Paula's Choice Peptide Booster for oily acne-prone skin
Peptides
Complex Amino Acid
Glycerin
Panax Ginseng Root Extract
Psidium Guajava Fruit Extract
High
- AverageOily Skin Fit
- HighEffectiveness
- ExcellentSafety
A great choice for oily acne-prone skin; a few serums fit it even better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with oily acne-prone skin: shine, breakouts, blemishes, and enlarged pores. For scores and recommendations based on your full skin profile, including your 12D face scan results and any goals or preferences you have, please use the Lovi app.
Page built Nov 8, 2026How the Fit score works
Lovi Assistant explains
- Offers moderate benefits for acne, blemishes, and breakouts, and oiliness or shiny skin due to the presence of peptides and yeast extract in concentrations that support skin repair and hydration, though it lacks strong seboregulating ingredients for optimal oil control on your oily skin.
- The multiple peptides work to firm and plump your skin, while humectants like Glycerin provide hydration.
- The safety profile is excellent, with no risks of irritation for your oily skin due to the absence of harsh ingredients and the presence of soothing components like Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate and Yeast Extract.
How to apply
- Could be used as part of your PM routine. Start 3 times a week and build up to daily use if your skin tolerates it well.
- Apply your serum after cleansing and toning, but before putting on your moisturizer.
- Gently press 2 to 3 drops of the serum into your skin and let it absorb for a minute.
- Apply the serum on clean, dry skin to help manage your blemishes safely.
- Do a patch test before your first use and avoid the delicate eye area.
People Say
★4.5Overall rating based on 1.6k+ reviewsBased on a very large amount of data, users with dry, dull, and aging skin report that this booster effectively plumps, hydrates, and improves overall skin elasticity. Consistent use leads to visibly firmer skin and a reduction in fine lines and wrinkles. Some users feel the results take time to manifest.
Highlights
Plumps and hydrates Mostly Mentioned
- “leaves my skin feeling soft, smooth, and hydrated”
- “skin looks more plump and refreshed”
- “skin started to have an amazing glow and looks more hydrated”
- “left my skin feeling plumper and silky”
Firms and smooths Often Mentioned
- “skin gets more firm and smooth”
- “fine lines get blurred as well as wrinkles around my eye”
- “less pronounced 'shrivelling' where I apply it”
- “helped my skin to look much better... firm and plump”
Layers seamlessly Often Mentioned
- “layers beautifully with the rest of my routine”
- “lays nicely under different moisturizers”
- “mixed well with everything”
- “layers easily with other skincare products”
Lightweight, fast-absorbing Often Mentioned
- “lightweight texture that absorbs easily”
- “absorbs fast without any peeling”
- “absorbs very quickly into the skin”
- “silky liquigel texture has a subtle slip and absorbs flawlessly”
High price point Sometimes Noted
- “price is steep”
- “significant investment”
- “packaging is not great, especially for the price”
Poor dropper packaging Sometimes Noted
- “packaging is not great, especially for the price”
- “dropper just doesn't work well with the consistency”
- “easy to over apply and waste product with the dropper”
- “packaging is a con”
Slow, subtle results Rarely Noted
- “Hard to tell if it works”
- “results require the kind of patience”
- “I Can't tell how much it helped”
Sources: lovi.care, paulaschoice.com, sephora.com, dermstore.com, amazon.com, youtube.com, and more
Questions and answers
What makes Paula's Choice Peptide Booster a great fit for oily acne-prone skin?
This treatment is a great fit because it helps firm and plump your skin with multiple peptides while providing hydration, and it is very safe and unlikely to cause irritation.
Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2023
Which ingredients make this booster a good fit for oily acne-prone skin?
The peptides and yeast extract make this booster a good fit by helping to repair your skin and provide hydration without causing irritation. Glycerin further supports this by drawing moisture into your skin, while soothing components like dipotassium glycyrrhizate keep your skin calm.
What do Peptides do for oily acne-prone skin?
Peptides help calm oily, acne-prone skin by targeting acne-causing bacteria and reducing redness and swelling. Advanced delivery methods like nanomicelles may also improve how deeply these helpful ingredients sink into the skin.
What do Amino Acids do for oily acne-prone skin?
Amino acids help calm oily, acne-prone skin by reducing redness and supporting the skin repair process. They also help fight acne-causing bacteria while maintaining a very safe profile with little to no risk of irritation.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2021Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2022
Where does this booster go in a skincare routine for oily acne-prone skin?
This booster goes in the evening routine, applied after cleansing and toning and before your moisturizer. Putting it in the evening keeps things simple and adds extra safety around sun exposure.
