Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream Review

The Drunk Elephant’s A-Passioni Retinol Cream formula treats the skin to a cocktail of skin-boosting ingredients, including one percent vegan retinol, skin-absorbing oils, antioxidant-rich extracts, peptides, fatty acids, and carotenoids. 

Read on to learn what we think of this product in our extensive review of this popular retinol cream.

Key Takeaways 

• The Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream contains vegan retinol as an active ingredient. This source of retinol is synthesized by plants, or plant sources only, according to a Drunk Elephant brand representative. 

• This retinol cream also incorporates strengthening and protective ingredients into its formula. These include xanthophylls, a triple peptide blend, winter cherry juice and kale leaf extracts, passionfruit, marula, apricot and jojoba oils, and vitamin F.

• While Drunk Elephant states that the A-Passioni Retinol Cream is safe to use in both the morning and evening hours, retinol can make the skin sun sensitive when exposed to daylight, and can cause health problems if used too much.  

A-Passioni Retinol Cream

Anti-Aging Retinol Cream

Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream

This cream combines the power of retinol with other effective skincare ingredients to help minimize fine lines, wrinkles, and sun damage.

Skin types: All Skin Types

Best for: Anti-Aging

Tested on animals: No

How to use: Massage a pea-sized amount into the skin, and follow up with a moisturizer. Start with one to two applications per week, and then build up usage from there (if necessary).

See on Drunk Elephant

Why we picked it

If you’re looking to fight the signs of aging, retinol is a must-have ingredient in your routine, as it has been shown to minimize fine lines, wrinkles, and sun spots. This is one of the best Drunk Elephant products for anti-aging, because it contains a 1% concentration of retinol, along with peptides (which promote firmness) and vitamin F (which calms and improves suppleness).

Pros and cons

Pros

• Fragrance-free
• Vegan and cruelty-free

Cons

• May irritate sensitive skin

Details

This treatment also contains soothing and hydrating ingredients that help counteract the potentially irritating effects of the retinol, including jojoba oil, apricot oil, passionfruit oil, marula oil, and kale leaf extract.

Product Overview 

Since its inception, Drunk Elephant’s A-Passioni Retinol Cream has gained a loyal fan following because of its use of vegan retinol as an active ingredient, which is synthesized from plants, or plant sources only. 

If you are unfamiliar with the ingredient, or need a basic refresher as to what retinol is and what it can do for your skin, it’s helpful to start with retinoids, and explain their role in skincare. 

Retinoids in Skincare

Retinoids (which are a derivative of vitamin A) are usually prescribed by a board-certified dermatologist to address a variety of skin concerns including acne, rough patches, and signs of photoaging [1].

Unlike its prescription counterparts, retinol is a lower-strength, over-the-counter retinoid you can easily purchase online and in stores. And while retinol is not as potent as physician-strength retinoids, it can still be used to treat acne, and soften fine lines and wrinkles. 

Although vegan retinol has the starring role in this anti-aging cream, other strengthening and protective ingredients are included in its formula. 

These include xanthophylls, a triple peptide blend, winter cherry juice and kale leaf extracts, passionfruit, marula, apricot and jojoba oils, and vitamin F. 

Claims

The Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream claims to correct signs of aging including dark spots, dull texture, and loss of skin firmness. 

Similarly, the brand website also suggests that because the product uses a plant-based retinol synthesized by plants, it is more stable and effective than traditional animal-derived retinol. 

Key Ingredients 

1. Retinol (one percent) 

While some forms of retinol come from animal-derived sources, A-Passioni's retinol is allegedly synthesized from plants, or plant sources only. 

“Since non-vegan retinol can be animal-derived, it is more problematic from a stability standpoint, as it may translate to less effective retinol,” Drunk Elephant representative Kristen told Skincare Hero through email. “In contrast, because our retinol is made from plants, it has the ability to be more stable and effective.”

Given the supposed stability, and growing interest of vegan retinol sources in recent years, it’s safe to say that we will see more research on plant-based retinol alternatives in the near future.  

After all, while Drunk Elephant’s cream does not utilize bakuchiol (which comes from Psoralea corylifolia seed) as an active ingredient, a 2014 study published in The International Journal of Cosmetic Science, found that this plant-based retinol alternative was able to improve wrinkles, pigmentation, elasticity, and firmness, without the undesirable effects associated with retinol therapy.

How To Use

Learning how to use the Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream is easy. Simply follow these steps:

• Apply a small, pea-sized amount of cream onto cleansed, dry skin, avoiding contact around the eye area. 

• This retinol product can be mixed with Drunk Elephant’s cream and oil products, and should be followed with a sunscreen product containing SPF30 and higher during the day. 

• Retinol can be irritating if used everyday, making it important to build up your use gradually. To do so, the brand website advises using the product once a week to start, and then increasing frequency to every other night, and then every night as tolerated.

Note: Retinol should not be used by pregnant or nursing mothers.  

Other Tips 

1. Do Not Mix Retinol With Other Active Ingredients

Retinol should not be mixed with other powerful active ingredients such as vitamin C, as mixing the two can cause irritation and inflammation to the skin [2]. 

2. Retinol Can Cause Sun Sensitivity When Used In The Daytime

While Drunk Elephant states that their retinol cream can be used in the morning and at night, be advised retinol products can cause sun sensitivity. 

Since retinol promotes new skin cell turnover, it can cause the new skin that develops to become thinner and more delicate [3]. Once this skin is exposed to sunlight, it is more likely to develop sun damage if no sun-protective products are used. 

To shield your skin from damage, The Skin Cancer Foundation advises using and reapplying sunscreen products with at least SPF30 or higher during the day. 

What To Expect

The Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream provides a vegan alternative to traditional retinol formulas that can contain animal derivatives. 

This cream can be used by normal, oily, and combination skin types, twice a day, to correct dark spots, fine lines, wrinkles, and dull tone.

However, because retinol is a strong active ingredient, it may be too strong for sensitive types to use. 

FAQs

The Bottom Line

In short, the Drunk Elephant A-Passioni retinol cream offers consumers a vegan alternative to traditional retinol formulas. 

This cream is safe for normal, oily, and combination skin to use, and can be used twice a day, to correct dark spots, fine lines, wrinkles, and dull tone. Users can expect to see some side effects in the beginning stages of use, including dryness, itchiness, and skin redness. 

However, retinoids of any kind (including retinol) have some important considerations to keep in mind. For starters, since retinol is a strong active ingredient, it may be too strong for sensitive types to use. Additionally, since retinol can cause the skin to become sun-sensitive, it’s best to wear it with sunscreen in the daytime hours. 

If you are still unsure as to how you can incorporate retinol into your routine, it’s best to consult with a physician and dermatologist.