O BoticĂĄrio vs Sallve â side by side, no bias.
Our pick
SĂ©rum Antiacne
8.7/10 · Sallve
| Botik Retinol Puro 0.01% | SĂ©rum Antiacne | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | O BoticĂĄrio | Sallve |
| Category | serum | serum |
| Editor Rating | 7/10 | 8.7/10 â |
| Category | serum | serum |
| Texture | Cushiony gel-cream, comforting weight | Watery clarifying serum |
| Finish | Smooth, softly luminous, calmed | Mattifying |
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| Verdict | At 0.01% retinol, this is the most gentle retinol product you can buy in Brazil â and that's precisely the point. O BoticĂĄrio positioned the Botik Retinol Puro as the 'first retinol' for Brazilian women who've been scared off by retinol horror stories on social media. The concentration is homeopathic by clinical standards, but the surrounding formula is unexpectedly thoughtful: shea butter creates a protective lipid cushion, allantoin and bisabolol provide dual-pathway soothing, tocopherol (vitamin E) adds antioxidant stabilisation, and aphanizomenon flos-aquae (blue-green algae from Klamath Lake) brings an exotic micronutrient complex. Hesperetin laurate â a flavonoid ester with anti-inflammatory and brightening properties â is the ingredient that suggests someone at O BoticĂĄrio's R&D lab reads the primary literature. The cream texture is deliberately comforting rather than clinical â it feels like a rich moisturiser that happens to contain retinol, which lowers the psychological barrier to entry. At R$70 (~âŹ14), it's an inexpensive way to test retinol tolerance before graduating to Creamy's 0.3% or a prescription-grade retinoid. | Sallve is Brazil's leading clean-actives indie brand and the SĂ©rum Antiacne is their acne workhorse. 2% salicylic acid, niacinamide, tea tree leaf oil, willow bark extract for natural BHA support, plus buchu (Barosma Betulina) â a South American botanical that's uncommon outside Brazil. Alcohol-free, fragrance-free formula. |