Can I use this booster with retinol, and in what order?
Yes, you can use this booster with retinol by applying the booster first and following with your retinol to help firm your skin and keep it hydrated. This product is unlikely to cause irritation on oily acne-prone skin because it lacks harsh ingredients and contains soothing components.
How often should I use this booster?
You can use this treatment in your evening routine for simplicity and extra safety around sun exposure. It is very gentle on your oily skin and is unlikely to cause irritation.
Can this booster clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for oily acne-prone skin?
This booster is unlikely to clog pores or cause breakouts for oily acne-prone skin because it lacks harsh ingredients and contains soothing components that are safe for your skin. It may even help calm blemishes, though it does not provide strong oil control on its own.
Is this booster fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
Yes, it has no fragrance and no drying alcohol.
What the research says
Topical moisturizers improved skin barrier function and surface moisture, while a postbiotic moisturizer with yeast extract uniquely supported microbiome balance and modulated biomarkers of skin barrier, structure, and inflammation in participants and ex vivo explants exposed to environmental aggressors.
Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2023A single application of a moisturizing fluid containing hyaluronic acid 1%, glycerin 5%, and Centella asiatica stem cells extract significantly increased skin hydration by 29% and reduced transepidermal water loss at 24 hours compared to baseline and an untreated control site in twenty healthy women.
Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017A topical formulation containing panthenol, niacinamide, and dipotassium glycyrrhizate increased skin hydration by 74.1% and reduced transepidermal water loss by 13.5% at 28 days compared to baseline and untreated control in 35 individuals with xerosis.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2026The emollient V0034CR significantly reduced TEWL compared to vehicle and vehicle plus glycerol, and significantly increased corneometry scores compared to vehicle and vehicle plus petrolatum in healthy volunteers with dry skin, demonstrating combined barrier function improvement from petrolatum and hydration improvement from glycerol.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Ten days of treatment with a cream containing 20% glycerin significantly increased skin hydration measured by corneometer values in 17 healthy volunteers compared to a placebo cream, but showed no influence on transepidermal water loss or skin sensitivity to an irritating surfactant.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2001Niacinamide/glycerin body moisturizers provided better rapid and prolonged improvement of cosmetic xerosis through functional improvement of stratum corneum barrier function compared to no treatment and conventional moisturizers in female subjects.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2012Enzyme-modified ginseng extract cream significantly reduced the global photo-damage score and various roughness measures including total roughness, smoothness depth, and arithmetic roughness average compared to placebo in 23 human subjects.
Rejuvenation Research, 2015A red ginseng hydrogel formulation with 1,2-hexanediol promoted selective growth of Staphylococcus epidermidis and decreased Cutibacterium acnes in 20 female subjects.
Journal of Ginseng Research, 2022A 1% fermented black ginseng cream significantly reduced eye wrinkles and brightened skin color in twenty-three human subjects compared to control cream and baseline.
Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. Part A, 2020A toner with 6% guava extract significantly reduced skin oiliness on the forehead and nose compared to the base toner in 21 volunteers over 28 days.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2019Pre-incubation with guava crude extract significantly decreased apoptotic and dead cells and markers of oxidative damage while improving antioxidant enzyme activity in human dermal fibroblasts subjected to AAPH-mediated oxidative stress, compared to cells subjected to stress without prior pre-incubation.
Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, 2018
Ingredients
Water, Glycerin, Peg-8 Dimethicone, Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12, Myristoyl Hexapeptide-16, Myristoyl Pentapeptide-17, Hexanoyl Dipeptide-3 Norleucine Acetate, Azelaoyl Bis-Dipeptide-10, Glycoproteins, Adenosine, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Arginine, Valine, Glycine, Alanine, Glutamic Acid, Serine, Threonine, Yeast Extract, Isoleucine, Proline, Histidine, Phenylalanine, Pca, Phytic Acid, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Sodium Pca, Psidium Guajava Fruit Extract, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract, Ahnfeltiopsis Concinna Extract, Dextran, Hydrolyzed Silk, Lecithin, Glyceryl Polymethacrylate, C12-16 Pareth-9, Trideceth-12, Sodium Lactate, Carbomer, Aspartic Acid, Polysorbate 20, Butylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, C11-15 Pareth-7, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Phytosteryl Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate, Ectoin, Citrate Buffer, Trimethylsiloxyamodimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hydroxide, Ethylhexylglycerin
Behind this fit score
Lovi calculates every fit score from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
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Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
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Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
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Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
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Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
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Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
How does it fit your skin?
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