Is CeraVe Super Boost Serum Good? 396 Usable Reviews vs Olay Super Serum

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Review-analysis guide: 535 customer reviews read on Ulta and Target (November 13, 2026), sorted and counted by us; product details from the brand pages checked November 13, 2026.

By The Beauty Read · Checked November 13, 2026 · AI-assisted research and editing · Contains Amazon affiliate links

Is CeraVe Super Boost Serum (paid link) good? Its early reviews say yes on feel: of 396 usable reviews, 61% called it light or fast-absorbing and 55% said it hydrated, with one low rating. We set aside 1,475 of its 1,925 Ulta reviews that carry a free-product note, and Ulta's reviews go back only to October 12. Olay's 79 verified Target buyers, over three years, were more mixed.

Is CeraVe Super Boost Serum good? What the review pages show

Is CeraVe Super Boost Serum good once the free-product reviews are set aside? CeraVe's Skin Renewing Super Boost Serum went on sale from August 2026, per CeraVe's September 2 release, and Ulta lists it as New. CeraVe puts five actives in it, hyaluronic acid, peptides, niacinamide, vitamin B12 and LHA, with three ceramides, and niacinamide is the second ingredient after water. [2] [1] [5]

Ulta showed 1,925 reviews on November 13, dated October 12 to November 12, 2026. Of those, 1,475 (77%) carry Ulta's standard free-product disclosure ('I received this product in exchange for my honest review'). We set those aside unread; they held 13 one- or two-star ratings. We read the other 450, and none of the 1,925 carried a verified-buyer badge. [5]

Thirty of the 450 said in their own words that they got the serum free, as a gift or as a sample, 9 were repeats and 20 were empty, not yet used, about another product or the store, or not in English. Adding the 5 verified-purchase reviews on Target's page gives 396 usable reviews. The page's reviews cluster early: 96 of the 450 are dated October 12, the first day of its reviews, and 236 fall in its first week. [5] [6]

CeraVe Super Boost Serum reviews and complaints: 396 usable

In the CeraVe Super Boost Serum reviews we could use, the feel came first: 61% said it was light, absorbed fast or was not sticky or greasy, and 55% said their skin felt hydrated, moisturized or plump. Smoother or softer skin came up in 45%, and a glow or a more even tone in 25%. [5] [6]

Claims about lines were rarer. About one in ten (11%) said fine lines looked softer or skin felt firmer, and 18% said they would buy it again or called it a favorite. [5] [6]

Complaints were scarce among the usable reviews: 3% said they saw no visible change, 2 reported irritation, 1 said it broke them out and 2 called the price or size a drawback. One of the 396 gave one or two stars. [5] [6]

How the two serums feel: milky and fragrance-free vs iridescent with fragrance

CeraVe describes Super Boost as a lightweight, milky serum with a pearly look and a pink hue from vitamin B12, with no added fragrance. Of its usable reviewers, 11% wore it under makeup or sunscreen, and one called it a little sticky. [1] [5]

Olay's Super Serum (paid link) has a purple iridescent tint that P&G says turns clear once applied, and its ingredient list includes fragrance and mica. Of its 79 verified buyers, 13 praised the light or fast-absorbing feel; 4 liked the scent and 4 disliked it. Ten CeraVe reviewers said they liked how it smelled, though it has no added fragrance. [4] [3] [7] [5]

Five of 79 Olay buyers said it dried their skin; none of CeraVe's 396 usable reviewers said so. [7] [5]

Olay Super Serum review: 79 verified Target buyers since 2023

P&G introduced Olay Super Serum in August 2023. Its Target page lists 15,142 written reviews, and 95 of the newest 96 were first posted on Olay's site with a note that they were collected as part of a promotion, all dated November 9 to 12. This Olay Super Serum review rests on the 80 reviews the page marks as verified purchases, September 2023 to October 2026; 79 were usable. [4] [7]

Of the 79, 15 said skin felt smoother or softer, 14 saw a glow or more even tone, 13 praised the feel and 10 said it hydrated. Six said fine lines or firmness improved and 6 would buy it again. [7]

Complaints showed up more often in this three-year record: 10 saw no visible change, 8 reported stinging, itching or a reaction, 4 said it broke them out, 11 called the price or size a drawback and 6 complained about the bottle or dropper. In all, 19 of the 79 gave one or two stars. [7]

CeraVe Super Boost Serum vs Olay Super Serum: ingredients and labels

The CeraVe Super Boost Serum ingredients list puts niacinamide second, then glycerin, with ceramides NP, AP and EOP among the first 13 ingredients and sodium hyaluronate, cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), capryloyl salicylic acid (LHA) and a peptide further down. It gives no percentages. Olay lists niacinamide fourth, after water, glycerin and dimethicone, followed by lactic acid, a peptide and 3-O-ethyl ascorbic acid, a vitamin C derivative. [1] [3]

In a CeraVe serum vs Olay Super Serum choice, the clearest label differences are fragrance and acid: CeraVe is sold without added fragrance, while Olay includes fragrance and lactic acid, an AHA. Both brands' directions call for SPF in the day. [1] [3]

