums I have tried, the Garden of Wisdom product is on another level — and there are plenty of other customer reviews to support my review!
This is one of the few products I’ve used where I can genuinely see an improvement. Although you can’t see all the antioxidant protection and anti-aging serum benefits in action after so little time using it, I’m sure it’s working hard to keep my skin looking it’s best for a long time.
It’s also so much more enjoyable to use, it’s lightweight, fragrance-free, and doesn’t interfere with other products.
More Vitamin C serums that I recommend
If you can’t get your hands on the GOW Vitamin C serum or are on the lookout for other affordable Vitamin C serums. Here are some of our top recommendations.
If you’re outside of the UK, this serum may be a little hard to get hold of. Here are some more affordable Vitamin C serums that I also recommend:
- L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Clinical 12% Pure Vitamin C Serum
- Sunday Riley C.E.O. 15% Vitamin C Brightening Serum
- Medik8 C-Tetra Serum
- Beauty Pie Superactive Capsules Pure Double Vitamin C & Vitamin E Serum
