Retinol Alternative Serum
Smoother-looking skin, without the retinol flaking.
A 99% natural-origin serum for fine lines and texture. It isn't a retinoid, so there's no adjustment period: use it morning, evening, or both from day one.
2% Bidens Pilosa extract as the retinol alternative, with aloe leaf juice, hyaluronic acid and sodium hyaluronate for hydration, sea buckthorn and rose myrtle for antioxidant support, plus jojoba, rosehip, murumuru and mango butters for barrier comfort. 99% natural origin, 24% organic origin.
Apply a few drops to a cleansed face, morning and/or evening, then follow with moisturiser. No build-up period needed. Wear SPF in the morning as you would with any routine.
Lightweight and fast-absorbing. Slightly sweet rose scent with red geranium over a green, fruity base. Contains Parfum; Geraniol, Citronellol, Linalool and Citral are declared on the label, all from natural essential oils. Not a fragrance-free product.
Dispatched from the EU within 24 hours. Delivery in 2–4 working days across most of the EU. Free over €75, otherwise €4.95.
Your legal rights come first: a 14-day right of withdrawal and at least two years of legal guarantee, free of charge. On top of those, our 60-Day Promise refunds what you paid for the product: use it daily for 60 days, then email us between day 60 and day 90 with your order number and a photo of the pack. Keep the bottle — nothing to send back. First order only, up to two bottles, one claim per person; delivery charges aren't refunded. If your skin reacts at any point, stop and email us and we refund you in full straight away, delivery included.
Retinol works. Living with it is the hard part.
Retinol has decades of evidence behind it, and for many people the first weeks mean flaking, tightness and stinging while skin adjusts. It's why so many stop before it has time to work.
Bidens Pilosa isn't vitamin A, so it doesn't come with retinol's adjustment schedule: you can use it from day one, morning, evening, or both. It's a gentler route with a smaller evidence base, and we'd rather tell you both halves of that.
What people reported.
Every figure below comes from consumer-perception testing on our exact formula. Participants rated their own skin. These are what people saw and felt, not instrument readings.
Self-assessed perception results supplied by the manufacturer for this formula. Panel size, study length and testing lab are not published alongside them, and we won't invent numbers we don't have. We've requested the full report and will print it here when it arrives.
Bidens Pilosa
Black Jack · Asteraceae (daisy) family
A wild herb from the daisy family. Its extract contains phytol and related compounds that researchers have studied as natural partners of the skin's retinoid receptors — the same signalling pathway retinol works on, reached by a different molecule.
It contains no vitamin A and shares none of retinol's chemical structure. That's the point: a gentler route to the same pathway, with a smaller evidence base than retinol.
What a 2015 study measured
Dieamant et al., 2015. A standardised Bidens Pilosa extract (best result per measure) against 10 μM retinol, in cultured human fibroblasts. Cells in a dish, not faces, and the extract studied may not be identical to the one in this serum.
How it differs from retinol.
Describes ingredient type and usage guidance, not a head-to-head clinical trial against a named retinol product.
What studies show about each ingredient.
These studies test the ingredient, at a set concentration, often in a different formula, sometimes in a lab. They explain why each ingredient is in this serum. They are not results for this serum; the only results for this exact formula are the consumer testing above.
Bidens Pilosa extract
A standardised Bidens Pilosa extract applied to cultured human skin cells (fibroblasts) and skin fragments in a lab, compared with retinol.
Collagen rose by up to 32.5% (retinol: 45.6%). Elastin rose by 25.2% (retinol: 16.7%). A lab result, not tested on faces.
Hyaluronic acid
76 women aged 30–60 applied 0.1% hyaluronic acid creams in five molecular weights around the eyes, twice a day for 60 days, with a placebo cream on the other eye.
Every molecular weight significantly improved skin hydration and elasticity versus placebo. The two lowest weights also reduced measured wrinkle depth.
Aloe vera
20 women used creams with 0.10–0.50% freeze-dried aloe on the forearm daily for two weeks, compared with the same cream without aloe.
After two weeks, every aloe concentration increased the water content of the skin's outer layer. Water loss through the skin was unchanged.
Glycerin
A review of the research on glycerol applied to the skin.
Glycerol improves hydration of the skin's outer layer, barrier function and skin's mechanical properties, and helps protect against irritating stimuli.
Jojoba oil
A review of the research on jojoba in dermatology.
In the studies reviewed, jojoba's liquid wax showed an anti-inflammatory effect; it is widely used in moisturisers and for ageing skin.
Every ingredient, printed in full.
99% natural origin, 24% organic origin. Certified COSMOS Natural by Ecocert Greenlife. Vegan, gluten free and nut free. No GMO ingredients, recyclable packaging.
Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe) Leaf Juice➀, Glycerin➁, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil➀, Pentylene Glycol, Polyglyceryl-6 Stearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Propanediol, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Astrocaryum Murumuru Seed Butter, Gossypium Herbaceum Seed Oil, Isoamyl Laurate, Bidens Pilosa Extract, Polyglyceryl-6 Behenate, Linum Usitatissimum Seed Oil, Parfum/Fragrance, Cellulose, Aqua/Water, Hippophae Rhamnoides (Sea Buckthorn) Fruit Extract➀, Lactic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Rhodomyrtus Tomentosa (Rose Myrtle) Fruit Extract, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Fruit Oil➀, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter➀, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Phytate, Octyldodecanol, Tocopherol, Geraniol➂, Citronellol➂, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Linalool➂, Citral➂
➀ from organic farming · ➁ made using organic ingredients · ➂ from natural essential oils
This serum contains Parfum and geranium flower oil, giving it a slightly sweet rose scent with red geranium over a green, fruity base. Four allergens are declared on the label: Geraniol, Citronellol, Linalool and Citral, all from natural essential oils. It is not a fragrance-free product.
Bidens Pilosa belongs to the Asteraceae (daisy) family. If you react to ragweed, daisies or chamomile, patch test on your inner forearm once a day for five days before first use on your face.
Who it's for, and who should skip it.
Week by week.
Typical timelines for this kind of serum, not a promise. Every skin is different.
Morning, evening, or both.
Questions, answered honestly.
They're from consumer-perception testing on this exact formula — participants assessed their own skin and reported what they noticed. We publish them as we received them. What we don't have yet is the panel size, the study length or the testing lab, and we won't fabricate those. We've asked for the full report and it goes on this page when it lands.
We can't claim that. Published lab work on Bidens Pilosa extract found it raised collagen and elastin markers comparably to retinol — but that was cultured cells, not faces. What the consumer testing on this serum shows is that most people saw smoother texture and a brighter, more even-looking complexion. A more modest claim, and the honest one.
Skin renews on roughly a 28-day cycle, so one bottle is a fair test. In the testing, comfort and hydration scored highest (90% and 85%) — those come first. Line and wrinkle scores were lower (65–75%) and take longest.
Use it daily for 60 days. If your skin hasn't changed the way you hoped, email us between day 60 and day 90 with your order number and a photo of the pack, and we refund what you paid for the product — keep the bottle, there is nothing to send back.
First order only, up to two bottles, one claim per person, and delivery charges aren't refunded. If your skin reacts at any point, stop and email us: we refund you in full straight away, delivery included, with no waiting. This sits on top of your 14-day right of withdrawal and two-year legal guarantee, which always come first.
Your serum arrives every two months at 10% off, delivery included. You can skip a delivery, change the interval or cancel at any time from your account or by email — no minimum term, no phone call.
It's formulated for all skin types and designed to be far gentler than retinol — 90% reported instantly comforted skin. Two honest caveats: it contains Parfum with four declared allergens (Geraniol, Citronellol, Linalool, Citral), and Bidens Pilosa is an Asteraceae plant. If you react to fragrance, or to ragweed, daisies or chamomile, patch test on your inner forearm daily for five days first.
Either, or both. Unlike retinol there's no slow introduction and no reason to restrict it to evenings or pause it in summer. Daily SPF still matters more than any serum you can buy.
It contains no vitamin A, which is the usual reason retinol is avoided. But we're not your doctor and we won't tell you it's pregnancy-safe — show the ingredient list to your midwife or GP and let them decide.
Cleanse, apply to damp skin, then moisturiser. It sits comfortably with niacinamide, peptides and vitamin C. Leave a night between this and a strong acid peel.
The Bakuchiol Oil Serum has the stronger evidence — a 12-week trial against retinol — and is an oil, so it suits dry skin as a final evening step. This serum is lighter and water-based, works morning and night, and is the better fit under makeup or for combination skin.
Made in the EU under EU cosmetic regulation, and certified COSMOS Natural by Ecocert Greenlife. Vegan, gluten free, nut free, no GMO ingredients, recyclable packaging. The complete INCI is printed on this page — nothing hidden behind a 'proprietary complex'.
Use it for 60 days. If nothing changes, we refund the product.
Skin needs time, so give it a proper test. Use it daily for 60 days. If your skin hasn't changed the way you hoped, email us between day 60 and day 90 with your order number and a photo of the pack, and we refund what you paid for the product. Keep the bottle — nothing to send back.
First order only, up to two bottles, one claim per person. Delivery charges aren't refunded under the Promise. If your skin reacts at any point, stop and email us: we refund you in full straight away, delivery included, with no waiting.
Buy now · €52,99Your legal rights come first: a 14-day right of withdrawal and at least two years of legal guarantee, free of charge. This Promise is an extra on top and never replaces them. Full conditions on our 60-Day Promise page.
Read before you decide.
Cosmetic product. All claims describe the appearance of skin and are not medical claims. Made in the EU. EU Responsible Person details on pack. Prices include VAT.