It’s been a minute since I’ve done a skincare *product* review – but Ole Henriksen recently sent over a bottle of their newest product release, The Dewtopia 20% Acid Night Treatment, so it felt like the right time to get back to writing!
The serum is housed in a heavy (fancy!) glass pump bottle, and is a yellowish-white color. The texture is wonderful, and lays really well on the skin. It absorbs quickly, and is easy to layer as a result. There is a faint scent of lemon, which honestly kind of reminds me of the Starbucks Lemon Pound Cake. I personally prefer fragrance-free products, but I enjoy the smell of this serum. Dewtopia boasts a whopping 10% AHA and 10% PHA concentration, which is no joke! *See previous blog post here about AHA products* If you’ve read any of my blogs before, you know I’m a huge fan of acid-based products, but I have yet to discuss PHA’s on the blog – they are a lesser known, lesser used chemical exfoliant that works similarly to AHA’s, but is a bit gentler.
After using the serum a few times, I’ve come to like it. It does give me glowing skin when I wake up, but I could see this easily being overused by an acid newbie. Even as a regular exfoliator, I used the serum two nights in a row and peeled a little the next morning. I’d definitely recommend starting slow – once or twice a week, and seeing how your skin tolerates it before using it more frequently. At $55 for a 1 oz bottle, its fairly reasonably priced, but certainly on the high-end side of skincare. If I’m being honest, my real beef with this product is in the ingredient list.
Ingredient list breakdown:
| Aqua/Water/Eau | literally water |
| Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice | skin-soothing plant extract |
| Betula Alba Juice | plant based antioxidant |
| Gluconolactone | quality exfoliant |
| Glycolic Acid | quality exfoliant |
| Gossypium Herbaceum (Cotton) Fruit Water | non-fragrant plant oil (atcs as a humectant) |
| Lactic Acid | quality exfoliant |
| Isoamyl Laurate | emulsifier |
| Potassium Hydroxide | alkaline pH modifier (can be sensitizing in large quantities) |
| Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6 | thickener |
| Silica | thickener |
| Sodium Hydroxide | highly alkaline pH modifyer |
| Neopentyl Glycol Diheptanoate | thickener/skin softening |
| Polyglyceryl-3 Laurate | emulsifier |
| Gluconic Acid | exfoliant |
| Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Extract | potentially irritating fragrant plant oil |
| Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate | skin-soothing plant extract |
| Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract | skin-soothing plant extract |
| Saccharum Officinarum (Sugarcane) Extract/Extrait De Canne A Sucre | humectant |
| Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract | plant based antioxidant |
| Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Peel Extract | potentially irritating fragrant plant oil |
| Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil | potentially irritating fragrant plant oil |
| Santalum Album (Sandalwood) Extract, | potentially irritating fragrant plant oil |
| Glycerin | humectant |
| Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate | preservative |
| Sodium Riboflavin Phosphate | skin conditioning agent |
| Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Peel Oil, | potentially irritating fragrant plant oil |
| Triethyl Citrate | solvent |
| Isododecane | emulsifier |
| Polysorbate 60 | emulsifier |
| Sorbitan Isostearate | stabilizing emulsifier |
| Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer | stabilizer/texture enhancer |
| Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate | lab-made antioxidant |
| Dimethylhydroxy Furanone | fragrance additive |
| Vanillin | antioxidant |
| 1,2-Hexanediol | preservative |
| Caprylyl Glycol | preservative |
| Phenoxyethanol | preservative |
| Limonene | potentially irritating fragrant plant oil |
| Linalool | potentially irritating fragrant plant oil |
| Citral | potentially irritating fragrant plant oil |
For the most part, the ingredient list looks pretty good. My main issue circles back to fragrance – I’m not hardcore opposed to fragrance like some people, but I don’t prefer it in my formulas. This particular formula has quite a bit of potentially irritating fragrant plant oils that just don’t need to be there. Even if they removed a few of them, the formula would still smell lemon-y.
Final Score: 3/5
Pros: great chemical exfoliator, reasonable price point (for high end), great concentration of acid
Cons: High concentration of fragrant plant oils, could be easily over-used
I hope you found this review informative. As always, feel free to reach out with questions/comments.
Until next time,
Amanda Kennedy
Follow along on IG: @amandadev4
This post contains affiliate links. Product was gifted by brand, all opinions are my own.
Amanda Marie Kennedy 