CeraVe cites a consumer study of 64 people over 8 weeks in which 95% agreed their overall skin appearance improved in 2 weeks. P&G's launch post cites an Olay-run two-month study of 200 people that tracked an imaging measure it calls skin 'chaosity'. Neither gives a control group, so we treat both as brand claims we could not check. [1] [4]

Is Olay Super Serum good for sensitive skin? What reviewers reported

Is Olay Super Serum good for sensitive skin? Among its 79 verified buyers, 8 described burning, itching, redness or a rash, and 4 said it broke them out. Only 2 described their skin as sensitive, and both gave five stars without reporting a reaction. [7]

CeraVe's usable reviewers reported 2 reactions in 396, and 14 described their skin as sensitive. Of the 396, 9% said it felt gentle on their skin. [5] [6]

The gap is large, but the groups differ: CeraVe's usable reviews come from the first month of Ulta's reviews, on a page where most reviews came through a free-product program, while Olay's are Target verified purchases over three years. If fragrance or acids have bothered you before, Olay's label lists both. [5] [7] [3]

Is CeraVe Super Boost Serum good? What this check can't tell you

CeraVe's and Olay's records were not collected the same way. Of CeraVe's 396 usable reviews, 391 are Ulta reviews from the page's first month (October 12 to November 12), though the serum has been on sale since August. Only 5 are Target verified purchases, and one of those saw no results. [5] [6]

Olay's 79 are verified purchases spread over three years, so they may cover more than one version of the formula or bottle. Seventy-nine is a small base; each review moves a share by more than a point. [7]

Reviews are self-reported, and skin type, routine and season all change the result. So, is CeraVe Super Boost Serum good? On feel and hydration, the first month of usable Ulta reviews says yes; on lines and lasting results, it is too early to say. [5] [7]

How we read the Ulta and Target pages for this check

We loaded all 1,925 CeraVe reviews on Ulta's All reviews view, newest first, to the end. We set aside unread the 1,475 that start with the free-product disclosure and read the 450 without it. On Target we read the 5 CeraVe and 80 Olay reviews the pages mark as verified purchases, because the newest reviews on both Target pages were reviews first posted on the brands' sites. [5] [6] [7]

From the 535 we read we left out 30 that said the serum was free, a gift or a sample, 9 repeats, 5 about another product or the store and 16 that were empty, not yet used or not in English. That left 475 usable reviews: 396 for CeraVe and 79 for Olay. [5] [6] [7]

We also looked for a newer niacinamide serum with a readable record. Biodance's Radiant Vita Niacinamide Serum, reviewed at Sephora since March 2026, had 2 reviews without an incentive badge out of 87, and medicube's TXA Niacinamide serum had 6 Ulta reviews and 23 at Target, too few to compare.

Our Amazon links use the product numbers that search results showed on November 13, 2026. Amazon's own pages would not load for us, so we could not read who sells either serum or confirm the size, and the cards say so.

Keep reading

• Best peptide serum? 3,487 reviews of The Ordinary, Biossance and COSRX
• Best vitamin C serum? 658 reviews of CeraVe, La Roche-Posay and Vanicream
• CeraVe PM vs La Roche-Posay Double Repair vs Vanicream

Frequently asked questions

Is CeraVe Super Boost Serum good?

Its early reviews are positive on feel and hydration: of 396 usable reviews, 61% called it light or fast-absorbing, 55% said it hydrated and 1 gave one or two stars. But 1,475 of its 1,925 Ulta reviews came through a free-product program and Ulta's reviews start October 12, so it is an early read.

What are the CeraVe Super Boost Serum reviews and complaints?

Among the 396 usable reviews, complaints were few: 3% saw no visible change, 2 reported irritation, 1 said it broke them out and 2 found the price or size a drawback. That count leaves out the 1,475 Ulta reviews with a free-product note, which we set aside unread (they held 13 one- or two-star ratings). Most praise was about the light feel, hydration and softer skin.

CeraVe Super Boost Serum vs Olay Super Serum: how do the reviews compare?

They are not like for like. CeraVe's 396 usable reviews come mostly from the first month of Ulta's reviews, after we set aside 1,475 with a free-product note; Olay's 79 are Target verified purchases over three years. Within those records, 1 of 396 CeraVe reviewers gave one or two stars against 19 of 79 for Olay, and 8 of 79 Olay buyers reported stinging or a reaction.

What is in CeraVe Super Boost Serum?

CeraVe lists niacinamide second after water, then glycerin, with ceramides NP, AP and EOP among the first 13 ingredients and sodium hyaluronate, vitamin B12, capryloyl salicylic acid (LHA) and a peptide further down. It has no added fragrance and the brand gives no percentages.

Is Olay Super Serum good for sensitive skin?

Of 79 verified Target buyers, 8 reported stinging, itching, redness or a rash, and 4 said it broke them out. Only 2 of the 79 described their skin as sensitive, so these reports are not specific to sensitive skin. Its ingredient list includes fragrance and lactic acid, an AHA, so readers who react to either may want to patch test.

Do I need sunscreen with these serums?

Both brands' directions call for daytime SPF. CeraVe names its SPF 30 or SPF 50 moisturizing lotion as the morning step after the serum, and Olay says to use SPF during the day. Follow each product's label, and ask a dermatologist if you are unsure what your skin needs.