The Night We Finally Agreed on One Serum for Both of Us

For most of our relationship, my partner and I had completely separate skincare shelves. He had a face wash, a moisturizer, and occasionally something he bought at the airport. I had a rotating cast of serums, acids, and creams, most of which I tested, wrote a few notes about, and quietly moved to the back of the cabinet. We were not doing the same thing. We were barely doing the same sport.

The friction point was always the same. He found most skincare products either too complicated to fold into a nighttime routine or too heavy-feeling on his skin. I found most things I brought home worked fine but didn't earn a permanent spot. We had a shared bathroom and a shared budget but two very different ideas about what belonged in the cabinet.

I tested The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane for the first time about eighteen months ago, during a stretch where I was specifically looking for something that would address the fine lines starting to appear near my eyes and across my forehead. I had used retinol before, at higher price points, with pretty good results. But I kept hearing from readers and fellow editors that The Ordinary's version performed on par with products costing three and four times as much, so I picked up a bottle partly out of curiosity and partly because it was cheaper than a tube of toothpaste.

Three weeks in, my partner noticed my skin looked different. Not dramatically different. Smoother was the word he used. He asked what I was doing differently, I showed him the bottle, and he read the label for longer than I expected. Then he asked if he could try it. He has combination skin with occasional dry patches, especially in winter, and the squalane base appealed to him more than the alcohol-heavy serums he had avoided for years. I said yes.

Within two weeks, he had stopped rotating through his usual lineup and was reaching for the retinol every night. Not because I pushed him toward it. Because he noticed a difference: less visible texture across his nose and forehead, a calmer look to his skin overall, and no irritation, which had been the thing that kept him away from actives for years. We kept the bottle on the middle shelf, where both of us could reach it. That small act of putting it in the center felt significant.

He had combination skin with dry patches, and the squalane base appealed to him more than any alcohol-heavy serum he had ever tried. Within two weeks, he was reaching for it every night.

What I appreciate most about The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane, after all this time, is how straightforward it is to use. Two to three nights a week is enough for most people starting out. A small amount, about the size of a pea, across the full face after cleansing and before moisturizer. The squalane is the key detail here: it prevents the dryness that puts so many people off retinol in the first year of use, and it makes the product feel comfortable rather than medicinal.

That said, this is not a product without any caveats. 1% is a meaningful concentration. If you have never used retinol before, your skin will likely need a few weeks to adjust, and you should not start here if you are currently using other actives like AHAs or BHAs every night. We backed off our exfoliating products to every third night when we first added retinol to the rotation, and that made all the difference. My partner had one week of mild flaking near his jaw that resolved on its own.

The other thing worth saying clearly: we do not use this in the morning. Retinol breaks down in sunlight and increases photosensitivity, so it belongs strictly in a nighttime routine. If you are someone who forgets sunscreen in the morning, add that habit first before adding retinol at night. We both wear SPF every morning now, and I would say the retinol made us both more conscientious about that, not less.

After about three months of consistent use, the changes we noticed were real but not dramatic. My forehead lines looked less pronounced under direct light. My partner's skin texture improved noticeably across his nose. We both had a more even tone. None of this happened fast, and none of it required effort beyond the two minutes it takes to apply. That slow, steady return is part of what makes a retinol routine worth committing to.

What I'd Tell You If We Were Sitting at My Kitchen Table

If you are new to retinol and overwhelmed by options, start here. The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane is not fancy, and that is exactly the point. It does what a retinol serum is supposed to do: it delivers a clinically relevant concentration of vitamin A to your skin at night, suspended in an oil that keeps the experience comfortable. The price means you can commit to it long enough to actually see results, instead of abandoning a $75 bottle after six uses because you are not sure it is working.

If you want the full breakdown of what happened over ninety days of testing across two skin types, I wrote that up in our long-term review. If you are weighing this against The Ordinary's gentler Granactive Retinoid formula, there is a direct comparison on the site that walks through who should start where. But if you are sitting across from me asking what to actually buy tonight, this is what I would tell you to add to your cart. Both of you.