“I have used granactive retinoids from other brands in combination with Mahina by Leahlani and received better results. Not the same level of quality I have come to expect over the years of using her incredible products.”
“I love this new product, and was able to jump right in and use it nightly without any skin irritation at all. My skin is smooth and radiant and I love it paired with my Siren serum in the morning and my Mahina elixir at night, both topped with Bless Balm. It is a perfect combo!”
“I’ve had a lot of sun damage over the years and this was my first experience using a retinoid. After a month of use I have had positive results. Particularly around my eyes where wrinkles have began to form. I’d imagine if I continue to use this product the results will be even better with time. I would recommend!
Scent: Subtle citrus smell
Texture: It has an oily texture and it feels restorative on my skin.
Aloha Ambassador program”
“This is the first time I’ve used a retinol product so I’m following the blog advice of the 4 days routine and it’s been amazing! I’ve used it twice since it arrived and I can already see my pores getting smaller, face feels smooth and my acne scaring is getting better! I’m so excited! I love the smell, it feels so luxurious, like I’m at a spa. I use Siren serum on the other days and love it too!!!”
“First off, I love all Leahlani products and am a loyal customer for the last 3-4 years now. The products have completely transformed my skin and I love my glowing complexion! My latest concern though was visible signs of aging such as wrinkles. I wasn't sure how to address them as there hadn't been a specific Leahlani product to target, and wasn't sure how to incorporate another product (nor did I really want to use other brands). I'm so glad Leah created this retinol to address this problem! The Aqua-A is devine! I love the scent and texture (as I do all Leahlani products), but the results are where it's at! I've only been using it about every other evening for around 2 weeks so far and I feel like my deep forehead lines are slightly diminishing and not as deep. I'm still waiting to see if any discoloration or sunspots are addressed, but won't be disappointed if they're not. I'm happy to incorporate this product permanently into my nightly Leahlani skincare regimen!”
“I wanted to add to my last review because I think it might be helpful to others who are comparing clean retinol products. I had mentioned in my last review that I have used many clean retinol products for extensive periods of time before finding Aqua A and that the results that I got with aqua A surpassed all the other clean retinol products for me. However,I had only mentioned the products that ended up being in my top 3 retinol products, I didn't mention all the others I have tried that didn't make the top 3 cut for me. Before finding Aqua A, Maya Chia's retinol and Mara's retinol were in my top two and Josh Rosenbrook's Active Infusion Oil was a close 3rd place. These 3 are all fantastic products...but there are a number of other retinol products that I tried for a long time including many Bakuchiol products. I have used many Bakuchiol products like Alpyn Beauty's "Line filling Eye Balm" and their "Melt Moisturizer" as well as Herbivore's Moonfruit and Bakuchiol Serums and BYBI's 1% Bakuchiol in Squalane. I have used each of these bakuchiol products for at least a year and half to give them ample time to work. I have found that while bakuchiol is a great ingredient, it definitely doesn't deliver the resurfacing, anti-aging/anti-wrinkle/skin plumping results that true retinols do.
I have also used True Botanicals phyto-retinol for a few months and it is an absolute lovely oil with a beautiful brightening effect, but for me the resurfacing and wrinkle reducing results didn't even compare to Maya Chia's "The Straight A"or to Mara's Algae Retinol or even to Josh Rosenbrook's Active Infusion oil. At 43 almost 44, I have some wrinkles that are coming in, and within a week of stopping all my retinols and just using the True botanicals product (so I could really see what the TB product did on its own), I saw signs of aging come back and my skin did not have that beautiful resurfaced/de-wrinkled/plump look that retinol gives it. Within days of starting the other retinols again, I saw the great results return. To be sure, the True botanicals product is a really lovely oil and I do like to use it in addition to retinol because of its brightening effects, however I never use it "instead" of retinol or else I see signs of aging return and I have tested this a number of times actually. I have also used Tata Harper's Retinoic Nutrient Face Oil and while it is a nice oil, it doesn't compare to retinols. I have also used Fitglow Beauty's Vita Youth Retinoic Oil which smells soooo delicious and has some good resurfacing effects from the granactive retonoid in it, but it didn't deliver the results that Maya Chia's, Mara's or Josh Rosenbrook's retinol did for me. I have also used The Ordinary's Granactive Retinoid 5% and Peace Out's 3% retinol face stick. I have gone through about 4 bottles of The Ordinary's retinol and 5 sticks of the Peace Out product. These are great products and come pretty close to the top 3 that I mentioned (Mara, Maya Chia and Josh R). I do love the Peace Out stick because it is balmy and I can layer it as a top layer over whatever I use on my face just to get an extra punch of anti-aging retinol. Both The Ordinary's Retinol and the Peace retinol are great and effective products that delivered results for me over the many months that I used them. They are also very budget friendly and that plus being genuinely effective is a great combo. However, the results that I have had with using Aqua A have surpassed them all...and I mean majorly surpassed them all to the point that there is no competition for me and I am not using any other retinols anymore. This is honestly unfortunate for me because I stock up during sales and I literally have multiple bottles of Mara, Maya Chia and Josh R's retinol products and I have two Peace Out face sticks and 2 bottles of the Ordinary's retinol (ahhhhhhh)..... but I don't want to use anything else other than Aqua A because I seriously need all the anti-aging I can get with my 43 year old skin and Aqua A has just been a miracle worker for me. With Aqua A, I see my skin look more radiant and resurfaced daily, my wrinkles are lessening , and my dark spots are vanishing in a way that FAR surpasses ALL the other retinols I had been using prior. I am utterly thrilled to have found Aqua A and I am just forever grateful to Leahlani for creating this magical product that has made me happy with my skin again. I was really unhappy with the fine lines and wrinkles that were coming in and persisted despite the other great retinols and skincare products that I was using (and let me tell you I use a LOT of amazing skincare products) . Since using Aqua A, I honestly look forward to waking up and seeing my skin each morning because it is brighter and younger looking than the day before. I will never be without this amazing product.”
