Our Ranking and Reviews Of The 10 Best Retinol Creams For 2023!

With literally hundreds of different retinol and wrinkle treatments available these days, finding the best retinol creams can be difficult to say the least.

The truth is, most so-called “wrinkle creams” don’t work very well despite all the silly claims made by cosmetic companies.  However, many of the creams that specifically contain retinol have been shown, in multiple studies, to be very effective.

So, in order to find out which ones work best, we continually buy all of the most popular retinol creams out there, and actually test them ourselves!

After a reasonable trial period, we review each one based on how well it works, what it smells like, how long the results last and what ingredients are in it.  We also look at the price, any guarantees, company reputation, return policy, ease of ordering and if it’s cruelty-free.

After taking all this into consideration, we then rank each cream against all the others.  What follows is our updated list of the 10 best retinol creams…

Quick Summary:  Skin Drop’s Advanced Retinol Complex is currently our top choice among all the different retinol creams we’ve tried over the years.  Both the short- and long-term results we saw with this were truly amazing.  It has a 1% concentration of real retinol as well as some unique skin soothers like Snow Algae and Kelp Extract.  In addition to how well it works, it’s very affordable, easy to use and has an awesome guarantee.  Read our full review here… or click here to go buy it!

Quick Summary:   Skinceuticals Retinol Cream 1.0 is one of our favorite retinol products we’ve tried.  It’s easy to use, works fast and gets serious results.  We’d classify this product as a “professional” treatment as it’s very potent.  And over time, our skin became clearer, smoother with less noticeable fine lines and wrinkles.  Read our full review here… or click here to go buy it!

Quick Summary:   After its all said and done, Strivectin AR is one of the better retinol creams out there.  It’s very easy to apply and a little goes a long way. It spreads and blends quickly and easily on the skin.  The smell of this one is very light and fresh, which we like. You really don’t want an overpowering fragrance in your retinol cream!  The results we got with this product were very good, both short and longer term.  My skin looked and felt better– smoother and clearer than before I started using it.  Read our full review here… or click here to go buy it!

Quick Summary:  Obagi Retinol 1.0 is a top performer compared to just about any other retinol cream on the market.  Its 1% concentration formula is very effective, but also gentle.  We didn’t experience much redness or peeling with this product.  We also like some of the complimentary ingredients in Obagi Retinol 1.0.  It also includes some skin soothing things like shea butter and bisabolol.  Read our full review here… or click here to go buy it!

Quick Summary:  SkinMedica Retinol Complex is one of our favorite retinol creams currently available.  We used the 0.5% concentration which worked well and didn’t produce any irritation or redness.  There aren’t many downsides with this one although it was a little bit sticky after it dried.  But overall, this is a very good wrinkle cream that can do a good job on fine lines, rough skin and discoloration.  Read our full review here… or click here to go buy it!

Quick Summary:  Peter Thomas Roth Retinol Fusion PM is a simple product that happens to work really, really well.  Although it doesn’t have a lot of additional ingredients (outside of retinol), the retinol percentage is higher than many other OTC treatments.  That may explain why it does such a great job on fine lines and wrinkles!  We don’t see a lot of negatives with this product except applying it can be a bit messy.  Read our full review here… or click here to go buy it!

Quick Summary:  Kate Somerville Retasphere Retinol Night Cream is a very good retinol cream.  We saw pretty good results both in the short term and longer term when using this product (especially on fine lines and increasing skin smoothness).  It’s also very moisturizing– which is something you can’t say about all retinol creams!  As far as downsides, this product is definitely on the thicker side, which some of you will not like. It makes applying it a bit more difficult than other retinol wrinkle creams.  Read our full review here… or click here to go buy it!

Quick Summary:  Philosophy Help Me Retinol Treatment is a great choice for those who want an “in-between” product.  By that, we mean it’s strong enough to help with fine lines, dark spots sand smoothness– but not so strong that it causes a lot of irritation.  So overall, this is a very good retinol cream that the vast majority of people will like.  Read our full review here… or click here to go buy it!

Quick Summary:  After using it for awhile, we’re convinced that Jan Marini Age Intervention Retinol Plus is a very good retinol cream.  The short term results were encouraging– and the longer terms ones were even better!  The only real downside we see is the extremely high price tag.  But overall, it scores well in just about every area we look at!  Read our full review here… or click here to go buy it!

Quick Summary:  Roc Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream proves that you don’t necessarily need to spend tons of money to get really good results from a wrinkle cream.  Although there are a few better retinol creams out there, you really can’t find one as good as this for the price.  For one-half to one-third the price of most retinol creams, ROC works really well and is easy to use and apply.  Read our full review here… or click here to go buy it!