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Paula's Choice

10% Niacinamide Booster

$44·20 ml·~$40/mo to use

Reviewed by SerumTruth Editorial · Price and formula checked July 2026

A well-built niacinamide booster with sensible brightening support, but it is a single headline active at a mid-tier price. It works, and you pay for the polish rather than for more proven actives than a budget 10% niacinamide.

What we like
  • Niacinamide dosed at a clinical, high-end level
  • Every active discloses its concentration
SerumProof score74 / 100
  • Evidence21 / 30

    Strength of the research behind the key actives

    • Niacinamide: moderate evidence

    The average of the key actives’ evidence grades.

  • Potency25 / 25

    Dosed at studied levels, not fairy-dusted

    • Niacinamide (10%): dosed at a clinical, high-end level for its category

    How strongly the actives are dosed, led by the strongest, not how many there are.

  • Delivery & stability14 / 20

    Delivery tech + packaging that protects fragile actives

    • Delivery: standard
    • Packaging: tinted glass
    • No fragile actives here, so packaging barely moves the score.

    Delivery tech plus packaging, and packaging only counts when actives are fragile.

  • Formulation6 / 10

    Disclosure, active breadth, and ingredient generation

    • 1 of 1 actives disclose a concentration
    • 1 key active (breadth credit caps at 3)
    • No current-generation or synergy bonus

    Disclosure, active breadth, and current-generation or synergistic actives.

  • Value8 / 15

    What a month of use costs vs. the category

    • About $40 per month to use
    • $44 for 20 ml, used about twice a day (about 0.3 ml each time), so a bottle lasts about 1.1 months

    What a month of use costs: full marks at $6 a month or less, the floor at $60 a month or more.

Tap any row to see how its score was built.

Ranks #26 of 56 brightening serums we have scored.

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What’s inside

ActiveDisclosedDose
Niacinamide10%Clinical

10% niacinamide, disclosed, backed by acetyl glucosamine and a stable vitamin C derivative (ascorbyl glucoside) plus licorice for the appearance of an even tone, in a small frosted dropper bottle. It is a concentrated booster meant to be mixed into a moisturiser or layered thin, so the 20ml bottle lasts longer than it looks. Nothing here is especially fragile.

How it’s delivered

DeliveryStandardPackagingTinted glass

Air- and light-sensitive actives (vitamin C, copper peptides) lose potency fast in the wrong packaging, so delivery and the bottle are scored, not just what’s on the label.

The actives, explained

What the research says

Topical 5% niacinamide was linked to more even looking skin tone, softer looking lines, and less visible blotchiness after 12 weeks.

Niacinamide: A B vitamin that improves aging facial skin appearance. Dermatologic Surgery, 2005. PubMed ↗

A study of the active, not this exact product. What matters for the score is whether this serum uses it at a comparable dose.

Higher-scoring alternatives

Same category, better SerumProof score. Worth a look before you buy.

Revision history
  1. July 11, 2026
    Price and formula rechecked
  2. July 10, 2026
    Review published

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Cosmetic information for general education, not medical advice. The SerumProof score reflects our reading of publicly available research and formulation disclosures. See how scoring works.