THE CLAIM With a whopping 1 percent retinol - six times the industry average - this radical repair cream reduces wrinkles, even out blotchy skin, and restores elasticity.

THE EXPERT SAYS “This product really does deliver a prescription-strength dose of retinol,” says N.Y.C. dermatologist Neal Schultz. But it will cause irritation within three to seven days of use, which is why a 1 percent retinol cream (or .1 percent Retin-A) is usually sold through a dermatologist’s office, not over the counter.

OUR VERDICT Watch out, this stuff is potent! By Day 3, our skin was red and angry-looking, so we scaled back. We used a pea-size dab every other day and the inflammation subsided. A few weeks later, a colleague asked what we “had done” to our skin. “It’s glowing,” she said suspiciously, fishing for the name of our derm.