Last year, when I was pregnant, I was barred from using retinol. Now I’m making up for lost time. That’s why I’m reviewing Verso, a brand that revolves around promoting the use of retinol in every skincare routine.
Verso is a Swedish brand that was founded about 10 years ago and focuses on, in their own words, pioneering the use of Vitamin A (more commonly known as retinol). They claim to be scientifically rooted and minimalistic in their formulations, and use only ingredients with proven quality.
They have a numbering system that follows more or less the order in which you need skincare (1 for cleansing, 2 for day cream,3 for night, etc). Unfortunately, they offer no sunscreen. Not that they are anti-sunscreen at all, they just don’t have it. A bit weird to me, since they are so adamant about pushing a sun sensitizing ingredient, but hey, at least they tell you to wear sun protection (it’s in their day cream instructions).
In case you are wondering about the backwards numbers like I was, Verso is actually Latin for reverse, because they intend to turn back time for the skin with their skincare. Clever.
Verso Daily Glow With Retinol 8 & Vitamin C Review (30ml – 55€)
This tinted moisturizer is of a medium tan shade with a bit of glow. I don’t find it evens out my skintone but it makes me look slightly sun tanned. It’s easy to apply and spread and feels comfortable on the skin. It did not make my skin oily.
There is a lot of good ingredients in this: the good-for-everything niacinamide, right at the beginning of the list; squalane and shea butter (good moisturizers), jojoba esters (soothing for the skin), hyaluronic acid (great hydrating ingredient), vitamin E (good antioxidant) and, obviously, Vitamin C and Retinol, two major anti-aging ingredients.
Weird that a day cream contains vitamin C and retinol, two sun sensitising ingredients, but no announced SPF, although it has a sunscreen component, Titanium Dioxide, in the list. I wish they would say how much protection that offers. Just in case, I use SPF50 on top (they do recommend to wear at least SPF30 on top, by the way).
Verso Daily Glow with Retinol 8 & Vitamin C Ingredients: Aqua, Dimethicone, Niacinamide, Glycerin, Squalane, Silica, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Butylene Glycol, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Jojoba Esters, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Retinyl Retinoate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Canola Oil, PEG-75 Stearate, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Ceteth-20, Steareth-20, Xanthan Gum, Polysorbate 60, Glycine Soja Oil, Sorbitan Isostearate, Tocopherol, Squalene, Beta-Sitosterol, Parfum, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Titanium Dioxide, Alumina, CI 77891, CI 77491, CI 77499, Tin Oxide, Sodium Citrate, Lactic Acid.
Verso Night Cream with Retinol 8 Review (50ml – 95€)
This night cream is on the thicker side, and takes more effort to spread on the skin than a lotion or gel. It feels rich without being too greasy or occlusive.
There are a lot of the same ingredients that are present in the Daily Glow cream – basically all except niacinamide – but beyond that, there are more antioxidants and more soothing ingredients. It also has alcohol and parfum, two skin-sensitising and unnecessary components, but they are at the very bottom of the list so concentration is really low.
Another thing to point out is that about half the ingredient list comes after Phenoxyethanol, which is a preservative that can have a maximum concentration of 1%, although it is commonly much lower. This is relevant because ingredients are listed per their concentration order, so everything that comes after Phenoxyethanol is present at a lower %, including the retinol. At this price, I expected a higher concentration of their star ingredient.
Verso Night Cream with Retinol 8 Ingredients: Aqua, Glycerin, Butyrospermum Parkii Oil, Butylene Glycol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Heptyl Undecylenate, Pentylene Glycol, Squalane, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Jojoba Esters, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Canola Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tetrahydrodiferuloylmethane, Hydroxyphenyl Propamidobenzoic Acid, Curcuma Longa Root Extract, Lecithin, Polysorbate 20, Sorbitan Isostearate, Glycine Soja Oil, Retinyl Retinoate, Citric Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tetrahydropiperine, Sodium Hydroxide, Tocopherol, Beta-Sitosterol, Soy Isoflavones, Squalene, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Alcohol, Parfum.
Verso Super Eye Serum with Retinol 8 Review (30ml – 85€)
Out of all of the products, this is the one I enjoyed applying the most. It was very fluid and easy to spread but it did not feel thin.
I used it all over my face (whatever is good for my eyes can only be great for the rest of my complexion) but it is formulated with the eyes in mind: besides the retinol, it contains peptides, and one of them (Dipeptide-2) increases lymphatic circulation and is frequently used to reduce under-eye bags.
Beyond that, it contains some squalane and hyaluronic acid (great moisturizers) and a few antioxidants (HMC, vitamin E), and no icky stuff like fragrance or alcohol.
Verso Super Eye Serum Retinol 8 Ingredients: Aqua, Glycerin, Squalane, Diethylhexyl Carbonate, Heptyl Undecylenate, Dimethicone, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Retinyl Retinoate, Dipeptide-2, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Hesperidin Methyl Chalcone, Tetrahydrodiferuloylmethane, Sodium Hyaluronate, Canola Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Steareth-20, Sodium Citrate, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol.
Verso Eye Cream Review (15ml – 45€)
The thickest of Verso products I own, this is also the only one without retinol. And it makes sense that it is so, in case you need to give your skin a break from all of the retinol and just allow it to recover and replenish – particularly around the sensitive eye area.
This eye cream focuses on soothing ingredients (oat, a probiotic, Biosaccharide Gum-1) and nice moisturizers (shea butter, yeast extract). It feels pretty occlusive and moisturizing and serves its purpose well, but I don’t think that this type of product needs to be so expensive.
Verso Eye Cream Ingredients: Aqua, C15-19 Alkane, Butyrospermum Parkii, Hydrolyzed Yeast Extract, Pullulan, Avena Sativa Kernel Oil, Saccharide Isomerate, Sodium Acrylates Copolymer, Methylpropanediol, Lecithin, Lactobacillus Ferment, Avena Sativa Kernel Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Cetyl Hydroxyethylcellulose, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Polyglucuronic Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Phenoxyethanol.
Final Thoughts
There wasn’t one product I didn’t enjoy using. But I won’t repurchase most of them, given the price. I’m tempted to get a full size of their Super Eye Serum, or maybe bite the bullet and try the Verso Super Elixir, because it has their patented molecule that combines retinol and niacinamide – but only with a sale/discount/voucher.
They are clearly placing themselves in a luxury price point, but if you are doing that and claim to be scientifically-driven, then I expect to be blown away by the formulas and the ingredients. And they are, in general, good, but not out-of-this-world good. Still, they are good enough for me to consider getting something else from their line – so I guess this is one of those brands that I won’t use to build a whole routine, but certainly to fill a gap in one of the steps.
