Two minutes. Five steps. Three products.
If you don’t know where to start, start here. Three actives with decades of research behind them — 15% vitamin C, 4% niacinamide, 0.3% encapsulated retinol. Most of the benefit of a serious routine, for a fraction of the effort.
Collagen & Elasticity Support Bundle
The method.
Two steps in the morning, three at night — about two minutes a day. This is the shortest routine that still does both jobs: protecting the collagen you have, and asking your skin to build more. $108 as a bundle, $135 separately.
Morning
Clinical Vit C + E + Ferulic Defend Serum
Straight onto bare skin. You do not have to wash your face first — nothing you did overnight needs cleansing off.
What it does
An antioxidant serum built on three actives at once: 15% pure vitamin C, vitamin E and 0.5% ferulic acid. It works as environmental protection during the day, and over time reduces the look of fine lines, wrinkles and discoloration.
Who it suits
Formulated for normal and dry skin. If yours runs oily, read the questions at the foot of the page before you buy. Patch test first, as with any new active.
Sunscreen
The step that does the most and costs you nothing extra today. Every morning, without exception: vitamin C protects collagen, and sunscreen stops the damage that breaks it down in the first place.
Evening
Wash your face
The one step that genuinely does need doing at night. Whatever you already use is fine.
No Needles Renew Serum
The three-in-one. It absorbs fast enough that you are not standing at the mirror waiting to layer the next thing.
What it does
Suitable for all skin types. It cuts transepidermal water loss — the moisture skin leaks all day — so hydration stays put. The niacinamide and peptide complex work on smoothing, plumping and visibly firming while supporting the skin barrier. The five molecular weights of hyaluronic acid are the point of that number: different sizes sit at different depths rather than all pooling on the surface.
Dual Retinol Renew Cream
Retinol has decades of research behind it and the worst reputation for irritation. This one uses two gentler delivery forms rather than one harsh one, in a cream that holds moisture. Built for beginner-to-medium users, which is most people.
What it does
Suitable for all skin types. (Not for use in pregnancy) Retinol increases cellular turnover: skin replaces its surface layer faster, which is what improves texture and softens the look of fine lines and wrinkles. Two forms are used rather than one — 0.3% encapsulated retinol, released gradually, and 1% granactive retinoid.
What the two minutes are actually doing.
Collagen is the thing you are protecting. Two of these steps defend it: vitamin C in the morning against the environmental damage that degrades it, and sunscreen against the single largest cause of that damage. Two of them ask your skin to make more — peptides and retinol, both at night, when your skin is already in repair mode.
That is the whole logic. Protect in daylight, rebuild in the dark. Everything else in a ten-step routine is refinement on top of those four jobs: nice if you enjoy it, optional if you do not.
What it looks like, one product at a time.
Every before and after here is one customer, using one product, over the timeframe printed beneath it — four months, four weeks, four weeks. They are not the same person and they are not a picture of what this routine does in two minutes. We are showing you three individual results, not a study.
What people say about each step.
A must try! Worth every penny
“I never wanted to dole out the money for the Skinceuticals C serum that everyone raves about. This serum has the same concoction, is PHENOMENAL, and at a fair pricepoint! I am on my second bottle and use it religiously because I notice a difference in my skin leaving it out of my routine for even one day.”
Really works well
“I have a small patch of sun-damaged skin which has been getting more difficult to fix. I started using the Vitamin C serum as part of my morning routine, and the patch is completely gone. I don’t need to put concealer or anything. I basically forgot about it.”
Love this serum!
“I can definitely see the difference in the texture and tone of my skin. It’s brighter and smoother and feels so good when I apply because it absorbs quickly.”
3rd bottle
“I keep coming back to this stuff. It feels really simple yet luxurious to add this serum to my routine and I see such a positive results.”
Finally A Retinol That Works Without Irritation
“I’ve been in Aesthetics for 20 years… Anyone who’s used prescription Retin-A knows the dreaded red, flaky skin shed that accompanies it, which is why most stop using it, myself included. Brandefy formula delivers retinol in two forms with glycerin to combat dryness. In just a month of nightly use, I can already see a difference.”
Excellent retinol cream
“I use tretinoin every other day and the Dual Retinol Renew Cream on the evenings I don’t use tretinoin… Using this plus Brandefy’s CE Ferulic and No Needles Renew Serum have been a great combo for my almost 60 year old complexion.”
All six reviews are from verified purchasers. The two Dual Retinol reviews above — Kim R. and Belinda M. — were submitted in exchange for a discount code, as marked. Across our products we have 2,669 five-star reviews, and we have not filtered the one-star ones off our product pages.
Collagen & Elasticity Support Bundle
- Clinical Vit C + E + Ferulic Defend Serum — 1 fl oz / 30 mL
- No Needles Renew Serum — 1 fl oz / 30 mL
- Dual Retinol Renew Cream — 1.6 fl oz / 47 mL
- Full sizes, not minis
Questions.
Is it really two minutes?
One minute in the morning, one at night, once you know the order. The first few days will be slower because you are reading labels. Nothing here needs to dry down before the next step.
Do I really not have to wash my face in the morning?
Correct. Cleanse if you want to. Vitamin C goes on bare skin either way.
What if I already have a sunscreen I like?
Great — you can use it!
Can I start with one product instead of all three?
Yes, and each step above has its own button. If you are picking one, pick the vitamin C. Bought one at a time the three come to $135, so the bundle saves you $27 — but there is no obligation to start with all of it.
Can I use the retinol every night?
Most people can, but start at two or three nights a week for the first week and go up from there.
My skin runs oily. Will the vitamin C work for me?
It may not be your step 1. We recommend it for normal and dry skin, and the most common complaint in its low reviews is that the texture feels rich under makeup. That is the formula behaving as designed — but if you already dislike a heavier serum, you will dislike this one.
I’m acne-prone. Should I patch test?
You should use our acne-safe version of this serum, instead. It is the Clinical Vit C + Silym Clarify Serum.
I already use tretinoin. Is the retinol cream an upgrade?
No — you should use your dermatologist prescribed serum.
How long before I see anything?
Retinol and peptides work on the timescale of skin cell turnover, so give it a month before you judge it.
What order, exactly?
Morning: vitamin C, then sunscreen. Night: cleanse, No Needles, then the retinol cream last — thinnest to thickest.
SkinCeuticals and Retin-A are trademarks of their respective owners, are not affiliated with Brandefy and do not endorse it. Comparisons refer to active ingredients only. No head-to-head clinical study has been conducted between these products.
Before and after photographs are individual customer results over the timeframe stated in each caption, and are composites of two separate photographs. Individual results vary. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
