LÉ Blog

Retinol is skincare’s beloved overachiever and, let’s be honest, a bit of a diva. It’s one of the most well-studied ingredients for tackling fine lines, uneven skin tone, and breakouts, but it also comes with a bit of baggage. Namely, redness, flakiness, and an attitude if you don’t introduce it properly. Enter moisturizer, the trusty sidekick that can help keep irritation at bay while letting retinol do its thing. But here’s the million-dollar question: Do you apply retinol before or after m...

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The skincare world is never short of the newest, glitziest active ingredient vying for your attention. But while trendy ingredients can come and go, retinol and glycolic acid are two workhorse active ingredients that consistently top the chart. Both of these come with a rich history of clinical data on treating uneven pigmentation, fine lines and wrinkles. However, given that these are both heavy hitting actives that come with a risk for skin irritation, you might be wondering: can you actual...

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Retinoids, molecules in the vitamin A family, are probably some of the most celebrated skincare actives out there. With a proven track record for addressing everything from acne to aging, retinoids are truly skincare’s glitziest superstars. Because of this stardom, the product landscape is filled with different retinoids to choose from, and it can be pretty confusing to choose just the right molecule for you. Let’s take a closer look at two of the most popular retinoids – tretinoin and retino...

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Good old anti-aging retinol promises so many benefits. Yet for many (Gloria included!), it’s a temperamental little guy that can wreak havoc on your carefully maintained skin barrier. This means there are always new, buzzy ingredients promising the same glitz and glam of retinol without the snake molting, angry skin onboarding phase. One of the hottest ingredients in this category is bakuchiol, often marketed as “plant-based retinol alternative”. So! What does the science say? Can it ACTUALLY...

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Retinaldehyde or retinal (with an A!) has become the latest, buzz-worthy retinoid on the market. Many seasoned retinoid users are honing in on the fact that in the process of retinoic acid synthesis, retinal would be the more efficient (aka more potent) cosmetic retinoid compared to retinol in getting those sweet anti-aging benefits. You might even hear retinal claims such as “10x more effective than retinol” or even “tretinoin strength without the tretinoin irritation.” Bold claims! While re...

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Retinol has been a longtime fan favorite anti-aging molecule. And for good reason! As a cosmetic ingredient, retinol is one of the few that has decades of research and data behind its efficacy. In fact, this is why in our book, Skincare Decoded, we refer to this active as one the Big Four and stands alongside the champs, ascorbic acid, AHAs, and niacinamide. But, you’ve probably heard of the downside of retinol - flaking, shedding, redness, dryness. While it may sound intimidating, just a cou...

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Tretinoin is by far the most famous retinoid of the Vitamin A category and for good reason. It has a prevalent history of use plus a long long history of validation for multiple benefits including acne, anti-aging, and hyperpigmentation. However, much like any other popular skincare ingredient, with its fame comes a few areas of confusion. Tretinoin beginners may find themselves asking questions like, is using tretinoin long term actually bad for me?. Am I still purging? Or is this concentrat...

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We’ve been dragging our feet on this topic for a while! The main reason we have been avoiding the big eye cream question for so long is simply because the data here is depressingly sparse. The few studies that exist in the eye cream category can lack logic or have lackluster results. All in all, not the most scintillating or uplifting of skin concerns for us to talk about. However, we can’t ignore the fact that eye area concerns are a big topic. Plus it happens to be a personal concern of our...

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Retinol’s popularity has only continued to grow in the past few years with no signs of slowing down. And for good reason! Of the actives out there, it comes with quite a resume of data behind it for reducing wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, and even a little acne assistance. However, with that popularity comes a lot of confusion. Choosing the right retinol product can already be complicated, but on top of that, there’s a whole slew of “retinol alternatives” available on the market. In fact, if yo...

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We always talk a lot about the value of clinical tests in skincare and how helpful they can be in making a purchasing decision. Needless to say, we're doing celebratory dances over here because we finally completed our first clinical, designed with all the bells & whistles that we wanted. After 12 weeks of testing our Double Play Retinol Eye & Face Treatment, we’re excited to finally share the results. This has truly evolved into one of our more elaborate projects that took 2+ years to formul...

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