“Oh my goodness I am absolutely blown away by this incredible product! I have never ever used a product that I would call miraculous until now, and that is saying a lot because I work in the beauty industry and have access to some of the most amazing clean skincare lines on a daily basis. This retinol made my skin look years younger and totally resurfaced it. My wrinkles are significantly lessened, they are not only less deep but they are literally smaller. For example, the wrinkles around my eyes don't extend as far down my cheek as they used to and they are noticeably less deep. My skin is a LOT more supple and radiant. This serum changed the texture of my skin to make it so toned and even and flawless looking. I also don't understand how it lessened my dark spots as well?!!! Once I hit 43, I started to develop a lot more wrinkles and fine lines and have not been very happy with my skin, this serum has changed that for me. Not to mention it literally smells like heaven in a bottle, TROPICAL HEAVEN. Every time I use this product it feels so therapeutic because the scent literally transports me to the islands. I am in complete AWE and will use this product for life. I am in the beauty and wellness industry and I have been using clean retinols religiously for years. Since I am almost 44, I have started to see wrinkles develop and I have been going after them with some of the best clean retinols for years at this point. I have used Maya Chia's "The straight A" for about 2 years, Mara Beauty's Algae Retinol Face oil for about a year and a half, and Josh Rosenbrook's Active Infusion Oil (with Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate) for about a year. These three I mentioned have been at the top of my list for retinols and they are truly wonderful products. I have used each of these 3 retinols on their own for 6 months each to test the efficacy of each product and isolate exactly what each product does for the skin. Although my skin is very sensitive, I have worked up to using all 3 of these retinols both morning and night (yes, that's a lot and not recommended for first time retinol users or most skin for that matter, but it gives you an idea of how much retinol I have used!). These 3 retinols I have mentioned are literally all amazing...BUT AQUA A BLOWS THEM ALL OUT OF THE WATER! How is this even possible?!!! Up until using aqua A very recently, I had slowly worked up to using these 3 retinols I mentioned (Mara, Maya Chia and Josh Rosenbrook) daily for about a year because layering provides the retinol receptors in my skin a chance to be working all day and all night and I found the best wrinkle reversing and skin resurfacing benefits by working up to this amount. It has allowed me to get great results without using prescription tretinion (which I avoid because it has side effects and is not the healthiest for the skin or body). Using 3 retinol products daily was not something I did overnight. It took a long time to get to this place. My skin was so sensitive that when I first used my first retinol which was Maya Chia's the straight A, I could only use it once a week or my skin would literally just burn. I VERY gradually worked up from once a week to twice a week, then to every other day then every day, then 2x day. Then I added in Mara Beauty's retinol in the am and gradually added it to the evening, then Josh Rosenbrook's. Like I said, I also have used each of these products on their own for months at a time to evaluate each retinol products effectiveness. Since I handle all of our product research and development, it is very important that I isolate each individual product and assess the results that I get. I never thought I would find a retinol product that literally blew these 3 out of the water because they are wonderful products. I have been using Aqua A for a little over a week now and I saw incredible results even when I used it only ONCE a day at night. I literally saw more results than when I used the other three retinols both morning and night. This stuff is POWERFUL, but so gentle and non-irritating. I am mind blown. I am now only using Aqua A because it delivers better results than any of the retinols I mentioned. I saw wonderful results only using it once at night. However, I have since increased to using it after my water based serums at night, then I apply aqua a and let it sink in for about ten minutes. After that I apply a face cream and mix it with another pump of aqua A. Over night as I sleep these layers sink in (I look like a glazed donut) and I wake up to younger skin every morning. I just can't get over this stuff. It is unreal. I don't know how they did it. I have recently started putting one layer of aqua A in the morning as well and I saw even more results. Honestly though, this product is so powerful that using it once only at night provides incredible results. THANK YOU Leahlani from the bottom of my heart. I am so happy with how Aqua A is making my skin look younger and younger.”
